Last week I met with a lady from Houma with no spouse or children. We discussed updating her Louisiana Last Will and Testament. 3 years ago she handwrote a will, which said whoever takes care of her burial will be her sole heir. Her intent is that a family friend be the one to bury her and inherit from, but he is not mentioned anywhere in her will.
The ambiguity of her last will and testament would essentially make her estate a free-for-all amongst her various cousins and family members and her ultimate intentions may not be honored. Chances are the family friend would never inherit even if he did take care of the burial because a judge would rule that the will does not specifically identify her heirs. We are updating the will to specifically include this family friend as sole heir and executor. Instead of leaving the estate to this friend unconditionally, we will condition the inheritance upon the family friend taking care of all burial arrangements. If this does not happen then the assets would pass to the cousins. At least now there is certainty with respect to what will happen to the estate!
To make sure your Louisiana estate plan is done right the first time, call (504) 274-1980 in the Metairie and New Orleans Area or call (985) 246-3020 in Mandeville, Covington, Slidell, Houma, Thibodaux, and surrounding areas.