Comment by Kerry J. Miller
In October 1995, Louisianians voted to amend the state's constitutional provision regarding forced heirship. The constitution formerly had prohibited the Louisiana Legislature from abolishing forced heirship. The recently passed amendment now allows the legislature to define who can qualify as a forced heir. Act 77 of the First Extraordinary Session of 1996 defines forced heirs as children who are less than twenty-four years of age at the time of the decedent's death, or children of any age who are permanently disabled at the time of the decedent's death. As a complement to this new definition, the act also amends a number of other laws relating to forced heirship. In addition, Act 77 separates former Louisiana Civil Code Article 890, dealing with the usufruct of the surviving spouse, into three separate articles. It furthermore significantly limits the doctrine of collation in Louisiana. This Comment will detail these changes in forced heirship, and will also examine the Louisiana State Law Institute's proposed comprehensive revision of the successions and donations laws. The proposed revision streamlines and modernizes these laws, but it also contains controversial provisions and some concepts never before seen in Louisiana.
About the Author
Kerry J. Miller. Law Clerk to the Honorable James L. Dennis, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. B.A. 1992, Louisiana State University; J.D. 1996, Tulane University School of Law.
Citation
71 Tul. L. Rev. 223 (1996)