Louisiana’s “community property” rule says that most assets that are acquired during a marriage are shared equally by both spouses.
What happens to that community property, however, when one spouse dies intestate, or without a will? Most people automatically assume that the surviving spouse gets everything – but that’s not how things work in this state if the decedent left behind any surviving children or other living descendants. In those situations, only half of the community property – including things like the family home – goes to the surviving spouse, while the other half is split between the descendants.
That does not mean, however, that the surviving spouse will suddenly be forced from their home so that the property can be sold and the proceeds divided. This is where “usufruct” comes in.
Usufruct prioritizes one party’s interests over the other
In essence, usufruct divides the ownership between the bare ownership, held by the remainder beneficiaries (the deceased’s surviving children) and the usufruct held by the surviving spouse. In the case of the family home, that means that the deceased’s surviving spouse can remain in the home until they either die or remarry – although they may not sell the home or do anything that might devalue it without the consent of the remainder beneficiaries.
This can create some complicated family dynamics, especially when the surviving spouse is the stepparent of the deceased’s adult children. Everybody’s expectations may be thrown into disarray. Issues such as these are the reason that it is so important to understand all of your legal options and have a proper estate plan in place.