Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Louisiana
No will
My children's grandmother recently died. She and her sister, who is also deceased left 160 acres of inheirted Louisiana farmland. The remaining immediate heirs are my brother-in-law, my adult children (their father is deceased), and the adult children of the sister. My brother-in-law, their uncle, is providing rather sketchy and conflicting information regarding the estate and has not indicated whether there is a will. He (the uncle) is wanting them, my children, to sign documents that in affect would sign the land over to him. What would be the reasoning for this and what would be there legal rights if they didn't sign. Would all signatures of my children be required for it to be legal in the state of Louisiana? If there is a will should they legally be provided a copy? Should they legally be provided with other documents pertaining to an inheirtance and/or her death? Would it be prudent to have an attorney review the documents he is wanting them to sign?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: No will
First, it is always prudent to have an attorney examine a document with unknown meaning.
There either is a will or not. Either way, both ladies successions should be opened and the heirs, whoever they are, should be placed in possession of the property.
Use your personal business sense. If someone, in this case your brother-in-law, tries to keep details secret but wants your complete cooperation, there is a good reason to believe that they are trying to take advantage of you.
Re: No will
This is a complicated legal situation. I can't give you much in the way of advice without a lot more information, but you should certainly have this situation reviewed by an attorney before any legal documents are signed by your children. The documents may well transfer any rights your children have in the property to the uncle, and once that is done, all of those rights are lost.
If your children are minors, they would not have the legal capacity to sign the documents.
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