Denham Springs Wills Lawyer

Denham Springs Wills Attorney

No matter where you are in life, it’s never too early to put together a plan for your estate. A will is an important aspect of an estate plan that can determine what happens to your assets, debts, and dependents after you pass away. Without one, your estate is left in the hands of Louisiana’s intestate succession laws. Creating a will can be overwhelming, but a knowledgeable Denham Springs wills lawyer can make all the difference.

Our team at Rowe & Manning Law Firm LLC has over a decade of experience navigating complex estate planning cases for residents in Livingston Parish and throughout Louisiana. We’re ready to help you make the right decisions about your future and beyond. Whether you need a legal professional to review an existing will or help you create a new one from scratch, you can count on a Denham Springs estate planning lawyer from our talented team to help.

Will Laws in Denham Springs, LA

A will, or a last will and testament, outlines what an individual would like to do with their estate. It can also outline your decisions for guardianship over any surviving children, dependents, or pets. Whether or not you have a will, your estate is subject to the probate process after you pass. This is a court-supervised process, known in Louisiana as succession, where the court validates the decedent’s will so that they can distribute their assets and debts to the appropriate people.

Without a will in place, you can expect the court to assign a personal representative for your estate. This representative handles the division of your assets and debts according to Louisiana’s intestate succession laws. Intestate succession laws state who gets what from a deceased person’s estate, depending on what surviving family members are still around.

Louisiana’s intestate laws can vary depending on whether or not you have a surviving spouse or partner, children, parents, or other close relatives. For example, an estate is going to be divided differently depending on whether the decedent has a spouse but no children versus a decedent with children but no spouse.

An AARP study showed that while 54 percent of respondents over the age of 50 expect to leave an inheritance, more than 37 percent of those respondents do not yet have a will. Zooming out to a larger scope, over 72 percent of people living in the United States still do not have a valid will and testament. There was a six percent decline in estate planning nationally in recent years, particularly among lower-income residents.

This means that their assets are going to be distributed by a personal representative assigned by a court following the state’s intestate succession laws. No matter how much your estate is worth, it can be beneficial to have an estate plan in place. With a valid will, you can at the very least determine how to distribute your assets and make important decisions about guardianship over a child or pet, too.

Hire a Wills Lawyer Near You

Rowe & Manning Law Firm LLC has been in the business of helping Louisiana residents make important decisions about their future for over 15 years. Our attorneys bring decades of combined experience to the table, which means you can trust us to help you find the most appropriate path forward to secure your wealth for generations to come.

We’re more than your average Denham Springs wills lawyers. Our team is proud to be active in the community, working with local churches and volunteer organizations. We care about the communities we serve and are committed to giving each and every client our all.  If you’re considering where to begin with your overall plan, a great first step is to review a comprehensive estate planning checklist.

FAQs

Can I Create a Will by Myself in Denham Springs?

You can create a will by yourself in Denham Springs, Louisiana, but it is highly recommended to consult with a Denham Springs wills attorney to ensure you’re doing everything correctly and taking full advantage of every opportunity available to you. It can be difficult to draft a will that meets all the necessary requirements on your own, which can lead to the validity of your will being called into question. An attorney can ensure this doesn’t happen.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Wills Lawyer in Denham Springs?

The cost of hiring a wills lawyer in Denham Springs can vary depending on the complexity of your financial profile and the types of actions you wish to outline in the will. For example, some people create wills simply to designate who inherits their assets.

Others may also need to make legally binding decisions about things like childcare, pet guardianship, and establishing a trust if that’s something you’re interested in for further protection and control over your finances.

What Is the Difference Between a Will and a Trust in Louisiana?

There are a few differences between a will and a trust. They’re both important parts of estate planning that allow people to make decisions about the future of their assets during their lives and after.

A will expresses your wishes for distributing your assets and guardianship for dependent children or pets after your death. It’s important not to confuse a standard will with a living will, which is a separate healthcare directive. A trust can take effect while you’re alive or after your death, and is managed by a trustee. A trust offers more control over your assets, and typically allows you to avoid probate.

What Makes Louisiana’s Will Laws Unique?

Louisiana’s will laws are unique because they are based on French and Spanish civil law traditions instead of British common law, like other states. One such difference is forced heirship. Forced heirship automatically reserves part of an estate for immediate descendants who were 23 years of age or younger at the time of the decedent’s death. Children of any age who are incapable of caring for themselves and even grandchildren may be named as forced heirs, too.

Talk to a Denham Springs Wills Lawyer Today

Whether you’re ready to create a will or you wish to make changes to an existing one, you can count on the Denham Springs estate planning lawyers at Rowe & Manning Law Firm LLC to be there to help. If you’re ready to discuss your case in more detail, get in touch to set up an appointment with a member of our team today.