If they hold onto them for a few years and then sell, they only pay taxes on the gain accrued since your death.It's a bit morbid, but a very very lucrative strategy for creating and maintaining generational wealth. 

Not to be morbid, but at 80 years old, you can't plan for him to hold it for two years to sell, you better operate as if he may be gone the moment he signs his name on the contract. 

Those sorts of details certainly perk a morbid sense of curiosity, so feel free to share more if you're up for it.

With the aging population I'm guessing that most folks are dying (hate to be morbid) and their kids are listing the places for sale at a list price that's higher than what folks who actually live there can afford because "it's lake property".

She likely just wants to live her life peacefully without any headaches.Not to sound morbid - but inheriting the property would likely be a better alternative as it would avoid her having to pay captial gains tax on the sale.

It is a long game because as morbid as it seems often the farms/raw land don't develop until mom and dad pass away, so the hope is that whenever that happens you are there top of mind. 

Seems morbid to just wait out someone's illness like that, but don't know of another option short of a risky QCD.  

I suuuuper like probates because they're so freaking hidden and kind of fun to research (a bit morbid, I know). 

But once she passes on (morbid, I know...) this will be a smoking hot deal.

It’s morbid?