Best Lawyers in Louisiana, United States for Trusts and Estates
Practice Area Overview
Louisiana's estate planning laws tend to be more complex than those in many other states. That’s because Louisiana doesn’t follow the common law system used across the rest of the country. Instead, it adheres to a civil law tradition derived from French and Spanish codes. That distinction carries big implications for how estates are planned, administered and contested.
Whether you’re planning for the future or handling the affairs of a deceased loved one, working with a knowledgeable Louisiana estate attorney is essential. These legal professionals don’t just draft documents—they guide families through some of life’s most complex and emotional transitions with care and clarity.
What Does an Estate Attorney Do?
Estate attorneys help clients protect assets, plan for incapacity and ensure that property is passed on according to their wishes. In Louisiana, they often start by preparing key legal documents like wills, trusts and powers of attorney. But their work goes far beyond paperwork.
A Louisiana estate planning attorney will consider how forced heirship rules might affect your distribution plan, whether community property needs to be addressed and how your estate may be taxed. If a loved one passes away, an estate lawyer can open a succession, help you get appointed as the executor (or succession representative) and walk you through collecting assets, paying debts and distributing inheritances.
They also help families minimize conflict—especially in situations where blended families, family businesses or high-value estates are involved.
Estate Planning in Louisiana: What You Need to Know
In most states, people either die with a will (testate) or without a will (intestate). If you die testate, your estate is distributed according to your instructions, with some exceptions. If you intestate, Louisiana law determines who inherits your property. That distribution follows a strict order of heirs. Spouses do not automatically inherit everything, especially when children or separate property are involved.
But Louisiana’s inheritance laws introduce additional complexities not found in most other states. In Louisiana, certain children cannot be disinherited. If your child is under 24 years old or has a permanent disability, they’re considered a forced heir and must receive a portion of your estate—even if you state otherwise in your will.
This legal protection doesn’t exist in most other states. There’s also the question of how assets are classified. Married couples in Louisiana share community property, which includes most earnings and property acquired during the marriage.
However, each spouse also has separate property—things they owned before marriage or received as a gift or inheritance. Estate planning must clearly address how both types of property are handled. Healthcare decisions are another important piece of the puzzle. A Louisiana living will, also called a Declaration of Life-Sustaining Procedures, allows you to state your preferences about life-prolonging treatments. A medical power of attorney (or healthcare directive) lets someone else make medical decisions for you if you can’t.
Successions and Probate in Louisiana
What most states call probate, Louisiana calls a succession. This is the legal process for transferring property after someone dies. Some successions are simple, while others involve court oversight and extensive paperwork.
A succession can be either independent or court-supervised. In an independent succession, the executor can take actions like selling property or paying debts without court permission. That can save time and money, but it requires that all heirs agree. If there’s disagreement or no will, the court will stay more involved.
The process typically includes:
- Filing a petition to open the succession
- Getting a court order to appoint a representative
- Collecting and inventorying assets
- Paying off debts and taxes
- Distributing what’s left to heirs
Because Louisiana’s laws are so different, many families find that hiring a Louisiana succession lawyer early in the process helps avoid delays and disputes.
Common Estate Planning Tools in Louisiana
A well-rounded estate plan often includes several documents, each with a different purpose. In Louisiana, the most common tools include:
- Wills: Your last will and testament outlines who inherits your property. It also names a guardian for minor children and an executor for your estate.
- Trusts: These legal arrangements can help manage assets during your lifetime and beyond. Revocable trusts offer flexibility, while irrevocable trusts may provide tax advantages. Special needs trusts are used to protect disabled beneficiaries without affecting their public benefits.
- Powers of Attorney: A financial power of attorney gives someone the authority to manage your money and property if you become incapacitated.
- Living Wills and Health Care Directives: These let you express medical preferences and name someone to speak on your behalf if you can’t.
- Lifetime Donations and Usufruct Arrangements: In some cases, you might transfer property during your lifetime but reserve the right to use it. Usufruct is a unique Louisiana concept that allows a surviving spouse to continue living in or using certain property until their death, even if it ultimately passes to someone else.
Choosing the Right Estate Attorney
Selecting a qualified estate lawyer in Louisiana means more than finding someone nearby. You need someone familiar with the state's distinctive laws, comfortable in both rural parishes and city courthouses and able to balance legal knowledge with empathy and discretion.
Look for attorneys with specific experience handling Louisiana succession law. It also helps to choose someone who understands how family dynamics, such as disputes between siblings or stepchildren, can affect estate administration.
And when evaluating options, peer-reviewed recognition—like listings on Best Lawyers—can provide meaningful reassurance. These listings are based on recommendations from other legal professionals, not marketing dollars.
When Should You Contact an Estate Lawyer?
It’s never too early to start thinking about your estate plan. Many people meet with a Louisiana estate planning attorney after major life milestones such as getting married, buying a home, starting a family or entering retirement.
Other times, the need is urgent. If a loved one has died, if you’ve been named an executor or if family members are disputing who gets what, you’ll want guidance right away. Louisiana’s legal deadlines can sneak up quickly, especially in contested successions.
You should also contact a lawyer if you suspect elder financial abuse, need to challenge the validity of a will or want to preserve assets from nursing home costs.
Find a Peer-Reviewed Louisiana Estate Attorney
Estate planning isn’t just about documents—it’s about peace of mind. And when the time comes to administer an estate, you want a professional who understands both the legal system and the human impact.
Louisiana’s civil law rules make things more complicated, but the right guidance can make all the difference. Whether you’re setting up a plan or responding to a death, you don’t have to go it alone.
Explore peer-reviewed Louisiana estate attorneys on Best Lawyers. These legal professionals have been recognized by their colleagues for their knowledge, professionalism and integrity—so you can move forward with confidence.
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Hirschel Abbott concentrates his practice in estate planning, closely held businesses and entity selection, fiduciary litigation, charitable planning, and tax-exempt organizations. He currently serves as a co-chair of the firm’s Tax, Trusts and Estates Practice Group. As a Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist and a Certified Public Accountant, Hirschel counsels businesses and other high net worth individuals and families on matters related to property, tax, and estate planning. He also ad...
John Blackman is a partner in the Tax Practice Group. He focuses on employee benefit plans, estate planning, and individual, corporate, and pass-through entity income tax planning. John has drafted qualified plans, employment agreements, and deferred compensation plans; has advised and represented clients on tax and ERISA matters, including Internal Revenue Code Section 409A; and has frequently represented clients in matters involving ERISA litigation. He works with clients to draft complex w...
An attorney with Jones Walker for more than 40 years, David Edwards is a partner in the Tax Practice Group who focuses on estate planning and administration. David advises individual clients on wealth transfer at minimum tax cost, in addition to providing traditional estate planning counsel in areas of wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. He also advises clients on marriage contracts and other aspects of property obligations stemming from marriage. David’s practice includes the admini...
Miriam Wogan Henry is a partner in the Tax Practice Group and a member of the firm’s board of directors. She focuses on estate planning, including family wealth transfer plans, charitable planning, and business succession planning, along with advising clients regarding fiduciary litigation and transfer tax controversy matters. Miriam advises on trust and estate planning matters such as drafting wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and marital property agreements. Advising clients in conne...
A partner with Taylor Porter, Mr. McDermott serves as the Chair of the Tax and Estate Planning and Administration practice and has more than 35 years' experience in his primary practice area of taxation, including business and individual income tax, payroll tax, franchise tax, excise tax, ad valorem tax, sales and use tax, and gift and estate tax. Mr. McDermott has assisted tax-exempt organizations in making application for, obtaining, and maintaining status under IRC section 501(c). He is ex...
John Overby is an Estate Planning and Administration Specialist, certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. His practice focuses on estate planning, taxation planning, wills and trusts, employment law and general business consulting. He also advises clients on marital agreements, powers of attorney, living wills, special needs trusts, family wealth transfers and the administration of decedents' estates. In his free time, John performs pro bono work through the Pro Bono Project....
S. Frazer Rankin focuses on commercial real estate transactions and development, estate planning, trusts, successions, corporate and commercial law, oil-and-gas law, and employment law. Frazer was born in Montgomery, Alabama. He attended Tulane University and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1969. Graduating from Tulane University Law School in 1972 with his Juris Doctor, he was admitted to the bar in 1973. Frazer has extensive experience in the representation of major landowners, and in iden...
Upon graduating from law school, Jerry joined the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice as a trial attorney. He became an associate at Baldwin & Haspel in 1964 and made partner in 1966. Jerry’s experience includes extensive foreign travel in connection with the representation of U. S. based clients doing business in Canada, Europe, South America, Asia and the Middle East. Jerry was a Member of the Adjunct Faculty of Loyola University of New Orleans College of Law t...
Leon Rittenberg III is a New Orleans native. He attended the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania where he studied economics and graduated magna cum laude. He returned home to attend Tulane University School of Law where he graduated magna cum laude. Leon was a summer associate at the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Chief Counsel in Washington, D.C. and also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Will Garwood of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. Leon j...
John Rouchell is a New Orleans native and Jesuit High School graduate. He attended Tulane University receiving a bachelor’s degree in English. He received a J.D. at Tulane Law School in 1976 and attended New York University where he received a LL.M. in Taxation in 1977. John joined the Firm in 1980 and became a partner in 1983. His practice covers all aspects of state and federal tax law, as well as corporate and business law, estate planning and administration. He also represents autho...
Rose Sher is a partner in the Tax Practice Group and a member of the trust and estates team. Rose is a board-certified estate planning and administration specialist, as certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. She advises clients on all aspects of wills, trusts, estate and gift tax planning, asset valuations, business succession planning, and estate administration. Rose represents a broad range of high-net-worth individuals and families. She understands the unique goals and n...
Tyler J. Arbour’s practice includes tax planning and tax controversies, tax-exempt organizations, estate planning/administration and litigation, commercial transactions and general commercial litigation. Tyler also has substantial experience handling high-net-worth community property partitions and the negotiation and preparation of marriage contracts (prenuptial agreements). Specifically, his experience includes representation of taxpayers before the IRS, the Louisiana Department of Re...
Megan M. Clark’s primary area of practice is general litigation, including insurance defense, insurance coverage, bad faith, premises liability, property insurance, family law, estate planning and successions/probate. Her estate planning practice is comprised of testament, power of attorney/mandate and living will preparation and execution. Her family law practice is comprised of divorce and dissolution, prenuptial agreements, child custody and support, and division of assets/liabilitie...
Katelyn Gunn concentrates her practice in estate planning, counseling individuals, families, and closely held businesses on sophisticated estate planning issues. Her work includes drafting documents such as wills, powers of attorney, trusts, and matrimonial agreements; administering succession proceedings; preparing U.S. Gift Tax returns and U.S. Estate Tax returns; and working with families and foundations to establish charitable giving plans. Katelyn also advises clients on changes in tax l...
Armand E. Samuels' area of law primarily focuses on commercial real estate and corporate and commercial law. A rising star in the Real Estate section, Armand began his career at Lugenbuhl as a contract associate dedicating his time to the resolution of complex title of Louisiana’s wetlands for the Deepwater Horizon Settlement Trust (the BP Oil Spill). Since then, he has become a vital part of the team, performing essential title and closing work for Lugenbuhl's Real Estate section clien...
Prior to becoming a trusted counselor, Christie L. Tournet earned over a decade of experience in construction and real estate. Prior to pursuing her Juris Doctorate at Loyola University, she also became a Louisiana state-wide commissioned Notary Public in 2007, and then, a Louisiana real estate salesperson in 2011. Christie’s hands-on experience in business management, real estate, and law permits her to appreciate her clients’ issues through a unique lens. Christie routinely prov...
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