Louisiana Successions and Donations law is based on the Code Napoleon and thus uses some terms that are not necessarily within the vocabulary of the average person. We have defined some of these terms below along with some other terms often used in the context of successions and estate planning. The definitions are general definitions and are offered to aid one’s general understanding of this area of the law. Many of the terms require an in-depth explanation to ensure a full understanding of the concept defined. Consult the advice of a qualified estate planning attorney licensed in Louisiana. All terms are defined as typically used in the framework of Louisiana Successions and Donations law.
Administrator: The person chosen to be in charge of the succession of a decedent who dies without a Last Will and Testament. A female is called an administratrix.
Affidavit: A document in which a person states certain facts and swears that those facts are true.
Beneficiary: The person entitled to the income or principal or both of a trust. Also, the person named to receive insurance proceeds or retirement benefits when the insured/participant dies.
Bequest: A gift made in a Will; also called a legacy.
Codicil: An amendment to a Will. A codicil allows a testator to make a change to his Will without redoing the entire Will.
Curator: The person appointed by the court to act for an interdict.
Disinherit: To leave a person who would normally be entitled to a portion of a decedent’s estate nothing; also referred to as “writing out of the Will.”
Donation Inter Vivos: A gift made and delivered while the donor is living. Also called an Act of Donation.
Donation Mortis Causa: A gift made in contemplation of the donor’s death, in other words, a gift made in a Will.
Executor: The person a testator names in his Will to be in charge of the succession. A female is called an executrix.
Forced Heir: A person who falls into a protected class and cannot be disinherited by a testator with some very limited specific exceptions. Under current Louisiana law, a person is a forced heir until his 24th birthday or if he is permanently incapable of caring for his person due to a physical or mental infirmity or if he has been diagnosed with an inherited, incurable disease that may render him permanently incapable of caring for his person in the future.
Forced Heirship: A rule of Louisiana law that prohibits a testator from disinheriting certain classes of people under certain circumstances. Louisiana is the only state which embraces forced heirship.
Heir: A person who is entitled to a decedent’s property when a decedent dies intestate (without a Will); sometimes incorrectly used interchangeably with legatee.
Independent Administration: A collection of procedural laws that allows an executor or an administrator to act without the supervision of the court or advertising in the newspaper. Independent administration does not allow the succession representative to do anything he could not do otherwise, but it saves considerable time and money.
Interdict: A person who has been judicially declared to be incapable of caring for his person or managing his affairs or both.
Last Will and Testament: A document in which a person declares how his estate is to be distributed upon his death; also called a Will.
Legacy: A gift made in a Will; also called a bequest.
Legatee: A person who is entitled to a decedent’s property according to a decedent’s Will; sometimes called a beneficiary; sometimes incorrectly used interchangeably with the heir.
Living Will: A document in which a person declares his preferences about life support and feeding tubes. This document is NOT a Do Not Resuscitate Order.
Naked Owner: The person who owns property subject to a usufruct. He can not use or enjoy the property. He has only the right to sell it.
Olographic Will: A handwritten Will. Many olographic Wills are invalid, especially in Louisiana, because the testator makes gifts that conflict with forced heirship.
Power of Attorney: A document in which a person (called the principal) names someone else (called an agent) to act for him in the event of his absence or incapacity. A power of attorney is no longer effective when the principal dies.
Probate: The name of the legal process through which a decedent’s property is transferred to his heirs or legatees and his debts and any applicable taxes are paid; often used interchangeably with succession.
Settlor: The person who establishes a trust.
Special Needs Trust: A certain type of trust that can be created to leave an inheritance to a special needs person without jeopardizing his government benefits.
Succession: The judicial proceeding through which a decedent’s property is transferred to his heirs or legatees and his debts and any applicable taxes are paid; often used interchangeably with probate.
Testamentary Trust: A trust created in a Will.
Testator: The person who makes a Will; a female is a testatrix.
Trust: An arrangement by which a person or bank manages assets for the benefit of another.
Trustee: The person appointed by the settlor to manage the assets placed in trust.
Tutor: The person appointed by the court to care for a minor child and act for him in legal matters.
Usufruct: A right given to someone to use and enjoy the property of another, but not to alienate it.
Usufructuary: The person in whose favor a usufruct has been granted.
Will: A document in which a person declares how his estate is to be distributed upon his death; also called a Last Will and Testament.