Editor’s Note: This is the second story in a three-part series. The first explained the condemnation and demolition process for the city of Lake Charles and the City Council. This article will explain the need for a will and succession. The final article will explain the adjudication, redemption and/or purchase or adjudicated property.

Unsafe and unsecured property that had not gone through a succession posed challenges for the city of Lake Charles in its efforts to clean up after the hurricanes. The process is lengthy from tagging uninhabitable property to demolishing the property, and begins with notifications going out to property owners, as recorded on tax rolls. Sometimes, city officials may find properties still in the names of owners long dead, their children living in another state without any forwarding address. That can make it tough to send out notifications.

This points to the need for property owners or heirs of property owners that want to keep land in the family to make sure property records are in order and taxes are paid.

“Friends and siblings of the deceased might even know the deceased had a daughter because she talked about her all the time,” said G. Coleman-Lee, Southwest Louisiana Law Center. “But the daughter can’t be found, and all the procedures of notice for condemnation have been carried out, public notice, certified letters to last known address, calling friends.”

To protect property, create  a will, she advises, and remember, assets aren’t automatically transferred at death. That requires probating the will. In Louisiana, probating a will is the legal process of obtaining a judgment. It  is referred to as a succession.

“The question is never going to be when someone is deceased, whether I have to have a succession or not,” Coleman-Lee said. “You will always need a succession for immovable property after someone is deceased. With a will, it is the deceased that determines to whom assets are transferred.”

Without a will, the state will determine where assets go, and that is generally to the next closest kin whether that is what the deceased intended or not, said Coleman-Lee.

A will allows the property owner to leave assets to whomever he or she pleases, with some exceptions.

“You can leave all, some or one of your children out of your will, as long as it is not a  child under 21 and/or a disabled child,” Coleman-Lee said. “You cannot disinherit this person and put him in the care of the state when there is an estate to take care of him.”

Even when taxes have been kept up on the property, the person paying those taxes is not entitled to ownership until the property goes through a succession and transfers the property to that individual. This could be the very child the deceased wished to inherit., but without a will and succession, it’s not a legal transfer.

A legal transfer not only keeps records straight and allows property owners to be notified if a property requires code enforcement or to be torn down. A legal transfer is necessary for putting a property up for sale or applying for grants or loans to improve the property.

Southwest Louisiana Law Center offers very affordable counseling sessions with attorneys that can answer questions about estate planning, guardianship, living trusts, Medicaid/Medicare, Durable Power of Attorney, Durable Medical Power of Attorney, Wills and Successions.

“We also package the power of attorney and the medical power of attorney along with your will and we provide these three important documents..”

A person who falls ill can’t provide permission, so attorneys take care of provisions up front, at one time so the family will have all the documents needed. Cost is based on the number of services provided and the value of the assets of the estate.