Usufruct

Ever since she was young, nothing soothed Theresa’s soul like the dulcet sounds of the accordion. That’s why she was delighted to turn her large home on the outskirts of New Orleans into a musical boarding school for budding accordionists. (We’re guessing her neighbors were less delighted.) Anyway, when Theresa was diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease, she decided it was time to find herself a usufructuary. A “usufruct” is a legal right to use and profit from someone else’s property for a limited time (but not destroy, damage, or sell it), and a usufructuary is the person with those legal rights.

Theresa wanted to find someone who would care for her home and the musical prodigies living there, and would continue to uphold the legacy of her beloved Accordion Palace until she succumbs to her rare and incurable disease. With a usufruct, she can be assured that her estate will be maintained until her death, and at that point, it will be dealt with accordion—er, according—to the terms of her will.

Usufructs aren’t available everywhere; Louisiana and Georgia are the only two states with usufruct laws on the books. Most states deal with usufruct-type issues with life estate and common laws. But lucky for Theresa—and her neighbors, we’re sure—she had the perfect location for the Accordion Palace right there in New Orleans, which allowed her to make her usufructuary dreams come true.