Louisiana Last Will and Testament

Before the terms of a will can be accepted, the will must be proven in probate court. Probate, called “succession proceeding” in Louisiana, is the court-supervised process of distributing the estate of a deceased person.

In Louisiana, a Petition for Probate of Testament must be filed with the court to request the recognition of the will as valid. If the will is “notarial,” i.e., executed under Louisiana law pertaining to wills and not handwritten, it is self-proven and, therefore, valid. On the other hand, if the will is holographic (handwritten), further evidence must be presented to prove its validity.

Once a will is proven in probate court, the personal representative can proceed with the administration of the estate.

Intestacy: Dying without a will

Someone who dies without a will is called “intestate,” which invokes the strict laws of intestacy. In Louisiana, in the absence of a will, the share of the surviving spouse depends on whether the decedent had surviving descendants, parents, or other close relatives.

If there is a surviving spouse and children, the spouse has a right to use the decedent’s community property (shared with the spouse) for life, and the children inherit the decedent’s share upon the death of the spouse; the children also inherit the decedent’s separate property.

If there is a surviving spouse and parents (but no children), the spouse inherits the community property, while the parents inherit the separate property; the same holds true if there is a surviving spouse and siblings; only the siblings inherit instead of the parents.

If there is no surviving spouse or children but only parents and siblings, the parents have the right to use the decedent’s intestate property for life, and then the siblings inherit everything.

Accordingly, you can see the importance of making a Louisiana will if you would like to have control over the distribution of your assets and to avoid the application of intestacy laws.

Exceptions to ability to distribute property

Not all property owned by the testator may pass through a Louisiana will, most notably any property owned in joint tenancy with the rights of survivorship, which passes automatically to the survivor. Also, any community property goes directly to the surviving spouse.

Moreover, Louisiana has the concept of “forced heirship,” which provides that certain heirs are entitled to receive a percentage of the estate: Forced heirs as defined as follows:

[D]escendants of the first degree who, at the time of the death of the decedent, are twenty-three years of age or younger or descendants of the first degree of any age who, because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity, are permanently incapable of taking care of their persons or administering their estates at the time of the death of the decedent.

Form a last will in Louisiana

The basic requirements for a Louisiana last will and testament include the following:

• Age and capacity: None specified.
• Signature: In the presence of a notary and two competent witnesses, the testator must declare or signify to the witnesses that the document is his Louisiana Last Will and Testament and must sign his name at the end of the document and on each other separate page.
• Witnesses: At least two people must sign a declaration signifying that they have witnessed the testator signing the will or declaring the document to be his will. This must be done in the presence of a notary.
• Writing: A Louisiana will must be in writing to be valid.
• Beneficiaries: Louisiana does not limit the class of beneficiaries who may be included in a will.