Regardless of your age or net worth, a well-drafted estate plan is essential to ensure that you and your family are protected if you were to become incapacitated, and that your wishes are carried out at your death.

We offer FREE estate plan reviews to help you determine if your current plan will accomplish your goals.

For young families with children, guardians should be named and trusts should be established.  If you were to die leaving minor children and do not have a written estate plan in place, your surviving spouse could face obstacles in accessing money or other assets and a court proceeding called a tutorship might be required for the children.  This can be avoided through proper estate planning.

Older couples face different issues, such as protecting retirement assets and ensuring financial security.  Many married couples are surprised to find out that without an estate plan in place, assets could be frozen, and costly, time consuming court proceedings could be required because one spouse cannot sign legal documents or access funds held with the other spouse, even in a community property state such as Louisiana.

Single, widowed or divorced individuals have an even greater need for planning.  If you were to die or become incapcitated, some family member would likely petition the court to be appointed over your estate, and it might not be the person you would have chosen.

Call our office at (318) 352-9229 for more information on avoiding these common problems by implementing an estate plan consisting of Wills, General Durable Powers of Attorney, Medical Durable Powers of Attorney, and Trusts.

We are happy to send you free information on these and other important estate planning concerns.