News & Articles

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law on December 22, 2017. Many of the inflation adjusted numbers were changed. Those include: Gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax exclusion            $11,200,000 Standard deduction Single                      ...

The Louisiana Small Successions Act allows families to use an heirship affidavit to prove their ownership of property if they do not have title to their property. An heirship affidavit allows the passage or transfer of ownership of inherited property to the legal...

A reverse mortgage is actually called a home equity conversion mortgage (HECM). In the past, a spouse could borrow money on the home and not consult the other spouse. Then, if the borrower spouse died, it caused the non-borrowing spouse to risk having to refinance,...

Although we don’t practice family law we do have knowledge of what the Louisiana community property rules are and how they affect your estate planning and the distribution of an estate. Many people do not realize that community property rules apply to every asset or...

Online access to accounts  after death is important. At the time of death, survivors may need to manage financial accounts and pay debts, taxes, and expenses. Without access to emails and online banking information, this may become burdensome and time...

Blended families provide a challenge for many elder law attorneys. Now, over 50% of all homes consist of blended families. Consider a family whose assets are held jointly, with the exception of the home being solely in the husband’s name. One spouse wants all of the...

Should I Buy a House for a Special Needs Trust Beneficiary? There are many factors that must be considered before buying a home for a special needs trust beneficiary. If the trust funds are first party special needs trusts, the trusts have Medicaid payback provisions....

How does the Disabled Military Child Protection Act affect me? In December 2014, President Obama signed the Disabled Military Protection Act which allows a military parent to provide a survivor benefit for a child with a disability, and have it paid to a special needs...

The first reason to make a will is to know that your wishes are known and will be followed after your death. This makes life after your death much easier for your family. If there is no will, the Louisiana law on intestacy applies. This means that half of your...

In December 2014, President Obama signed the Disabled Military Protection Act which allows a military parent to provide a survivor benefit for a child with a disability, and have it paid to a special needs trust for that child's benefit. Before this was enacted,...