Succession of Schaub

BARRY, Judge.

In this succession proceeding a testamentary usufruct in favor of a surviving spouse infringes on the legitime. The trial judge properly ruled that under Civil Code Art. 1499 a forced heir must choose to suffer the impingement or abandon the disposable portion.

The decedent’s son, Stephen Chauvin, filed a petition for his legitime, alleging the impingement by a testamentary usufruct in favor of his stepfather over his mother’s separate property home. He elected under art. 1499 to receive his forced portion in full ownership, abandoning his share of the disposable portion. Chauvin…