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Permalink Reply by 1kw6x71km1v37 on January 9, 2014 at 6:31

I don't believe the JOP document will be legally valid as a title search will reveal no estate interests have been through succession/probate.

A talk with your Clerk of Court should tell how the problem is best corrected.

This sounds similar to a method once endemic to East Texas used to gain false title to timber, which is then cut and removed (read stolen) based on recorded but bogus deeds. They used to call these types "limitators", a takeoff on the word litigators.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas C. McKowen, IV on January 9, 2014 at 6:40

This situation may be time sensitive.  Louisiana has a limited period of 2 years in which to attack a Judgment of Possession.  It applies if the property has been transferred to a third person (someone other than an heir or legatee).

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Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Port city landman on January 9, 2014 at 6:59

How does one file a jop without a succession? The judgment is what is filed after it's gone through the courts and requires a judges signature to be valid. You need an estate attorney not an oil and gas attorney.

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landownerPermalink Reply by Steve P on January 9, 2014 at 8:35

I would suggest you start with a request to the Clerk of Court for the appropriate parish for a copy of the Succession file. The Judgment of Possession would have a case number on it.  Port City Landman is correct, there can't be a Judgment of Possession without a Succession.  In the Succession, there would be sworn affadavits signed by individuals, and if they knowingly signed a false affadavit, it would be possible to try and have them prosecuted for false swearing.

there have been a number of threads related to this property and by Mr. Boone, and there seems to be quite a bit of dispute over who is and who isn't a "lawful heir."  In complicated family matters (multiple marriages, out-of-wedlock children, questions regarding the legality of a Last Will and Testament, or, worse, multiple Last Wills and Testaments), I would start with an attorney who handles estates, or at lease someone who handles real estate.  It is true that many lawyers who have those types of practice don't do trial work, but your fundamental issue is estate and real estate law.  A trail attorney would not likely be the one to sort out the issues and identify the path forward.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas C. McKowen, IV on January 9, 2014 at 8:48

A succession must be done at the domicile of the decedent.  Certified copies of the JOP would then be filed in all parishes in which the decedent owned immovable property.  As Steve P says, you need to look in the right parish for the succession file.

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landownerPermalink Reply by Ken Boone on January 9, 2014 at 8:58

Actually, this is a completely different property from the other one. I just found out about this 2 weeks ago.

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Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Port city landman on January 9, 2014 at 9:12

You need an estate attorney. All attorneys occasionally go before a judge, there is not a "trial attorney" speciality although some types of attorneys find themselves in courtrooms more often. A real estate attorney handles real estate closings and most would have no idea about successions unless they also practice that type of law in addition to being a real estate attorney. Think of attorneys as doctors, you wouldn't go to the dermatologist for a heart problem anymore than you would hire a real estate attorney for a succession issue.

The proper jurisdiction for an succession is the parish of residence in which the person lived at time of death. Google the parish and estate attorney and call a few that come up and talk with them. Getting a copy of the file is all fine as long as you're familiar with successions and have some idea of what they should contain. Otherwise you could just ask for copy of the affidavits of death and heirships and then you will see who swore out the particulars of the deceased a life. They should contain date of birth, death and residence of both along with all marriages and children. If you think someone lies to the court it would have been the people who swore out the affidavits. I'm not positive about prescription in this matter but in a lot of civil law cases the prescription clock doesn't start ticking until you are aware of the issue. So if there is a two year prescription it may not have started until you became aware that someone swore a false oath. Again, not positive about that as I am not an estate attorney.

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