Why Did They Wait?

The widow dies and three daughters inherit 12 acres in the 1850s. One daughter apparently pre-deceased her mother. The two surviving daughters sign deeds over to their brother at about the same time-probably shortly after the mother's death. The deceased daughter's heirs wait a few years to sign their deed. Why? I'm not certain, but my guess is that they waited for all the deceased daughter's children to come of age so that they could legally sign the deed. Minors can't execute deeds.