Last week I met with a Mandeville client mourning the recent loss of her husband. The husband wrote a will leaving everything to his wife. However, the will does not cover his IRA, one of the largest assets in his estate. Instead beneficiary designations govern the disposition of IRAs . When one fails to monitor and update the beneficiary designation, absurd outcomes can occur. In this case, the husband's ex-girlfriend remained listed as the 100% beneficiary for the IRA! Unless we can convince the ex-girlfriend to do the right thing and disclaim the IRA, the account will pass to her. [...]

This week I encountered an interesting case study in Louisiana Intestacy Law. Intestacy laws take over when someone dies without a will. I am working on the intestate succession with a client whose son recently died. The son had no spouse or children. His only surviving heirs are his two parents and his half-sibling on his father's side.  Under Louisiana Intestacy, when someone dies with only surviving parents and siblings, the usufruct (lifetime use) of their estate passes equally to their parents. When the parent's later die, their use right ends and the assets of the child's estate vest equally [...]