Dennee's Farm

Family update · 18 July 2026 · private page, please don't forward

This is everything in one place: what the farm is, what has happened, and what comes next. It's yours - you should be able to read the actual documents rather than take anyone's word for it.

The short version

Grandma Dennee died in February 2019. Seven and a half years later, the title to the farm is still in her name. Nothing has been transferred, nothing has been distributed, and no accounting has ever been given to Max or Dexter.

Kelly is the executor and now wants out. That's good. The problem is the order she wants to do it in: she wants us to file the court application first, and to hand over the estate records only afterwards. We've asked seven times in six days.

What the farm is

39.98 acres near Reward, Saskatchewan - 30 cultivated, 3 yard, 7 slough. A 1,188 sq ft bungalow built in 1975, with a basement and attached garage.

Assessed at $198,100. After the two loans registered against it, the estimated value left over is roughly $165,000 - $195,000. That's an estimate, not a promise.

A neighbouring farmer rents the cultivated acres. That rent has been paying the property taxes. There has also been someone living in the house at times, paying rent or doing work instead of rent. None of that income has ever been accounted for to you.

The timeline that matters

24 Jan 2019	Kelly posts publicly asking for legal advice about a dying person being pressured over their estate.
26 Jan 2019	The will is signed. It appoints Chris Birn - the neighbour - as executor.
29 Jan 2019	A handwritten codicil replaces Birn with Kelly.
1 Feb 2019	Dennee dies.
2019 - 2026	Nothing. No probate, no transfer, no accounting.
10 Jul 2026	Michael and Pernille visit the property and photograph it.
13-18 Jul 2026	Max asks for the estate records. Seven refusals.
13 Mar 2027	Dexter turns 18. Everything vests in both brothers.

What the will actually says

Everything is held in trust for Max and Dexter, equally.
The income is divided between you and held until each of you turns 18.
The property itself transfers to you both when the younger one turns 18 - 13 March 2027.
Max: you're already 18. There has been rental income for years. Your share of it may already be owed to you, and neither of you has ever received anything.

The one urgent problem

Kelly first said the bills, insurance and taxes were all up to date. A few hours later she narrowed that to property taxes only. She hasn't said the place is insured since.

The buildings are in rough shape - the quonset roof has failed, the south wall is open, the barn is rotted. If that house sits through a Saskatchewan winter with no heat and no insurance and something happens to it, the loss comes out of your inheritance. Sorting this out is the most urgent thing on the list.

What happens next

Max sent one final message and is now done texting Kelly. Not because he did anything wrong - because she says she's been advised, and at that point it belongs between lawyers.
Monday: three Saskatchewan law firms get called. One has had the file since Wednesday.
Also Monday: Saskatchewan Housing about the old repair loan, and the rural municipality to confirm the taxes really are current.
Then: a proper demand for the accounting, and the court application to move the title.

Two things, please

Don't discuss any of this with Kelly, and don't mention that we went out and photographed the property. Max - if she replies, send it to Dad and don't answer it.

If she ever sends paperwork to sign, nobody signs anything. It goes to the lawyer unsigned. That's the one rule that matters most.