Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Louisiana

Selling the land

My other passed and left a trailer on our family lot in Alexandria LA. She did not have a will that stipulated a dispositon of the land. As her children we decided to sell the land. There is no money owed on the land and none of us dispute the sell. What steps should I take to make the sell?


Asked on 12/28/03, 10:38 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Nick Pizzolatto, Jr. Pizzolatto Law Office

Re: Selling the land

You need to open your other's succession so the buyer will have a proper title.

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Answered on 12/28/03, 4:36 pm
James Morton Taggart Morton

Re: Selling the land

I assume that "other" perhaps should be "mother." Mr. Pizzolatto is correct that you will need to open your mother's succession in order to convey a proper title to a buyer of this property. You will probably need a lawyer to assist you with that matter. If this was property owned by your father and mother, and he has already passed, then you may have to open both his succession and your mother's succession. What opening a succession entails is filing a petition for possession, which states the facts (date of death, where she lived, names of heirs, she had no will, etc.), an affidavit of death and heirship (showing names of children, whether her spouse is still alive, other details), a detailed descriptive list (shows property she owned), a Louisiana inheritance tax return, and a judgment of possession, which is the document that will be filed of public record and which is needed to transfer title to the children. Normally, when there is no contest, this can all be accomplished in one step. There is some legal work involved, which may be a problem depending upon the value of the real estate. You might be able to get the purchaser to pay for some of these costs, but this will likely reduce the purchase price.

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Answered on 12/31/03, 11:55 am


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