Louisiana Estate Litigation Legal Questions

The surest way is to file a law suit against the agent and request bank statements and other financial information, which they will have to provide.  Since your mother-in-law has died, the lawsuit would have to be filed by her estate.  A court-appointed executor is needed for this, so her estate will have to be probated.  Good luck.  ... Read More

If I understand your question correctively, your father took out loans on two cars.  He did not leave this cars specifically to you, but rather left everything to you and your brother.  His estate is liable for the loans.  If the estate does not pay, the loaner will be able to repossess the cars.  You and your brother are free to make a deal between you as long as you both agree as far as how the loans will be repaid, but, if you want to keep both cars, the loan will have to be repaid somehow.  ... Read More

Louisiana law is pretty different from other states so I would encourage you to talk to a lawyer there.  But I will give you some general information that I think, although am not sure, is true for all states.  It sounds like you and your siblings inherited some stocks, bonds, annuities, and property in 1998.  I'm not clear whether your dad had usufruct over those assets or whether he had usufruct just over the assets he inherited personally.  Your dad remarried at some point, and it sounds like he left everything to that wife.  Any assets that your dad inherited from your mom that were not encumbered by a trust, he was free to spend or transfer to his second wife.  Trust assets are usually not subject to probate process, but the the legal document that created the trust or his usufruct should include some language about who replaces your dad as trustee when he passes away.  That is the personl that you should be in contact with to determine whether you are entitled to any assets.  I'm not sure why you were in court or what your attorney failed to prove, but your rights and any actions you should or can take depend on the details of the usufruct, what assets are involved, what court action has taken place so far.  It honestly doesn't seem to me that you will be able to get sufficient legal guidance online.  I recommend speaking to another lawyer in LA who specializes in probate litigation. ... Read More

Thank you for your question. I assume the house was owned by both your mother and father.  If so, you have to think of the ownership of the house as having two (2) halves.  One half was owned by your father and the other half by your mother. Upon your father's death, his one half ownership of the house would go equally to all of his children since he did not have a will.  Those children basically co-owned the house with mom until her death. Upon your mother's death, her one half ownership of the house will be transferred to whoever she named in her will, assuming it is a valid will and the original of the will can be located.   You mentioned that mom's will says that one half of the house is be divided among the remaining children.  Remember, mom cannot give away the half that dad owned.  So depending on how this is worded in her will, this might result in one-half of her one-half going to the children.  This would possible result in the children owning three fourths (one-half from dad, plus one-fourth from mom) of the home, with the remaining one fourth by the grandchild.  You will need an attorney to look at if for you to determine if this is the case. Our office handles succession issues like this daily.  You  can learn more about us at www.LouisianaSuccessionAttorney.com Sincerely, Brad P. Scott Probate and Successions Attorney... Read More