Yes, you will need some form of Succession - but that method (and whether you have to judicially open or do an Affidavit) depends upon whether there was a Will or not and the value of the estate. Also, how your mother's share in the house gets transferred also needs to be considered - a Will... View More

If you cannot occupy the leased premises, you likely should not have to pay rent. However, your lease may have a specific "fire and casualty clause" spelling out the exact remedies. For example, if the premises are untenable, abatement of rent should certainly occur, and if repairs not... View More

An oral lease can be binding. Generally, if there is no agreed upon term, or the lease expires and the tenant continues to rent, then the lease becomes month to month. So, if you all agreed to a specific term, that could be binding. Still, if you found someone to assume the lease and you know... View More

The copy of a written notice of an issue is always useful. If the problem went uncured after notice to landlord, you very well may have had "cause" to break the lease. Specifically, in a lease, a tenant can agree to waive the default obligations/warranties of the landlord to provide a... View More

Sorry to hear of these circumstances. If your mother had a "go-to" or family attorney, you can call that attorney and advise of your mother's passing and request copy of the Will. Otherwise, you can also try to look with all of her other personal papers. If you cannot find the... View More

Yes. If Grandma and Grandpa owned the land together, and Grandpa had no Will, then his 1/2 share of the property is transferred by default, LA law - to all of his descendants. But, Grandma can still write a will and leave her entire 1/2 share to your mother, if no forced heirs (under 24 years of... View More

Call the clerk of court for the parish where the succession was filed; you can get a copy.

Depends on several variables including what type of property comprises the estate and its overall value. Most often, if real estate is involved, a succession is necessary to correctly transfer ownership from the Decedent. However, whether judicially opening succession is necessary depends upon... View More

If all heirs are not in agreement to take the succession property, and then co-own, or agree to some other arrangement amongst themselves, then administration of the estate will be required and the real estate will need to be sold and then the proceeds divided.

Any heir - and even creditors - can open a succession. The progression depends upon whether a Will exists, the nature of the property (separate v. community), and the value of the estate and its solvency. It is always best to have all heirs on board, but to the extent that your dad simply owned a... View More

This is largely a bank decision. If you all are co owners, you may be able to close the account without the deceased appearing. However, most typically, when the bank has knowledge that an account holder passed, it will not want to disburse all funds for which the Decedent also had a right... View More

Correct and agree with practitioner below. In Louisiana, we refer to inheritances by "heads" - meaning, directly, or "by roots" (same as per stirpes) - meaning the heirs share equally in the intended share/percentage of the pre-deceased child. Given the language above, the... View More

Yes, you can. Any heir, and even creditors, can open a succession. And, a "verbal agreement" to pass property upon death is not valid. So, without a Will, property succeeds according to default, Louisiana law and depending upon whether the property was separate or community. Here,... View More

No, any interested heir can open a succession and even creditors can open a Succession. If there was no Will, then your dad's separate property would go straight to you and the sister. If there was community, you inherit your father's half and become co-owners with the step-mom. You... View More

Under a default, legal usufruct granted by law when someone passes without a Will, No. However, by Testament, the Testator can grant the usufructuary the right to sell and the usufruct then attaches to the proceeds. So, whether the usufructuary can sell or not depends upon the type of usufruct... View More

If your brother was not married when he passed, the nature of his property is separate and would be inherited by his children. Problems arise, when children are minors. Because the child has a natural tutor, the mother, she is ultimately going to be responsible for handling the child's... View More

The usufructuary has obligations to prudently administer the property, maintain, it, and perform repairs. The usufructuary can be called (by suit) to answer for losses resulting from his fraud, default, or neglect. La. C.C. Art. 576. So, if the usufructuary has defaulted on these obligations,... View More

Yes, any asset the deceased had an interest in should be considered part of the estate. But, problems with a joint account arise in trying to separate out the interest of each person in the account - including calculating what was the Decedent's interest. Still, with a joint account, each... View More

How the property should be transferred, since your dad passed without a Will be dictated by whether the property is classified as separate or community. If the land was his separate property, his children inherit in full ownership. If it was community, your mom will own a half interest in her own... View More

You may need to get with counsel to confirm the correct method for the transfers and any extra steps depending upon the circumstances. If an Act transferring title was executed and recorded for each property showing the Trustee no longer owns, then that may be all that is required. However, a... View More