Successions

Question 1

What is succession?

Answer 1

Transmission of the estate of a deceased person to his successors

Question 2

What is estate?

Answer 2

Property, rights, and obligations of the deceased as well as charges and debts accrued after death?

Question 3

What is a universal successor?

Answer 3

Represents the deceased to all rights and charges.

Heirs, universal legatee, and general legatee

Question 4

What is a particular successor?

Answer 4

Succeeds only to certain rights relating to a thing sold, ceded, or bequeathed to him.

Particular successors include buyers or donees of a particular thing, recipients of a particular legacy in a will, or transferees of particular things.

Question 5

How are successions classified?

Answer 5

Intestate when there is no will, will invalid in whole or part, or the will does not dispose all of decedents property.

Testate when there is a will.

Question 6

What about conflict of law?

Answer 6

For movables, it is governed by the laws of the state in which the decedent was domiciled.

For immovables in LA, then LA law.

Immovable outside LAW is governed by the laws of the state where the immovable is situated.

Question 7

How does a successor in inherit?

Answer 7

In their own right, representation, or transmission.

Question 8

What about capacity to inherit?

Answer 8

Must exist at the time of decedent’s death.

Includes children conceived and later born alive.

Special exception for a child conceived after death:

(i) the child is born to the surviving spouse; (ii) the decedent-parent specifically authorized in writing the surviving
spouse to use his/her gametes; and (iii) the child is born within three years of the death of the decedent-parent.

Conflict of laws for capacity is the law of the state the decedent was domiciled.

Question 9

Who are the classes of heirs?

Answer 9

Descendants take to the exclusion of other heirs;

Ascendants;

Surviving spouse (not judicially separated); and

Collateral

Most favored class takes to the exclusion of others.

Question 10

How to count degrees?

Answer 10

Degree is a generation.

Question 11

How to count collateral lines?

Answer 11

Count up to the nearest common ancestor, then count to the decedent.

Question 12

What if the decedent had only parents and siblings alive?

Answer 12

Parents’ Usufruct and Siblings’ Naked Ownership
Parents have a joint and successive usufruct, and the siblings have naked ownership. If one parent dies, the entire
usufruct accrues to the survivor, and the siblings or their descendants continue to have only a naked ownership
interest.

Question 13

What about if there are no parents but siblings?

Answer 13

Entire estate goes to the siblings to the exclusion of all others.

Half blood siblings county but step-siblings do not.

Question 14

What about if there are no siblings but parents?

Answer 14

Parents take the full estate.

Question 15

What is the donation of immovable property exception?

Answer 15

When ascendants donate an immovable to a descendant and the descendant-donee dies without descendants and has not disposed of the immovable, ascendants inherit to the exclusion of all others. However, if the immovable
donated has been alienated by the descendant-donee on a credit basis and the full price is not yet due, the donorascendant has a right to receive the proceeds.

The donor-ascendant also has a right of reversion if the doneedescendant placed any conditions on the alienation of the immovable

Question 16

What if there’s only a surviving spouse?

Answer 16

They inherit to the exclusion of other descendants and collaterals provided they are not judicially separated.

Question 17

What about inheritance of separate property?

Answer 17

1. Children or reps take to the exlusion of other heirs.
2. Parents have a joint and successive usufruct and siblings are the naked owners, Entire usufruct accrues to the surviving parent if one parent dies.
3. Entire estate goes to siblings if there is no parents surviving.
4. Half-blood siblongs get half from each line.
5. If no surviving parents, then the siblings get the entire estate.
6. if only the surviving spouse is left, then they inherit to the exclusion or others.

Question 18

What about more remote ascendants?

Answer 18

If there is one ascendant who is nearer in degree than the others, he takes everything.

If ascendants in the same degree survive but are from different lines, they divide the estate by roots with one-half
going to the maternal side and one-half going to the paternal side.

No representation.

Question 19

What about only collaterals survive?

Answer 19

They take by the nearest degree and only equal division by heads.

Question 20

What if there are no heirs?

Answer 20

Estate escheats to the state.

Question 21

What about inheritance of community property?

Answer 21

1. SS has full ownership of one half chare of CP as owner.
2. Decedent Spouse one-half CP interest goes to children subject to usufruct.
3. If there are no descendants, then goes to SS.
4. Article890grants a legal usufruct to the SS over the share of CP and naked ownership to the descendants.

Only applies to intestacy and can be disposed differently in a will.

Applies when decedents children who inherit are not the children of SS.

SS is not required to give security

Usufruct continues until the death SS or remarriage.

Usufruct by will can be granted to SS over separate property and can be granted for life.

Question 22

Who can adopted children inherit from?

Answer 22

Adopted children can inherit from their adopted parents and biological parents.

Adopted parents can inherit form their adopted children, but biological parents cannot.

Foster children cannot inherit from foster parents or their relatives.

Question 23

Where does representation take place?

Answer 23

Ad infinitum in the line of descendants.

Descendants inherit by roots.

In the collateral line, only the children of the decedent’s sibling can inherit.

One who has renounced his right to succeed may still represent.

For FH, reprsentation is limited to grandchildren whose parent has
predeceased the decedent and would not have attained age 24 at the time of the decedent’s death or grandchildren
whose parent has predeceased the decedent and who are permanently “disabled.”

Question 24

What about dying in a common distaster?

Answer 24

If there are no facts proving who died first, each person is presumed to survive the other

Question 25

When does a successor acquire ownership?

Answer 25

A successor acquires ownership, or is “seized,” of the
decedent’s property immediately upon the decedent’s death. [La. Civ. Code art. 935]

A universal successor acquires ownership “of the estate.”

A particular successor acquires ownership “of the things bequeathed” to him. [

Question 26

WHat are the effects of seizin?

Answer 26

The rights of the successor are transmitted to his own successors at his death, regardless of whether he accepted the
rights.

Heirs can institute all actions the decedent could institute, and can prosecute those already commenced.

Question 27

What about possession?

Answer 27

4. Possession
   Possession of the decedent is also transferred to the successors. Note the rule that a particular successor may
   commence a new possession for purposes of acquisitive prescription. [La. Civ. Code art. 936]
5. Exercise of Succession Rights
   The exercise of succession rights is limited if there is a succession representative. Prior to the appointment of a
   succession representative, a successor may exercise ownership rights in terms of his interests in a thing of the decedent’s
   estate as well as his interest in the estate as a whole. The alienation, encumbrance, or lease of estate things by a
   successor is subordinate to the power of a succession representative if exercised after the representative has been duly
   appointed. [La. Civ. Code art. 938