When a loved one dies, the family decisions about how assets are distributed often cease to be private and move into court and Louisiana’s succession process. Planning ahead, though, can give you real options to reduce or eliminate that step for many of your assets. Finding a lawyer for wills near me early on in your estate planning process will allow you to understand what fits your situation now so you’re prepared for the future.
Steps Your “Lawyer for Wills Near Me” Might Suggest to Minimize Court Involvement
Beneficiary Designations
These are one of the simplest ways to move specific assets straight to chosen people without going through the court. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, annuities, and many bank or investment accounts let you name who receives them at death, and when those forms are up to date, the funds will just transfer, and you don’t need to worry about the court succession process.
Joint Ownership
Joint ownership with right of survivorship works similarly for certain accounts and for real estate. The surviving owner gains full title automatically upon the other owner’s death, without any need for court involvement. In Louisiana, community property rules for spouses already create a shared ownership in many marriages, so you may already be covered here. However, you’ll want to check on all this through a lawyer.
Living Trusts
A revocable living trust allows you to move ownership of selected assets into a trust during your lifetime and continue using them as usual. At death, the successor trustee will distribute everything according to your written instructions. Because it’s the trust and not your personal estate that holds those assets, they can generally avoid the succession process.
Simplified Options
Louisiana provides a simplified route for smaller estates where the gross value of all Louisiana property is $125,000 or less. These estates can use a small succession affidavit that’s filed directly with the parish recorder and avoid full court administration. Also, if all the heirs are competent adults and all accept the succession and the estate carries relatively few debts, the court can recognize the heirs and send them directly into possession without the need for a full administration.
Some Caveats
Louisiana’s forced heirship rules will still apply, no matter what plan you set up. These rules dictate that children who are 23 or younger at the time of death, or any age if they are permanently incapacitated, are entitled to a defined portion of your estate, regardless of what a will or trust might do.
In addition, no planning approach can remove every chance of any court involvement. If there are disagreements among your family members, this can lead to litigation both inside and outside the succession proceedings. Thorough, clearly written plans combined with honest conversations are the best way to lower the odds that any conflicts will reach a judge.
Take steps now to protect your family from unnecessary court involvement. Talk to us at Walter D. White, A Professional Law Corporation today to set up a consultation. We’ve guided Shreveport-area families through these exact decisions for more than forty years.