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Inherited Property & Co-Owner Disputes in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish | Partition and Succession Attorneys
When several heirs inherit a family home in New Orleans or Jefferson Parish, they own it together, and disagreements can freeze the property for years. Ciolino & Onstott’s succession and real estate attorneys help heirs and co-owners resolve inherited property disputes, partition suits and unopened successions in Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish, including Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, River Ridge, Gretna, Uptown, Gentilly, Mid-City and New Orleans East. Many New Orleans families have never formally opened a succession, and that leaves the title unclear and the property hard to sell, insure or repair.
Inherited property should be a family asset, not a source of conflict or a title problem. Ciolino & Onstott helps New Orleans and Jefferson Parish heirs clear title, settle co-owner disputes and move forward.
Are you sharing an inherited home in New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner or Gretna, or stuck on an unopened succession? Call Ciolino & Onstott at (504) 294-5827 to speak with a succession and real estate attorney. Ciolino & Onstott offers free 15-minute consultations to make sure we are the right fit for your legal needs, and to discuss any potential fees and costs that may go along with your project.
FAQs
Unless the property is divided or sold, the heirs become co-owners, which Louisiana calls holding the property “in indivision.” Each heir owns an undivided share, and no one owns a particular room or part of the lot.
A partition ends co-ownership. Property can be divided in kind, sold by licitation (a court-supervised public sale), or sold by private sale. Co-owners can also agree to a buyout without a lawsuit.
This is one of the most common co-owner disputes. An attorney can review whether the others have claims for reimbursement of taxes, insurance or repairs, or for distribution of rents collected from a third party for use of the property. Co-owners generally cannot demand rent from each other; however, “exclusive use” of the property can serve as an offset against other reimbursement claims.
Successions and partition suits are generally heard in the parish where the property is located or the decedent lived. In Orleans Parish that is Civil District Court, and in Jefferson Parish it’s the 24th Judicial District Court.
Generally, yes. In Louisiana, a co-owner can demand a partition of property held in indivision, so one heir can usually ask the court to divide or sell it even if the others disagree.
Without a judgment of possession from the court, the heirs usually can’t show clear title, which makes it hard to sell, refinance, insure, collect on a claim or transfer the property. Families in Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish often need to open a succession years after a death.
Options include a negotiated buyout, a private sale agreement among the heirs, mediation, or opening the succession first. A New Orleans succession attorney can usually tell you early which path makes sense.
Often it makes sense, because the succession decides who the heirs are and the partition decides what happens to the property. Ciolino & Onstott can offer support for both the succession and partition stages of your legal project.