Our Louisiana estate planning glossary is designed to help you understand the most common terms you will encounter when planning your estate, navigating a Louisiana succession, or updating your will or trust. Because Louisiana follows a unique civil law and community property system, it is especially important for families to understand key concepts like usufruct, intestate succession, and powers of attorney.
Administrator
An individual appointed by the court to oversee the distribution of assets and settlement of debts in the estate of a deceased person who did not leave a valid will.
Annual Gift Tax Exclusion
A federal provision allowing individuals to gift a certain amount each year without incurring federal gift tax. Always verify current IRS limits.
Attorney-in-Fact / Agent
The person you authorize to act on your behalf under a Power of Attorney.
Beneficiary
A person or entity designated to receive assets from a trust, will, or insurance policy.
Charitable Remainder Interest Trust
A trust in which donors transfer property to a charitable trust and retain an income stream, gaining income tax deductions and capital gains advantages.
Codicil
A document that amends or revokes specific parts of an existing will without rewriting the entire will.
Community Property
A marital property system in Louisiana where most assets acquired during marriage are jointly owned by both spouses.
Conservatorship / Guardianship
A court-supervised proceeding naming someone to manage the personal or financial affairs of an incapacitated individual.
Curator
Someone appointed through Louisiana’s interdiction process to manage the affairs of a person deemed incapacitated.
Decedent
A person who has passed away.
Durable Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney that remains effective even if the principal becomes incapacitated.
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care & Living Will
A set of documents naming a medical Agent and authorizing the removal of life support if you are terminally ill.
Estate
All property, assets, and debts left by a person at death.
Executor
The person named in a will to manage the estate, pay debts, and distribute assets.
Family Limited Partnership (FLP)
A partnership used by families to manage assets, providing centralized control and certain tax benefits.
Federal Estate Tax
A tax on the transfer of a deceased person’s estate based on federal exemption limits. Check current IRS figures for accuracy.
Funding
The process of transferring assets into a trust to ensure the estate plan functions properly.
Generation-Skipping Tax
A federal tax applied to transfers made to individuals two or more generations younger than the donor.
Gifting Language
Provisions added to a trust or Power of Attorney authorizing strategic gifting for tax or Medicaid planning.
Grantor / Settlor / Trustor
The individual who creates and funds a trust.
Heir
A person legally entitled to inherit under a will or through Louisiana intestate succession laws.
HIPAA Release
A document allowing healthcare providers to share protected medical information with designated individuals.
Immovable Asset
Real estate or property that cannot be moved, including land and buildings.
Incapacitated
Unable to make or communicate decisions due to mental or physical impairment.
Interdiction
A Louisiana legal process declaring someone incapacitated and appointing a curator to manage their affairs.
Intestate
When someone dies without a valid will, causing their assets to be distributed under Louisiana intestacy laws.
Last Will & Testament
A legal document outlining asset distribution, executor appointment, and guardianship instructions.
Legatee
An individual or entity designated in a will to receive assets.
Living Will
A document stating your wishes for life-sustaining treatment if you cannot communicate.
Louisiana State Inheritance Tax
Louisiana does not currently impose a state inheritance tax. Always verify current laws.
Medicaid Triggers
Events that shift assets out of an incapacitated person’s name to help with Medicaid qualification.
Movable Asset
Property that can be moved, including vehicles, jewelry, and bank accounts.
Naked Ownership
Ownership of property without the right to use or enjoy it because someone else holds the usufruct.
Notarial Will
A formal Louisiana will signed before a notary and two witnesses.
Olographic Will
A handwritten will fully written and signed by the testator.
Pour-Over Will
A will directing any assets not already in a trust to be transferred into it at death.
Power of Attorney (General)
A document authorizing an Agent to act broadly on your behalf, including financial matters.
General Durable Power of Attorney
A general Power of Attorney that remains valid during incapacity.
Probate / Succession
The legal process of validating a will, paying debts, and distributing assets. Louisiana refers to this as succession.
Revocable Living Trust
A flexible trust created during life that avoids probate and names a successor trustee.
Special Needs Trust
A trust providing for an individual with disabilities without jeopardizing government benefits.
Step-Up in Basis
An adjustment of an inherited asset’s value to its fair market value at the decedent’s death, reducing capital gains tax.
Testate
When someone dies with a valid will.
Testator
The individual who creates a will.
Trust
An arrangement in which a trustee manages assets for beneficiaries according to a trust document.
Trustee
The person or entity responsible for managing trust assets.
Tutor
A court-appointed guardian responsible for a minor child’s personal and financial needs in Louisiana.
Usufruct
A Louisiana-specific right allowing someone to use and benefit from property owned by another person (the naked owner) without owning it outright.
