Estate of Ona E. Hendrickson - Page 36




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          was born and raised in the same area.  Petitioner further notes              
          that Garry engaged in farming in Warrick County for most of his              
          life.                                                                        
               Petitioner also reminds us that Donald Hendrickson testified            
          that decedent loved farming and wanted the family farm to                    
          continue after Garry's death.  Donald Hendrickson further                    
          testified that Garry had let the farm decline in the years                   
          leading up to his death and that at that time farming had already            
          become the difficult business it is today.  Petitioner asserts               
          that decedent and the children therefore had to work and invest              
          together to preserve the family farm and that decedent insisted              
          this be done.                                                                
               We are of course aware that operating a family farm can be              
          an extremely demanding and daunting task.  We are also aware that            
          in these times a farmer (and his family) can work long and hard,             
          in the most businesslike way, and yet earn no economic profit                
          from the enterprise.                                                         
               We have no doubt that the family farm was important to                  
          decedent and the children, for many laudable reasons.  The facts             
          of this case, however, do not fit the story petitioner's argument            
          constructs around them.  Petitioner's argument largely explains              
          what happened to the assets decedent received from Garry's                   
          estate.  However, it fails to explain what happened to the income            
          generated by those assets.                                                   





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