Louisiana Probate Legal Questions

If the decedent was domiciled in Louisiana, the proper venue to open his succession would be the state judicial district court in the parish in which he was domiciled on the date of his death. You can find maps of all the Louisiana state judicial districts here: https://www.lasc.org/About/MapsofJudicialDistricts. If you're still in doubt about where the district court is located, you should probably call the general phone number for the Clerk of the Louisiana Supreme Court and ask them for general information. They are not allowed to give you legal advice. Here is the contact information: Clerk of Court:Hon. Veronica O. Koclanes400 Royal StreetNew Orleans, LA 70130P: (504) 310-2300TTY: (504) 310-2546Clerk's Office Email: COCVM@LASC.ORG The easiest way to find out whether the succession has been opened would probably be to go down to the parish courthouse and visit the office of the Clerk of Court. Employees of the clerks' offices are usually very helpful and would probably look up the name for you. If this succession has been opened in that parish, you will be able to actually read all of the documents that have been filed in the case. Remember the saying, "A little learning is a dangerous thing." If property rights are involved (and ALL successions involve property rights), you should consult with a Louisiana attorney so that you don't do something that will adversely affect your rights.    ... Read More

An attorney would need to review the documents that were prepared.  If your mother left her half of the house to you and your siblings, you own 1/2 of the house.  Did your step-mother have a will?  Again, an attorney needs to review the documents to see what was actually done.... Read More

The answer to your question depends on whether or not an executor or administrator has been appointed by the court. You state that your mother-in-law left a will. In the will, she probably appointed an executor or co-executors.  She may also have given the executor the authority to act independently, without prior court approval of many of his actions. If the heir who changed the locks is an independent executor, then it is likely that he is acting within his authority and that his action is legal. Even if your mother-in-law did not name an executor, the other heir may have had himself appointed administrator of the succession and gotten authorization from the court to secure the property by changing the locks. You stated that there is an attorney settling the estate. The very first thing you should do is contact the attorney and speak to him for more information. If you're unhappy with what he tells you, then your only realistic alternative will probably be to retain an attorney of your own, at your own expense, and bring the matter to the attention of the judge who is handling the case.  ... Read More

If the property has been purchased at a properly noticed and conducted tax sale, the three-year redemption window cannot be extended under current law. That doesn't mean the tax sale purchaser won't allow you to redeem after the deadline (although he may very well not). It means that the purchaser can bring a lawsuit to quiet title and ultimately obtain possession of the property interest he bought at the sale. You need to take immediate steps to protect your rights.  ... Read More

Theoretically, you could open your father's succession, have an administrator appointed, and haul your sister into court to explain where everything went and what she did with the proceeds.  And then, theoretically, the court would order her to pay everything back that she was not entitled to. Realistically, the heirs might spend a lot of money to hire an attorney, and the estate might not be able to collect anything from your sister. Sadly this happens sometimes when the heirs do not open a succession promptly and administer a person's estate under court supervision. Based on your question, it appears that real estate is involved, so the heirs will sooner or later have to deal with property maintenance, payment of taxes and insurance, and a possible eventual sale of the property. And that will likely require formally opening the succession and getting the court involved.    ... Read More

Did your husband have a will? From the wording of your question, it sounds like he did not. Assuming your husband died intestate (which means “without a testament”), and further assuming that he was domiciled here in Louisiana and everything he owned on the date of his death was located here, Louisiana law will determine what everyone gets. Under Louisiana inheritance law, the separate property of a Louisiana’s decedent (the person who died), and the decedent’s half of the community property, go to all of his children equally, if the decedent had children. If any of his children predeceased him, then that share would go to that child’s children. In some cases a surviving spouse might be entitled to a usufruct over some of the property left by the decedent. If the property your husband’s son wants was acquired by your husband in his own name before he married you, then it is separate property. There’s a lot more information a good attorney will need to know in order to properly respond to your specific legal question, and the only way for you to get the answer you need and want is to schedule a consultation with a Louisiana lawyer and give him or her all of the facts.  ... Read More

If you received a citation or a summons, it certainly wouldn't hurt to consult with a lawyer.  The problem may not be as simple as "paying half the fine." When you inherit land with or without building on it, you become an owner of that real estate and under Louisiana law you have the legal responsibility of maintaining that property in good condition. That means cutting the grass, preventing the property from becoming a nuisance, and paying the taxes. You also run the risk of being sued if someone is injured on the property as a result of the property's ruin or neglect. If there is an inherent defect in the property that causes damage to a person or thing (for example, a termite-infested tree that blows over in the wind and damages a neighbor's house), you may be strictly liable for the neighbor's harm even though you did not know of the danger. Paying the fine may be just the beginning of your problems.  You may be required to make extensive repairs to bring the property up to code, and you will have the ongoing obligation of keeping the property up to code. If you can't afford or don't want to undertake the responsibilities of ownership, you should consider selling the property or donating it to someone who will properly care for it. Hope the above helps.... Read More

There is no way to answer that question without actually looking at the document that you are being asked to sign. If there is an attorney involved, and it sounds like there is, you should ask your brother for the name and phone number of the attorney for your mother's succession and ask the succession attorney to explain the reasons for your brother's request.  ... Read More

Your grandmother can make a new Will.  A new Will automatically revokes any previous Will. Please note that a Will has no legal effect until a court admits it to probate (proving). Please also note that a "living Will" is actually an advance directive to physicians stating what you want to happen as you approach death. Maybe your grandmother signed something else which needs to be revoked.... Read More

Hello,  Assuming your father was not married at the time of his passing, which would complicate things as it would create a community property right to the surviving spouse with a naked ownership interest to his descendants, it is going to require that the succession be completed and likely entails communicating your intent to buy out your siblings' interest in the property. If you are not the independent administrator of your father's estate, then I would contact the sibling who is and see if they can complete the probate without liquidating your father's property.  To buy your siblings out of their interest, you'll first need the judgment of possession from the court, which will be signed at the close of your father's succession proceedings and will distribute the property in equal undivided portions to his descendants. As there is no will, it would be an intestate succession and under Louisiana Civil Code Article 888, the property would be divided equally between you and each of your siblings. Once you have the judgment of possession, you can then acquire the property you're interested in from your siblings by coming to an agreement on how much to buy out each of your siblings' interest in those properties. This can be done through a cash or credit sale agreement, which need only be filed into the conveyance records of the parish where the property is located, or involving the court again in what's called partition, which is a legal mechanism to distribute co-owned undivided property.    ... Read More

If you keep giving your siblings money, not even taking a promissory note and filing a lien in the deed records, sooner or later they will own 100% of the property by adverse possession. Contact an attorney who handles successions in the parish.  If you, too, do not have money for a succession (though you seem to have plenty of money to give your siblings), some attorneys will handle the succession in exchange for a lien on the estate and be paid when the house sells...which is what will have to happen if one of you does not buy the others out.... Read More

In most states (and each state can can be different), you can physically destroy an original Will by tearing it up and then it is considered revoked.  You could also cross through the document and write "revoked" on it, sign it and date it.    In both cases, you would be best off if you do this in front of two witnesses and have the witnesses sign something indicating they were there at the time you reovked the Will.  A notary should not be necessary.  Finally, you woud be best off if you also prepare a new Will that provides for all of your current wishes as opposed to revoking an old Will and relying on your state law for how your property would pass if you die without a valid Will.... Read More