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Aug 02, 2026
Louisiana LGBTQ estate planning is not about treating LGBTQ+ families as less legitimate. It is about making sure your legal documents reflect the family, relationships, and decision-makers that actually matter to you.
Marriage equality has been recognized nationwide since Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. Congress also enacted the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, requiring federal and interstate recognition of valid same-sex marriages.
Still, marriage does not solve every estate-planning problem. Moreover, an unmarried partner or another member of your chosen family may receive little or no protection under Louisiana’s default rules.
Married spouses do not automatically inherit everything
A legally married same-sex spouse has the same inheritance rights as any other legally married spouse. However, Louisiana law does not necessarily leave the entire estate to the surviving spouse when someone dies without a will.
The result may depend on whether property is community or separate property and whether the deceased person leaves children, parents, siblings, or descendants of siblings. In some cases, a surviving spouse may receive a usufruct rather than full ownership. Louisiana’s rules for intestate succession control unless the deceased person made a valid will or another legally effective arrangement.
Therefore, every married couple should ask a practical question: Would Louisiana’s default inheritance rules produce the result we actually want?
If not, a properly prepared will or trust may provide greater control.
An unmarried partner is not an intestate heir
The distinction becomes even more important for unmarried couples. Louisiana does not recognize common-law marriage merely because two people have lived together for many years. An unmarried partner does not automatically become an heir, regardless of the length or commitment of the relationship.
Without a will, trust, beneficiary designation, or other transfer arrangement, property may pass to the deceased partner’s children, parents, siblings, or more distant relatives instead. That could leave a surviving partner without ownership of the home or assets the couple expected to share.
Our discussion of how estate planning protects unmarried partners explains why written planning is especially important for couples who have chosen not to marry.
Put your chosen decision-makers in writing
Estate planning also controls who can act for you during your lifetime.
Under Louisiana’s statutory order for medical consent, an agent appointed through a valid health care mandate has priority over a spouse and other relatives. An unmarried partner may otherwise fall behind a curator, spouse, adult child, parent, sibling, or other relative.
A carefully drafted health care mandate can give your spouse, partner, close friend, or another trusted person express authority to make medical decisions. Louisiana law requires a mandate to grant that authority specifically. Civil Code Article 2997 lists health care decisions among the powers that must be expressly authorized.
Likewise, a financial mandate can authorize someone you trust to handle bills, banking, insurance, property, and other matters if you cannot act for yourself. You can read more about how a contract of mandate protects your interests.
Protect your partner’s right to remain in the home
For many couples, the home is the most important asset in the estate plan. However, leaving a house to one person outright is not the only option.
Depending on your goals, a will or trust may give a surviving partner the right to live in the home while preserving ownership for children or other beneficiaries later. The plan may also address expenses, repairs, insurance, taxes, and what happens if the surviving partner moves.
These details matter. A vague promise that family members will “take care of” a surviving partner may not hold up when ownership transfers or relationships become strained.
Coordinate beneficiary designations with the estate plan
Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, payable-on-death accounts, and some other assets pass according to beneficiary designations rather than a will. Those designations should be reviewed alongside the rest of the estate plan.
An outdated beneficiary designation can send an asset to a former spouse, relative, or another person who is no longer part of your intended plan. Marriage, divorce, separation, adoption, and other major life changes should prompt a complete review.
Plan carefully for children
LGBTQ+ parents may also need to coordinate estate planning with adoption, custody, or other family-law work.
A will can address tutorship and establish a trust to manage a child’s inheritance. Louisiana law permits a qualifying parent to appoint a tutor through a will or another properly executed declaration, as explained in Civil Code Article 257.
However, an estate plan does not create legal parentage by itself. When only one adult is currently recognized as a child’s legal parent, the family may need separate family-law advice concerning adoption or custody. Estate-planning and family-law documents should work together instead of leaving a gap in the child’s care.
Decide who should control funeral and burial arrangements
Louisiana law permits a person to designate who will control the disposition of their remains through a notarial testament or a written and notarized declaration. Without that designation, Louisiana Revised Statute 8:655 applies a statutory order of priority.
This designation may be particularly important when you want a partner or member of your chosen family—rather than a relative—to carry out your wishes. Written instructions can also reduce the risk of conflict over burial, cremation, memorial arrangements, or the use of your correct name.
Review the plan when your life changes
An estate plan should be reviewed after major events, including:
- Marriage, divorce, or the end of a long-term relationship
- The birth or adoption of a child
- A legal name or gender-marker change
- The purchase or sale of a home
- A significant change in finances
- A move into or out of Louisiana
- The death or incapacity of a beneficiary or chosen decision-maker
The documents should use legally effective identifying information while clearly reflecting your identity, relationships, and wishes.
Field Law can help protect the family you have built
At Field Law, we help LGBTQ+ clients create practical Louisiana estate plans centered on the people they trust. Depending on your circumstances, that plan may include a will, trust, financial mandate, health care mandate, living will, beneficiary review, tutorship provisions, or instructions concerning final arrangements.
Our goal is straightforward: to make sure your documents work when your spouse, partner, children, or chosen family need them. Contact Field Law to discuss an LGBTQ+ estate plan designed for your family.
