Estate Planning Attorney
Estate plans are uniquely crafted for each person. They can be a complex set of numerous documents to address a lots of assets or smaller collection of papers to give your family clarity in your wishes. Your plan will be specific to you based on your assets and wishes. Before putting an estate plan together your attorney review with you all of your assets and wishes so that it will be clear to those you love and the Court that will validate them.
Estate plans are very personal, so they vary. It can be a complex set of numerous documents to address a large set of assets or it can be a simpler collection of papers to give your family some clarity in your wishes. Your plan will be specific to you based on your assets and end of life desires. When putting an estate plan together your attorney will go into a detailed review of your assets so that it will be clear to those you love and the Court.
When evaluating the needs of an estate plan we will look to your assets, such as; real estate, personal property, retirement/pension accounts, cash assets, and others. This will help determine the needs of your estate plan. For most people, a will is enough for addressing the needs of an estate. In Louisiana there are two types of recognized wills, or testaments, each with their own legal requirements to be valid. First, an olographic will, is a handwritten will that is signed by the testator. It is often what you see in movies. The second, a notarial will, is one most likely to be completed with an attorney. It requires an authentic act, to be signed before a notary and two witnesses. Notarial wills have a higher legal standard for execution because they are self-authenticating and harder to challenge in court. It is important that the will is completed perfectly, because any errors could result in the will be found invalid.