Yesterday, I met with a gentleman in Metairie who was concerned about his wife’s ability to manage his estate in the event he predeceased her. She was beginning to show signs of dementia, and he was concerned about what might happen to his half of their Louisiana community property. He wanted to make sure that the money would be there if his wife needed it, but he also didn’t want to leave the money under her control for fear it would disappear quickly.
So we came up with this solution for his Louisiana Last Will and Testament. Instead of naming his wife as executor for his estate, we instead named his daughter. In addition we left the husband’s 1/2 of the community property in trust for the wife, with the daughter as trustee. This means that the funds can only be used for the wife’s benefit as long as she is living, but the daughter will have the power and control to manage the money and spend it on her mother.
Special family circumstances like this are not uncommon in Louisiana, and regardless of the special circumstance there is almost always a solution that can be achieved through proper estate planning. If you have any special family circumstances that may affect your Louisiana Estate Planning, 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.