If you’ve been following this Coffee Shop Series, we’ve talked about what a usufruct is, who generally has the right to use property, who owns the naked ownership, who may be responsible for certain expenses, and why Louisiana seems determined to invent legal words that sound like they should come with a pronunciation guide. Now let’s answer the question that naturally follows. Why do so many Louisiana parents intentionally use usufructs in their estate plans? The answer is b

Coffee Shop Series Last time we sat down over coffee, we answered the question I hear more than any other. "Who owns the house?" As you may remember, the answer wasn't nearly as simple as most people expect. In Louisiana, a surviving spouse may have a usufruct over property while the children own what the law calls the naked ownership. That means one person has the right to use and enjoy the property while someone else owns it. Once people finally understand that concept, the

One of my favorite parts of practicing law is realizing that lawyers have an incredible talent for taking something that actually makes perfect sense and wrapping it in words that sound like they were invented during a fever dream. "Usufruct" is Exhibit A. Seriously. If I walked into a coffee shop and asked ten people what a usufruct was, I would probably get answers ranging from "Isn't that a medication they advertise during the evening news?" to "Sounds like a dinosaur." I

The practical reasons a Power of Attorney matters. Over the last several weeks, I have handled two interdiction cases involving families in terrible situations. I cannot tell their stories in a way that would identify them, and I would never try. What I can say is that both families loved someone whose condition had progressed far beyond ordinary forgetfulness, questionable judgment or the occasional decision to order seventeen decorative pillows from Facebook at two o’clock

There is a certain area of land near Haile Baptist Church that I have recently begun calling the Black Hole of Haile. That is not an official legal term. You will not find it in the Louisiana Civil Code, on the tax assessor’s website, or printed beneath anyone’s impressive courthouse portrait. It is simply the most accurate description I have found for a piece of North Louisiana where families have lived, houses have stood, children have been raised, and land has been treated

Don't Forget To Plan for Your Online Accounts, Too. Most people know they should think about the house, land, vehicles, bank accounts, and personal belongings when they make a will. Those are the things we usually think of first because they feel like traditional property. They are visible. They are familiar. They are the kinds of things families have been dealing with in successions for generations. But today, a lot of important information is not sitting in a filing cabinet

Co-owned undivided land in Louisiana can create confusion when family property, inherited land, missing heirs, or unfinished successions are involved. This article explains why owning “part of it” does not always mean you can sell, lease, divide, or clear title without a closer legal review.

Let’s say we are sitting in a coffee shop and someone slides into the chair across from me with that exhausted look people get when a simple problem has somehow turned into three problems, a stack of paperwork, and a bill nobody can explain. They say, “I brought my car to a repair shop. I paid them. They kept telling me it would be ready soon. Then I found out they sent it somewhere else, and now another shop says I owe storage fees.” That is the moment when I would probably

Can Grandparents Still See the Kids? Louisiana Grandparent Visitation Rights Let’s say we are sitting in a coffee shop and someone leans across the table and asks, “Can grandparents actually get visitation with their grandchildren in Louisiana?” The honest answer is: sometimes. Not always. Not automatically. But yes, Louisiana law does recognize that there are situations where a grandparent may ask the court for visitation with a grandchild. That does not mean the grandparent

Coffee Shop Series | Hampton Law Firm Let’s talk about this like we are sitting at the coffee shop. You slide the folder across the table and say, “Judith, I do not even know where to start.” Your mother has fallen again. Your father cannot manage his medicine. Your spouse is declining fast. Your aunt has dementia and the bills are stacking up. A close family friend who always handled everything alone can no longer safely live alone. Then the hard questions start coming all a

Coffee Shop Series | Hampton Law Firm Let’s talk about HOAs like we are sitting at the coffee shop. You slide the papers across the table and say, “Judith, can they really do this?” Maybe your HOA is trying to change the neighborhood rules. Maybe the board passed something and nobody remembers voting on it. Maybe you received a letter about a fence, a shed, a camper, a pool, a mailbox, dues, fines, or a special assessment. Maybe there was a meeting, but only a handful of peop

Coffee Shop Series | Hampton Law Firm Let’s talk about this like we are sitting at the coffee shop. You sold somebody a piece of property. Maybe it was land. Maybe it was a house. Maybe it was family property. Maybe you were trying to help someone who could not get traditional financing. So instead of requiring the full purchase price at closing, you agreed to let the buyer pay over time. And now they have quit paying. Or maybe you are on the other side of the table. Maybe yo

Coffee Shop Series | Hampton Law Firm Let’s talk about this like we are sitting across from each other at a coffee shop. You have your coffee. I have mine. And you finally say out loud what you have probably been carrying around for a while: “I do not know if we are at the point where I need to do something legal.” Maybe it is your mama. Maybe it is your daddy. Maybe it is your spouse. Maybe it is someone else you love who used to be sharp, independent, stubborn, capable, and

Because love may build the home, but planning protects the life inside it. If we were sitting across from each other in a coffee shop, and you told me you were building a life with someone, I would not start by being cynical. I would not talk to you from a pedestal. I would not pretend to be the lawyer who has always made every decision perfectly, seen every warning sign clearly, or protected herself from every heartbreak in advance. I would probably wrap both hands around my

When Your Husband or Wife “Went Out for Milk” and Never Came Back: Louisiana Law, Coffee, and Not Panicking Every coffee shop has heard some version of the old line: “My husband went out for milk five years ago and never came back,” or “My wife said she was running to the store and disappeared.” It sounds like a joke until it is your kitchen, your bills, your children, your mortgage, and your name still legally tied to someone who may be across town, across the country, or tr

Sometimes legal problems do not start with a contract, a courtroom, or a big dramatic moment. Sometimes they start with someone saying, “They’re just going to stay here for a little while.” A friend needs help. A boyfriend or girlfriend needs a place to land. An adult child comes back home. A family member is going through a rough patch. Somebody promises it will only be for a few days, maybe a few weeks, just until they get back on their feet. And because you have a heart, y

These are conversational reflections on the practice of law—the kind of things we might talk about if we were sitting across from each other with a cup of coffee. No legal jargon, no courtroom posturing. Just the human side of what we do every day. The Coffee Shop Series A lot of what I do—whether it is finalizing an uncontested divorce, walking a grieving family through a succession, or defending a client in court—involves guiding people through unavoidable discomfort. There

These are conversational reflections on the practice of law—the kind of things we might talk about if we were sitting across from each other with a cup of coffee. No legal jargon, no courtroom posturing. Just the human side of what we do every day. The Coffee Shop Series If you are afraid of the legal system, I want to tell you something that might surprise you coming from an attorney: you are right to be. The legal system is terrifying. It is complex, intimidating, and entir

These are conversational reflections on the practice of law—the kind of things we might talk about if we were sitting across from each other with a cup of coffee. No legal jargon, no courtroom posturing. Just the human side of what we do every day. The Coffee Shop Series There is a profound vulnerability that comes with being a client. You have to walk into an office, sit across from a stranger, and hand over the most intimate details of your life. You have to lay out your fi

The Coffee Shop Series These are conversational reflections on the practice of law—the kind of things we might talk about if we were sitting across from each other with a cup of coffee. No legal jargon, no courtroom posturing. Just the human side of what we do every day. If you strip away the statutes, the case law, and the procedural rules, the law is ultimately a mechanism for navigation. It is a map for when you are lost, and a flashlight for when you are in the dark. Whet