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Estate Planning Lawyer In New Orleans LA — Wills Trusts & Succession Plans
Proactively developing an estate plan is the right decision for you and your family. You can save money, avoid conflict, and get piece of mind by planning for your future today. We offer a range of flat-rate and hourly fee packages to suit your family's particular needs.
Last Will and Testament
Powers of Attorney and Advanced Directives
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Frequently Asked Questions
Estate planning in Louisiana is the process of preparing legal documents that direct how your assets will be managed and distributed after your death or incapacity. It typically includes a will, testamentary trusts, and powers of attorney. These documents can also be used to make decisions that either alter or affirm the default Successions rules under Louisiana law. Residents of Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish should work with a local attorney familiar with Louisiana's unique legal system.
Louisiana recognizes two valid will types. An olographic will must be entirely handwritten, dated, and signed by the person making it. A notarial will must be signed in front of a notary and two witnesses, signed on every page, and comply with other requirements such as containing a valid attestation clause. Any deviation from the formal requirements can invalidate the entire will. This applies to residents of New Orleans, Metairie, Covington, and throughout Louisiana.
A will is a document that person creates during their life which directs how their property will be distributed when they pass. A trust is a legal entity which is managed by a “trustee” who handles the trust’s property on behalf of the trust’s “beneficiaries” according to rules set out in the trust document. A “living trust” can be created by a person during their life, and they can transfer their property to it as they wish. A “testamentary trust” is created through a will and comes into existence when the person passes, the will also often transfers some or all of the person’s property to that trust. This type of will is called a “pour-over will. Living trusts are often used in other states to avoid the probate process and enhance privacy. In Louisiana, our succession process is easy and inexpensive, and filings can be sealed to improve privacy, so they are not often used. However, Louisiana residents do often establish testamentary trusts so that young children and other vulnerable heirs do not inherit their property directly, but through a trustee who can ensure that it is used and managed responsibly.
A Louisiana power of attorney, or “mandate,” is a legal document that authorizes someone to make medical, financial, or legal decisions on your behalf. Powers of attorney are typically used to allow a trusted family member or friend to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated. Without powers of attorney, your family may need to go through a court guardianship proceeding to get proper authority to manage your affairs. This can be especially difficult in high-traffic parishes like Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish, where such cases take much longer to process. A competent Louisiana estate planning attorney can help you make crucial decisions about appointing agents to represent you through a Power of Attorney.
You are not legally required to hire an attorney to draft a valid estate plan in Louisiana; however, Louisiana follows a unique legal system based on Civil Law rather than common law that is followed in all other states. This distinction makes estate planning significantly different in Louisiana than from other states. An experienced New Orleans estate planning lawyer ensures your documents are valid and enforceable in Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish, and throughout Louisiana.
A usufruct is a Louisiana legal concept that gives a person the right to use and benefit from property without owning it outright. The most common usufruct is the spousal usufruct, where a person’s children inherit their property, but their surviving spouse is given a usufruct over the property allowing them to continue using and benefiting from it until they pass. A Louisiana estate planning attorney can help you decide whether to incorporate or eliminate usufructs in your estate plan to ensure that your spouse and other heirs benefit from your assets across Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish, and the other Greater New Orleans Parishes as intended.
Forced heirship limits how freely you can distribute your estate if you have children under 24 or permanently disabled children of any age. How this affects your estate plan will depend on your family’s particular circumstances. Failure to properly account for forced heirship in your estate plan can lead to unpredictable outcomes, including invalidating gifts made by a will, trust, or other estate planning instrument. Families in New Orleans, Metairie, Covington, and across Louisiana should address forced heirship early in the estate planning process. Ciolino and Onstott help clients in the Greater New Orleans area, and beyond, build plans that comply with Louisiana law.
You should update your Louisiana estate plan after major life events including marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the death of a beneficiary, or significant changes in assets, particularly if you acquire property in another parish or state. We also recommend that families personally review their estate plan once every 2-3 years to confirm that your plan still accurately represents your wishes and addresses your needs. Ciolino and Onstott has helped residents of Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Tammany, and throughout Louisiana build and update their estate plans. If you have an estate plan with us, we offer a free “check-up” consultation every three years to help you make sure your estate plan stays current.