Q: Louisiana - Stepfather dies without will. Mom resides in home that was gifted to stepfather. Succession?
Mom's living in home she's shared with my stepfather since the 70's. He's deceased. Home was gifted to him by his uncle. It's still in stepfather's name. Whole house needs major, repairs. Falling apart, top to bottom. Hubby and I are helping as much as we can financially with repairs, and we're hoping to get a loan to help more. Mom applied for home repair assist. for low income elderly, but was denied 'cause home's not in her name. My stepfather has 2 children from a previous marriage, and 1 son with my mother. Mom wants a succession to have the home transferred to her, but not sure his children, especially my stepbrother, would agree. She wants to offer them a little money in exchange for it, but knows she can't afford to. The home's not worth more than $40,000. We're hoping to eventually be able to afford to get all the repairs done. Would you recommend a succession? If so, should she offer to buy them out? For how much or what %? Hubby and I wanna help as much as we can. Help!
A: Because the Decedent did not have a Will and it appears the value of the estate is under $125k, a small succession affidavit can be done with an attorney. However, the Decedent's children will stand to inherit, as it appears the land/home was the Decedent's separate property. Potential leverage is that the mom may have a reimbursement claim; may have been keeping up most repairs/expenses. If all agree to do the succession, an Act of Donation (or sale) to the mom could also be done, but of course, all parties have to reach agreement on proceeding that route and to forego a judicial succession with formal reimbursement claims.
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