Question about Usufruct.

[Joshluke]

Jurisdiction

Louisiana

Hi. My dad died a few years ago and left me (his step son) and my step brother (his biological son) his 2 acres of land. In the will he gave my mom Usufruct over the property. She is allowing me to live on the property but my step brother thinks that since I'm living here I have to give him half of the value. So I guess my question is since my mom has Usufruct and I'm living there, can he legally make me pay? I'm under the impression that I wont have to pay him until she dies or remarries. She told me that even if I wanted to pay him it wouldn't really be legal until the rights go to us anyway. Thank you

 

[army judge]

Hi. So I guess my question is since my mom has Usufruct and I'm living there, can he legally make me pay?

For those who are not in the know, "usufruct" is the way LA's Napoleonic Legal Structure (along with a few other jurisdictions) terms what most of us know as a "life estate".

NO.

In fact, your stepbrother has no legal standing regarding the property your father bequeathed to your mother.

I'm under the impression that I wont have to pay him until she dies or remarries. She told me that even if I wanted to pay him it wouldn't really be legal until the rights go to us anyway. Thank you

You might never be legally required to pay a dime to the greedy, jealous NON-sibling even if some day a legal document grants both of you legal ownership of the property upon you now reside, because all you need to do is demand the property be sold and the proceeds divided equally between the two of you.

If he refuses, all you then need to do is petition a court to PARTITION (as in sell) the property and disburse the proceeds EQUALLY to you two (minus the court's VIG, of course)!