Louisiana succession or probate? Administrator of estate? Granny passed with no will ~ Dilemma

Question

State of Louisiana - My 95 yr. old granny passed with no will. Her only kids were my dad and his brother who both died before her. Now it's just the adult grandchildren. We all want a succession except for one. He's flat out refusing. Are we able to move forward with a succession without him? If so, can one of us ask to be assigned administrator of the estate?  
 
If a succession's not possible, what are our options? Granny has a home and other assets we can't do anything with, because of no will. The relative that's refusing a succession says granny told him he could have her home and car. It was a verbal agreement he says. Nothing in writing. He's already started cleaning the house out to move in. But everyone else wants to sell it.  
 
So we're not sure what to do at this point. Someone also suggested that we file through probate court, and that we wouldn't need his permission to do this. Can one of us ask to be admin. of estate if we go this route? We need to do something quickly!

Siobhan Sullivan Leger · Answer

Fortunately, the answer is yes. You can move forward with opening the succession under what is known as a "regular administration." An attorney would assist you with that. Once the estate has been opened, the estate representative can ask the judge to authorize the sale of the home and/or any other estate property. The  estate representative can also ask to the judge for permission to reimburse himself/herself for the costs of the succession (i.e. legal fees, filing fees) from the proceeds of the sale of the home.  It sounds like you should consult with a probate/successions attorney to begin the process before your cousin/brother gets too comfortable.

Christie Tournet · Answer

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, assuming Granny had separate property and was not married when she passed (since no mention of a spouse above), her estate would be transferred to her descendants.  Because her children predeceased her, the grandchildren step in and represent each of her pre-deceased children (Granny's estate would be split 50% as to each of her children's children).   So, reach out to probate counsel to further discuss the specifics of your situation and hopefully, the one heir will come around, if he realizes succession is inevitable and the property will pass by Louisiana law, since there is no Will.  If the one heir does not come around, you can still open succession, but would then have to administer it and have someone appointed as the representative.

Q: Louisiana succession or probate? Administrator of estate? Granny passed with no will ~ Dilemma