Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Louisiana

Re: dying without a will

If a person dies without a will, that person's estate passes according to the Louisiana laws of intestacy. The state does not come into it unless the deceased spouse has no heirs: a very uncommon situation.

Assuming that all of the property involved is community property, the surviving spouse is recognized as the owner of one-half of the community assets. The other half goes to the deceased spouse's heirs, usually the children of the marriage.

The surving spouse cannot sell community property without the participation of the intestate heirs of the deceased spouse.

Re: dying without a will

In the most common situation where a surviving spouse deals with property acquired during a marriage to a deceased spouse, there are several possibilities (where no will exists). Without answers to these questions, I will try to summarize briefly all the possibilities.

First, under Louisiana Civil Code Article 889, if there are no children of the marriage, or no surviving descendants (whether children, grandchildren, ect) the surviving spouse will inherit the deceased spouse's interest in the property. In this instance, the surviving spouse may gain complete title to the property by obtaining a judgment of possession without placing the succession into administration. The process is pretty simple and quick and gives the surviving spouse complete rights to dispose of the property as deemed fit.

Second, if the couple have surviving descendants, then the descendants (children, grandchildren, etc) inherit the one-half community interest of their ancestor and the surviving spouse retains the original one-half interest that he/she already owned. The descendants' inheritance is subject to the "usufruct" of the surviving spouse, a term which essentially means that the surviving spouse retains the right of use, until death or remarriage. In the context you describe, the surviving spouse could stay in the house for the rest of his/her life or until remarriage. The same is true of the right to use the car, money, and any other community property items.

If, however, the surviving spouse decides to sell the property where descendants are the co-owners of the property, the signatures of the descendants are required and the proceeds of the sale must be distributed to them as well as to the surviving spouse.

As for your original question, the State would never have any right to a succession in which a surviving spouse was involved.

This answer to your query deals only with community property, as your question suggested. Different rules apply with respect to separate property.