Estate of John L. Baird - Page 15




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          was either aware of or involved in most of the known sales of               
          fractional interests in Louisiana.  He also makes his living from           
          such sales and is well known to lawyers, courts, and others as a            
          resource in situations where fractional interests and/or                    
          partition is involved.                                                      
               Mr. Steele evaluates timber and mineral properties on the              
          basis of the idiosyncracies of the ownership and related                    
          conditions.  So, for example, he may seek out disgruntled family            
          members who own a partial interest and are seeking to sell their            
          interest.  In such situations, Mr. Steele has studied the                   
          potential for and used partition as a means to make a profit from           
          the partial interest.  According to Mr. Steele, those situations            
          require “staying power” because of the potential for resistance             
          by the remaining family/coowners who may resist partition, either           
          in kind or by licitation.4  Mr. Steele had a personal experience            
          where his acquired partial interest was tied up for as long as 21           
          years.  In general, Mr. Steele’s experience reflects that it is             
          not unusual for partition to take as long as 5 years.                       
               Mr. Steele’s unique and extensive experience makes him                 
          particularly well qualified to address the amount of discount for           
          a fractional interest in Louisiana timberland.  Although Mr.                
          Steele and petitioners’ other experts opined, in general, that              

               4 “Licitation” is a term used to describe the sale of                  
          partitioned realty and the division and distribution of the sale            
          proceeds as opposed to partition in kind where the property is              
          divided and distributed to the coowners.                                    




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