For families in Louisiana, it’s heartening to know that a few simple and straightforward actions taken now can reduce the bite of estate taxes down the road. Getting advice from an estate planning attorney sets you up to make smart choices that fit your situation and keep more assets in your family’s hands.

Lowering Your Estate Taxes With a Louisiana Estate Planning Attorney

Annual Gifting

One of the easiest ways you can chip away at your estate’s value is by giving gifts each year. In 2026, you can hand over up to $19,000 per person to as many people as you want without triggering gift taxes or eating into your lifetime exemption. If you’re married, that doubles to $38,000 per recipient from both of you.

This works well for average households because it lets you pass on cash, stocks, or other items gradually, so you’re effectively shrinking what might be taxable later. Regular gifts can help your kids or grandkids with things like education or a home down payment while lightening your estate’s load.

Federal Exemption

The federal estate tax kicks in only if your estate tops $15 million in 2026, and a married couple can shield up to $30 million. For most average households, you’re already under this threshold, but life changes like a business sale or an inheritance could push you closer. This exemption adjusts for inflation, but planning ahead means you’ll avoid any surprises in the future.

Basic Trusts

Trusts are a very practical tool for everyday families. There are different types of trusts, and your lawyer will tell you more about what’s right for you, but, basically, you fund a trust by putting some of your assets into it. Upon your passing, that money goes to your beneficiaries tax-free. But even if you don’t need to worry about taxes, know this: the trust also goes to the beneficiaries without the messy and expensive probate process.

Marital Deductions

If you’re married, anything you leave to your U.S. citizen spouse passes to them tax-free, no matter the amount. This buys time for the surviving spouse to implement other strategies.

Charitable Donations

Giving to charity directly from your estate cuts the taxable value of the estate while supporting causes you care about. You can deduct the full amount of bequests to any qualified nonprofit, with no limit. This includes churches, schools, or local groups in Louisiana in addition to more well-known charities like the Red Cross or Samaritan’s Purse.

Louisiana Considerations

Louisiana’s community property laws mean that all assets acquired during a marriage are typically split 50/50 between the spouses, so talk to your lawyer about how this might affect what counts in your estate. Our state’s forced heirship laws also require that you leave a portion of your estate to any children under 24 or who are disabled. Fortunately, there is no state inheritance tax, so your heirs won’t face that extra layer, but if you own any property in any other state, be aware that that state’s laws will apply to the property located in that state.

To get help in planning your estate, contact Walter D. White, A Professional Law Corporation, in Shreveport for a free consultation. Or, call us today at 318-213-9350.