A Morrison Family Peculiarity . . .

The Walter Christian Morrison family owns Angeles Plantation (aka Morrison Farm, Inc.).  Today, as stated we own the plantation as shares of a corporation.  Future ownership will be determined by acquiring shares from one's parents or buying them from a family member. 

Before the final deaths of the four siblings of Walter C. Morrison, our grandfather, they crafted a Usufructs and Habitation Agreement.  A family document.  It was created by my father, John Landry Morrison, SR.  Due to the premature death of my brother John Landry Morrison, JR, the lawyers stepped in to the realm.  It was an outside stimulus, but the attorney noted the risks and took action to remove those risks.

Louisiana is governed by Code Napoleon law, its state constitution is different than the other 49 states of the union.  Simply said, Code Napoleon is "codified law."  That means, it has have in the constitution code that describes the law.  The agreement made by the family was not really legal at the time it was written.  By the way, the state constitutions of the states are contained in two volumes, one for the other 49 states and one for Louisiana.  Everything under Code Napoleon has to be written down in specific code to cover the situation.

Wesley Steen, a lawyer retained by my father, re-wrote the agreement and had a peer review conducted by other Louisiana Constitutional lawyers.  They made a few changes and that cleaned up the agreement.  Then Wesley Steen put forth new code to the Constitution of the State Louisiana that described a Usufructs Agreement and it was adopted by the Louisiana State Legislature.  Thus the use of a Usufructs agreement became Louisiana Law as it was not codified in the Constitution.  English Common Law used by the other states of the union, in general does not apply to Louisiana though that is slowly evolving towards English Common law.

The agreement was between the siblings of Walter Christian Morrison and their heirs.  The fours siblings, John (my father), Walter, Edna and Farnham all signed the document with each signature of the siblings being notarized and witnessed.  The sons and daughters of the original four siblings also signed the agreement.  The agreement which also had some specific language on habitation of the family home on the plantation.  The document was duly record by the Clerk of Court, Point Coupee Parish.

The agreement expires at noon, 27 May, 2020 well after the deaths of the original four siblings.  It is still enforce and honored by the family.  Until recently many of the next generation have not read the document and there are now third tier usufructees (or as the legals refer to it as subusufructees)  For example, the children of my deceased brother are participants but are not signatories of the agreement.  You might say they have inherited it.

Thus we, the Walter Christian Family, so to speak own a little piece of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana.  Others can make similar agreements now and they will stand up in a court of law.