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Aug 02, 2026
Creating an estate plan is a responsible step, but signing a will does not necessarily mean every important issue has been addressed.
An estate plan can fail because a document is invalid, an appointed person cannot serve, a beneficiary designation conflicts with the will, or the plan addresses death without preparing for incapacity.
Understanding the most common estate planning mistakes to avoid in Louisiana can help you create a plan that works when your family actually needs it.
Failing to Name Alternates for Important Roles
Many people name a spouse, adult child, or trusted relative for every position in their estate plan. That person may be nominated as executor, trustee, tutor for minor children, financial agent, and health-care decision-maker.
But what happens if that person dies first, becomes incapacitated, declines the responsibility, or cannot be located?
Without an alternate, the family may need court involvement to fill the position. The person ultimately appointed may not be the person you would have chosen.
A complete estate plan should consider alternates for:
- The executor of the will
- The trustee of any trust
- The tutor for a minor child
- The financial mandatary
- The health-care agent
- Beneficiaries who may die before you
- Anyone appointed to handle remains or funeral decisions
Your first and alternate choices should be people who are willing and practically able to serve. Naming several people jointly can sometimes create delays or disagreements, so consider whether each role should be held by one person or shared.
Our article, 4 Questions to Ask When Making an Estate Plan, discusses how to select the right people for these responsibilities.
Preparing for Death but Not Incapacity
A will generally operates after death. It does not authorize someone to access your accounts, manage your real estate, sign contracts, or make medical decisions while you are alive.
If illness, injury, or cognitive decline leaves you unable to act, your family may need legal authority immediately. Without the proper documents, they may have to pursue an interdiction or another court proceeding.
A complete incapacity plan may include:
Louisiana generally calls a power of attorney a mandate. The person granting authority is the principal, and the person appointed to act is the mandatary.
The document should be tailored to the authority the person may actually need. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2997, certain actions require express authority, including making donations, accepting or renouncing a succession, borrowing money, entering a compromise, and making health-care decisions.
A generic power-of-attorney form may therefore omit authority that becomes essential during a crisis.
Assuming Your Will Controls Every Asset
A will controls property that becomes part of the succession and is governed by the testament. Some assets pass through a separate contractual designation or ownership arrangement.
Examples may include:
- Life insurance with a named beneficiary
- Retirement accounts
- Payable-on-death accounts
- Transfer-on-death accounts, when legally available
- Property held in a properly funded trust
- Certain jointly owned property
- Annuities with designated beneficiaries
If a life-insurance policy names one person but the will leaves the estate to someone else, the policy designation will ordinarily control the insurance proceeds.
Review beneficiary designations as part of the estate-planning process. Confirm that:
- A primary beneficiary is named
- An alternate beneficiary is named
- The designation reflects your current family situation
- The beneficiary is not a minor without an appropriate management plan
- The designation coordinates with any trust
- A deceased former spouse or estranged relative remains named only if that is intentional
Do not assume that changing the will automatically updates every account.
Failing to Plan for Minor Children
Parents often focus on who should inherit without addressing who will care for the children or manage their property.
Louisiana generally calls the person appointed to care for a minor child a tutor. A parent’s qualifying will can nominate the preferred tutor and an alternate. Although the court must formally confirm the appointment, the nomination provides important evidence of the parent’s wishes.
Our article, How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Child?, explains Louisiana’s tutorship terminology and process.
Money is a separate issue. Leaving property directly to a minor can require court-supervised management. It may also result in the child receiving control of the property upon reaching adulthood, regardless of the child’s maturity.
A testamentary trust can identify:
- Who will manage the inheritance
- How funds may be spent
- Whether money may be used for education, health, housing, and support
- When distributions may be made
- The age or event at which the trust will terminate
- Who will serve as an alternate trustee
The tutor and trustee may be the same person, but they do not have to be. Some parents prefer one person to raise the child and another to manage the money.
Using an Invalid or Poorly Executed Will
A document can express your wishes without qualifying as a valid Louisiana testament.
Louisiana has specific requirements for different forms of wills. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 1576, a notarial testament must be written, dated, executed before a notary in the presence of two witnesses, and signed by the testator, witnesses, and notary.
The law governing notarial testaments changed in 2025. Although signing every page and using an appropriate declaration can make a notarial will self-proving, those features are now addressed separately from the basic requirements for validity.
Using an outdated online form or instructions written for another state can create problems involving:
- The form of the will
- The signing procedure
- Witness qualifications
- Forced heirship
- Usufruct
- Community property
- Tutor nominations
- Executor authority
- Trust language
Informal changes can also cause trouble. Crossing out a name, writing new language in the margin, or attaching an unsigned page may not amend the will effectively.
If a change is needed, execute a properly prepared new will or valid amendment rather than altering the original informally.
Failing to Address Forced Heirship
Louisiana forced heirship can limit how certain property is distributed.
Forced heirs generally include first-generation descendants who are 23 or younger at the decedent’s death and qualifying descendants of any age who are permanently incapable of caring for themselves or administering their estates.
A will that leaves everything to another person without accounting for a forced heir may be subject to reduction after death.
Forced-heirship issues can arise when:
- A parent wants to leave everything to a spouse
- A parent wants to omit an estranged child
- A child has a qualifying disability
- A trust is created for a child
- A family includes children from a prior relationship
- Large lifetime donations have been made
Our Louisiana forced-heirship guide explains who qualifies and why the circumstances existing at death matter.
Creating a Trust but Never Funding It
A trust generally controls only the property transferred to it.
Signing a trust document without retitling the intended assets can leave those assets in the settlor’s individual name. They may then require a Louisiana succession despite the trust’s existence.
Funding may involve:
- Recording documents transferring real estate
- Retitling appropriate financial accounts
- Assigning business interests when governing documents permit
- Coordinating beneficiary designations
- Maintaining records identifying trust property
Not every asset should necessarily be retitled to a trust. Retirement accounts, vehicles, closely held businesses, and mortgaged property can require special analysis.
The trust document, ownership records, beneficiary designations, and pour-over will should be reviewed together. Our guide to wills and trusts in Louisiana explains some of the differences between the two tools.
Giving Property Away Without Reviewing the Tax Consequences
Giving appreciated property to a child may appear to simplify the estate, but the transfer can create an unexpected capital-gains problem.
A recipient of gifted property generally receives the donor’s adjusted basis for purposes of calculating gain. In contrast, inherited property generally receives a basis equal to its fair market value at the owner’s death.
For example, if a parent gives a child property worth $400,000 with a $100,000 basis, the child may receive the parent’s $100,000 basis. A later sale could produce approximately $300,000 of gain, subject to other adjustments and tax rules.
If the child instead inherits qualifying property at a value of $400,000, the child’s basis may generally adjust to $400,000.
The IRS Basis of Assets guide explains the different rules for gifted and inherited property.
A lifetime transfer can still be appropriate, but the family should consider:
- Capital-gains basis
- Loss of control
- Exposure to the recipient’s creditors
- Divorce or bankruptcy
- The donor’s future financial needs
- Medicaid consequences
- Gift-tax reporting
- Existing mortgages and insurance
- The effect on other beneficiaries
Our article on estate taxes, capital gains, and step-up in basis explains why retaining appreciated property until death may be beneficial for many Louisiana families.
Choosing People Based Only on Family Position
The oldest child is not automatically the best executor. A close relative is not automatically the best trustee. A loving family member may not be the right person to make medical or financial decisions.
Choose people based on the responsibilities involved.
An executor should be organized, responsive, and willing to work with attorneys, accountants, heirs, and financial institutions.
A trustee should understand long-term financial management, recordkeeping, impartiality, and the terms of the trust.
A health-care agent should be able to communicate with medical professionals and follow your wishes under emotional pressure.
A tutor should be able to provide a stable home and care for the child over time.
The same person can fill multiple roles, but dividing responsibilities may make sense when different people have different strengths.
Failing to Tell Anyone Where the Documents Are
A carefully prepared estate plan cannot help if no one can locate it.
Tell the appropriate people:
- That the documents exist
- Where the originals are stored
- How to contact the attorney
- Where to find insurance and account information
- Who has been appointed to important roles
Do not store the only original will somewhere your family cannot access. If a safe-deposit box is used, confirm that an authorized person can reach it after death.
Keep a practical inventory of important records, but avoid placing passwords, account credentials, or other sensitive information directly in a will that may become part of a public court record.
Failing to Update the Plan
An estate plan reflects your circumstances when it is signed. Those circumstances will change.
Review the plan after:
- Marriage or divorce
- The birth or adoption of a child
- A death in the family
- A beneficiary’s disability
- A change in an important relationship
- Buying or selling substantial property
- Starting or selling a business
- Moving to or from Louisiana
- A significant change in wealth
- A change in tax or succession law
- An executor, trustee, tutor, or agent becoming unavailable
Divorce is especially important because the will, powers of attorney, trusts, property titles, and beneficiary designations may all require separate attention. Our article, What Changes Should You Make to Your Will After Divorce?, provides a useful review checklist.
Even without a major event, periodically confirm that the people named in the plan remain appropriate and that the documents still reflect your wishes.
Field Law Can Help Identify and Correct Estate-Planning Gaps
Most estate-planning mistakes are easier and less expensive to fix during life than after incapacity or death.
Field Law helps Louisiana clients review wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health-care documents, beneficiary designations, tutor nominations, and property ownership. We can identify conflicts and missing provisions before they become succession or incapacity problems.
Whether you need a first estate plan or want an older plan reviewed, contact Field Law to schedule a consultation.
