What rights do I have?

[czb]

What is the name of your state? Louisiana. I am a child from a first marriage. I have a brother, from the first marriage. My father remarried, and had a child with my stepmom. They have been married for many years. I have a good relationship with my father. Let me start off by saying, they have had seperate banking and checking accounts for many years. He has inheritied land and a home from his parents(both deceased). The home he inherited, is not the home they live in, it is a seperate property. This land has been producing gas and has wells on it. I do believe he recieves checks from this land in his name only. Can my stepmom claim any of these benefits from his seperate inheritied land? Or can my brother and I claim anything from her seperate inheritance, from her parents(both still alive, not in good health)? I believe her parents have already put their estate in her name, long before they got sick. My father & stepmom have bought things sense their marriage, and I am not for sure on all they own. But are we entitled to anything they bought together? And anything they bought together is paid for. I know my father has money in the banks for us, can she get any of that money or can she take it away from us? What rights do children have from first marriage? She did not adopt us. We do have our father's last name. She wants me to get my father to make us both have POA, should I do this with her? Will this give her(and my halfsister) more power over his estate than the children from first marriage? I believe this to be a sizable amount of money, gas wells, & property. And I have no legal represantation. My father's health is not good and I am afraid for him to pass. My father has tried to discuss this legal stuff with me, but I end up crying and ask him not to discuss this with me. I dont want him to die. But my brother & stepmother are putting me in the middle of this war that is about to explode. And I want to be prepared. If my father wrote out a will in his own handwritting, and had 3 witnesses to sign it, will that hold up in court? He showed this to me a while back, but I am afraid my stepmom may have found it and through it away. I think my stepmom knows about law, she can get advice. I cant afford to get advice. I also live on 26 acres that my father bought for me when I married. He didnt put it in my name. Can she take this away from me if he passes away? What rights will I have about this land I live on. I know the taxes he pays on this land are in his name only. But the land was purchased while they were married. What should I do about all of this? I will take any advice on this I can get. I think, he thinks, she will be honest.....But I know she wont. HELP!What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?

 

[nextwife]

Your dad should consult with an estate planning attorney. All of us will die eventually but the only way our wishes can be met as to our estates is to go to the trouble of getting a properly drafted will. Of course his wife will have a spousal interest in certain joint assets, but an inheritance he recieved, maintained as seperate property, can be willed where he wishes, as can any non-comingled premarital assets.

If he fails to have a will then, intestate succession laws will determine asset distribution.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

What is the name of your state? Louisiana. I am a child from a first marriage. I have a brother, from the first marriage. My father remarried, and had a child with my stepmom. They have been married for many years. I have a good relationship with my father. Let me start off by saying, they have had seperate banking and checking accounts for many years. He has inheritied land and a home from his parents(both deceased). The home he inherited, is not the home they live in, it is a seperate property. This land has been producing gas and has wells on it. I do believe he recieves checks from this land in his name only. Can my stepmom claim any of these benefits from his seperate inheritied land?

Yes and no. The answer depends entirely on the status of properties and their use and only a court can make that determination.

Or can my brother and I claim anything from her seperate inheritance, from her parents(both still alive, not in good health)?

Again, that requires a full review by the court.

I believe her parents have already put their estate in her name, long before they got sick. My father & stepmom have bought things sense their marriage, and I am not for sure on all they own. But are we entitled to anything they bought together?

that's easy. NO! you are not ENTITLED to anything.

And anything they bought together is paid for. I know my father has money in the banks for us, can she get any of that money or can she take it away from us? What rights do children have from first marriage? She did not adopt us. We do have our father's last name. She wants me to get my father to make us both have POA, should I do this with her? Will this give her(and my halfsister) more power over his estate than the children from first marriage? I believe this to be a sizable amount of money, gas wells, & property. And I have no legal represantation. My father's health is not good and I am afraid for him to pass. My father has tried to discuss this legal stuff with me, but I end up crying and ask him not to discuss this with me. I dont want him to die. But my brother & stepmother are putting me in the middle of this war that is about to explode. And I want to be prepared. If my father wrote out a will in his own handwritting, and had 3 witnesses to sign it, will that hold up in court? He showed this to me a while back, but I am afraid my stepmom may have found it and through it away. I think my stepmom knows about law, she can get advice. I cant afford to get advice. I also live on 26 acres that my father bought for me when I married. He didnt put it in my name. Can she take this away from me if he passes away? What rights will I have about this land I live on. I know the taxes he pays on this land are in his name only. But the land was purchased while they were married. What should I do about all of this? I will take any advice on this I can get. I think, he thinks, she will be honest.....But I know she wont. HELP!What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?

Listen, you ask far too many specific questions for an internet forum. As suggested, you need a local attorney to review the entire situation and a heart to heart with dad.

 

[colourfastt]

What is the name of your state? Louisiana. I am a child from a first marriage. I have a brother, from the first marriage. My father remarried, and had a child with my stepmom. They have been married for many years. I have a good relationship with my father. Let me start off by saying, they have had seperate banking and checking accounts for many years. He has inheritied land and a home from his parents(both deceased). The home he inherited, is not the home they live in, it is a seperate property. This land has been producing gas and has wells on it. I do believe he recieves checks from this land in his name only. Can my stepmom claim any of these benefits from his seperate inheritied land? Or can my brother and I claim anything from her seperate inheritance, from her parents(both still alive, not in good health)? I believe her parents have already put their estate in her name, long before they got sick. My father & stepmom have bought things sense their marriage, and I am not for sure on all they own. But are we entitled to anything they bought together? And anything they bought together is paid for. I know my father has money in the banks for us, can she get any of that money or can she take it away from us? What rights do children have from first marriage? She did not adopt us. We do have our father's last name. She wants me to get my father to make us both have POA, should I do this with her? Will this give her(and my halfsister) more power over his estate than the children from first marriage? I believe this to be a sizable amount of money, gas wells, & property. And I have no legal represantation. My father's health is not good and I am afraid for him to pass. My father has tried to discuss this legal stuff with me, but I end up crying and ask him not to discuss this with me. I dont want him to die. But my brother & stepmother are putting me in the middle of this war that is about to explode. And I want to be prepared. If my father wrote out a will in his own handwritting, and had 3 witnesses to sign it, will that hold up in court? He showed this to me a while back, but I am afraid my stepmom may have found it and through it away. I think my stepmom knows about law, she can get advice. I cant afford to get advice. I also live on 26 acres that my father bought for me when I married. He didnt put it in my name. Can she take this away from me if he passes away? What rights will I have about this land I live on. I know the taxes he pays on this land are in his name only. But the land was purchased while they were married. What should I do about all of this? I will take any advice on this I can get. I think, he thinks, she will be honest.....But I know she wont. HELP!What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?

Louisiana NOT being a common law state, the rules don't work the same as all the other states.

Let's start with the basic premise running through your question: what can your step-mother claim? Since Louisiana law doesn't have "right of survivorship" there isn't that angle to deal with. So let's take this one step at a time.

1) Let me start off by saying, they have had seperate banking and checking accounts for many years.

This doesn't matter as Louisiana is a community property state and all matrimonial assets are community property, unless there was a marital contract signed before the marriage defining all assets as separate property. (Even then, separate assets can be converted to community property.)

2) He has inheritied land and a home from his parents(both deceased). The home he inherited, is not the home they live in, it is a seperate property. This land has been producing gas and has wells on it. I do believe he recieves checks from this land in his name only. Can my stepmom claim any of these benefits from his seperate inheritied land?

Inheirited property in Louisiana is considered separate property from the marital regime, except if the property is commingled with the community property. Examples: income from a paycheck (community property) is used to pay for property taxes, repairs, etc to the inheirited (separate) property. This is considered commingling of funds and will cause the separate property to become community, hence the property of both spouses. Also, any income from the separate property is community property, so again both spouses have a claim on it.

3) I also live on 26 acres that my father bought for me when I married. He didnt put it in my name. Can she take this away from me if he passes away? What rights will I have about this land I live on. I know the taxes he pays on this land are in his name only. But the land was purchased while they were married. What should I do about all of this?

You stated that the land was purchased during marriage, so this depends on whether or not the land in question was bought with separate funds. If so, then the land passes subject to the will, again provided that commingling of funds hasn't caused it to become community property (if no will, then according to the statutes regarding intestate estates). If not with separate funds, then your step-mother has an interest in the land, i.e., 50% community share plus a usufruct.

4) My father remarried, and had a child with my stepmom.

You need to state how old this child is since Louisiana is the only state with forced heirship. This may or may not need to be addressed based on whether or not this child is a forced heir. This would be the child is either under the age of 24 or is disabled.


Any other questions, just ask.