Baton Rouge Probate Lawyer

Are you looking for a probate lawyer in Baton Rouge, LA?

At Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law, we have a probate practice built on 48 years of client representation.

If a parent, spouse, or other family member has died owning property in East Baton Rouge Parish, the heirs generally cannot sell, refinance, or retitle that property until a court recognizes them as its owners. Our Baton Rouge, LA probate lawyer opens the succession, presents the testament for probate when one exists, and prepares the filings that conclude with a judgment of possession.

Richard J. Tomeny, Jr. has practiced law in Louisiana since 1978. His work includes probate, real estate, and commercial finance, three subjects that frequently arise together in a single estate.

Contact our office to schedule a private consultation.

Probate Lawyer Baton Rouge

A probate lawyer in Baton Rouge guides an estate through the court proceeding that follows a death. The work includes proving the testament, obtaining the appointment of an executor or administrator, settling debts, and transferring the remaining property to the heirs and legatees. Louisiana calls this proceeding a succession. In East Baton Rouge Parish, it is filed in the 19th Judicial District Court.

Residents aged 65 and older make up 17.4% of the parish’s estimated 456,180 people, according to Census QuickFacts data. When those estates are settled, the governing rules come from Louisiana succession law, which draws on the civil law tradition and differs in substance from the probate codes of the other 49 states.

Types of Probate Cases We Handle in Baton Rouge

Our probate attorney in Baton Rouge handles testate and intestate successions, contested matters, and estates that hold property in more than one state. Most of these proceed through the 19th Judicial District Court. Some smaller estates can be settled without a court filing at all.

• Probate of a notarial testament. A notarial testament is signed before a notary and witnesses, and the court can usually order it filed and executed without live testimony. We prepare the petition, obtain the order of probate, and request letters for the executor that the testament names.
• Probate of an olographic testament. A handwritten will must be entirely written, dated, and signed by the person who made it. Before ordering it executed, the court requires proof that the handwriting is genuine, so we identify the people who can attest to it and prepare their affidavits or testimony.
• Successions. Louisiana settles every estate that passes through court as a succession, whether or not the deceased left a valid will. Where there is no will, the Civil Code’s default rules determine who inherits, so we establish heirship, prepare the affidavit of death, domicile, and heirship, and petition the court to place the heirs in possession.
• Independent administration. An independent administrator or executor can sell property, pay debts, and manage accounts without returning to court for approval of each act. It is available when the testament provides for it or when the successors agree, and it generally shortens the proceeding.
• Small successions. Estates below the value Louisiana law sets for this procedure can often be settled by sworn affidavit instead of a court proceeding. We confirm whether the estate qualifies and prepare an affidavit that banks and the conveyance records will accept.
• Ancillary successions. A person who lived in another state but owned land or accounts in Louisiana still needs a Louisiana proceeding for that property. We file the ancillary succession here and coordinate with the representative appointed in the decedent’s home state.
• Surviving spouses and usufruct. A surviving spouse often holds a usufruct over the deceased spouse’s share of community property, meaning the right to use it and receive its income while the children own it. Our office documents the usufruct in the judgment of possession so that banks, title companies, and later buyers can rely on it.
• Probate litigation. A testament may be challenged for defects in form, lack of capacity, or undue influence. We represent executors defending a will as well as heirs who believe a will should be annulled.
• Succession litigation. Disputes among heirs over accountings, the sale or partition of family property, or the conduct of a succession representative can stall an estate for months. These matters are resolved through motions and hearings in the succession record.

Why Choose Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law as My Probate Lawyer in Baton Rouge, LA?

A Background in Banking and Commercial Finance

Few successions concern the will alone. Mortgages, lines of credit, interests in closely held companies, and creditor claims all have to be addressed before the heirs take possession. Richard J. Tomeny, Jr. established and managed Jefferson Guaranty Bank’s legal and special assets department, served as senior vice president and general counsel, and acted as special counsel to several Louisiana banks from 1986 to 1988. He also lectured for the Louisiana Bankers Association on loan documentation, problem loans, and debt restructuring. Familiarity with how lenders document and enforce debt is a sound qualification in an estate planning lawyer in Baton Rouge, LA, and it applies directly when an estate owes money or owns part of a business.

Admitted to Louisiana Courts Since 1978

Mr. Tomeny earned his J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans and was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1978. He is also admitted to the federal district courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana and to the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. Martindale-Hubbell gave him its AV Preeminent peer rating in 2018. Over that career, our firm has represented heirs, surviving spouses, and estate representatives in simple and contested successions alike.

Understanding Probate Cases

Testaments, Heirs, and Administration in Louisiana Successions

Several terms appear in nearly every Louisiana succession, and they carry meanings specific to the civil law.
Testament. Louisiana’s word for a will. The notarial and olographic forms are the two in common use.

• Succession representative. The executor named in a testament, or the administrator the court appoints when no executor is named.
• Forced heirs. Certain children whom Louisiana law protects with a reserved share of the estate, even against the terms of a will.
• Community property. Property acquired during a marriage and generally owned by the spouses in equal halves. Only the deceased spouse’s half passes through the succession.
• Sworn descriptive list. A sworn statement of the decedent’s assets and their values, used in many successions in place of a formal inventory.
• Judgment of possession. The court’s judgment recognizing the heirs and legatees and placing them in possession of the property.

What Are Important Aspects of a Probate Case?

Not every asset passes through the succession. Life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death accounts generally go to the person named in the beneficiary designation, and property titled to a living trust is governed by the trust instrument. A Baton Rouge probate attorney identifies those assets early so they are not listed in the sworn descriptive list by mistake.

Debts come next. The succession representative must identify creditors and pay legitimate claims before the heirs receive property, and an estate with more debt than cash may require the sale of an asset. That responsibility is one reason the person chosen as executor matters.

Real estate adds a third consideration. A judgment of possession must be recorded in the conveyance records of each parish where the decedent owned immovable property.

What Is The Probate Case Timeline?

The length of a succession depends on whether anyone contests the will and whether the court supervises the administration. Most follow the probate process in this order:

1. Opening the succession. A petition is filed with the Clerk of Court, and any testament is presented for probate. Louisiana requires that a testament be presented within five years of opening the succession, or it cannot be admitted.
2. Appointment of the representative. The court confirms the executor or appoints an administrator, who then receives letters of authority.
3. Notice and the list of assets. The representative notifies interested parties, prepares the sworn descriptive list, and gathers account statements and valuations.
4. Payment of debts. Creditors are paid from estate funds. Under dependent administration, the court approves payments before they are made.
5. Judgment of possession and recording. Once signed, the judgment is recorded in the parish conveyance records so that title passes to the heirs and legatees.

An action to annul a testament is subject to a five-year prescriptive period under the Louisiana Civil Code. That period is suspended in favor of minors during their minority.

What Should You Bring to Your Probate Consultation?

The documents below let our Baton Rouge probate lawyer determine which type of succession applies and what the first filing will be.

• A certified copy of the death certificate
• The original testament and any codicils, or information on where the original is kept
• Recent statements for bank, brokerage, and retirement accounts, including any named beneficiaries
• Deeds, property tax notices, and vehicle titles
• Names and addresses of the surviving spouse, children, and any legatees

During the consultation, we review these records, explain which proceeding the estate requires, and describe the sequence of filings. Bring copies of anything you are unsure about, and we’ll tell you whether it belongs in the succession.

19th Judicial District Court and Local Resources

Louisiana has no separate probate court system. A succession is filed in the district court for the parish where the deceased was domiciled. For a parish resident, our probate attorney in Baton Rouge, LA files at the 19th JDC courthouse downtown. Its original jurisdiction covers civil matters in East Baton Rouge Parish, including probate proceedings.

Filings go through the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court. The Clerk’s Suit Accounting department accepts new probate filings, and the Clerk’s office continues to maintain paper files for probate proceedings after moving other civil records to electronic storage. Once the judgment of possession is signed, the Clerk’s Recording Department records it so that it becomes part of the public record.

Opening a succession requires a certified death certificate. Louisiana restricts who may order one, and succession representatives qualify along with close family members. Copies are issued through the Louisiana Department of Health and, for more recent deaths, through participating clerks of court.

Reach Out to Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law to Schedule a Consultation

Contact us to arrange a private consultation with our Baton Rouge probate lawyer. After reviewing the testament and records you bring, we will explain which proceeding the estate requires and the order of the filings. Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law responds to new inquiries to confirm a meeting time, and we’re glad to answer questions about the executor’s role or the heirs’ rights.