Recently, I received a call from an attorney in Mississippi who needed some assistance with probating a will for a deceased Mississippi resident who held property in Louisiana. Probate is the term used to describe the court procedure that distributes a person’s estate to the heirs after his or her death. In Louisiana we use the term succession to describe this same court supervised process, but ultimately the result is the same, distribution of the person’s property according to his or her will.
Typically, only one probate or succession procedure needs to take place because most people only own property in one state. However, when a person owns immovable property (real estate) in more than one state, then a court supervised procedure must take place in each state where that person owned property.
In this particular circumstance the deceased owned property in two states, Mississippi and Louisiana. The primary probate procedure will take place in Mississippi. This means that for the majority of the person’s property, including his Mississippi real estate, vehicles, and banking and investment accounts, a Mississippi probate will be all that is needed. However, in order for the named heirs to gain possession of the property in Louisiana, another court procedure needs to take place in Louisiana. This court procedure is called an ancillary succession. This is a simple procedure that takes place after the probate is completed in Mississippi and only involves a few court filings outlining the will and describing the single piece of property in Louisiana. Without this ancillary succession, the heirs will be unable to sell, lease, or make improvements to the property in Louisiana.
This sort of two state probate can be avoided using a Revocable Living Trust. If you own property in multiple states including Louisiana, you may want to start thinking about your options to avoid dual successions. If you live in Louisiana and would like to discuss your options, give me a call at (504) 247-1980.