I was working on a succession recently and I want to make you aware of what is called a usufructuary bond. Mom had written her own hand-written will, which isn't very common. She gave her husband the usufruct of her estate which is common and she named her children from a prior marriage as the naked owners. She passed away and she gave her husband the usufruct. However, because her husband was not the parents of her two children, those children forced their step-father to post a bond. They have the right to do this since he is not their parent. About every three years, he has to pay an insurance company $13,000 to purchase this bond. This bond is security for the children in case he squandered away with all the assets over which he had usufruct.
The point here is she wrote a hand-written will and she didn't know that she could waive this bond for her husband so her husband wouldn't have to write a $13,000 check every three years to the insurance company. So be aware of a usufructuary bond which often applies when you leave usufruct to a spouse and that spouse is not the parent of the naked owners. You can get around all of this with a will worded just right.
Paul A. Rabalais
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