How to Set Up a Trust in Louisiana

A trust can give you more control over how your property is managed and passed on, but only if it is created and funded correctly. Louisiana has its own trust law, and it includes formal requirements that do not exist in many other states. At Richard J. Tomeny Jr. Attorney at Law, we walk clients through each step so the finished trust works as intended.

Step 1. Decide What You Want the Trust to Accomplish

Some people want to keep property out of a succession. Others want to manage money for young children, protect a beneficiary who struggles with spending, or plan for a family member with a disability.

A parent providing for an adult child who receives government benefits, for example, may need the kind of special needs planning that a basic living trust does not cover.

Step 2. Hire an Attorney Who Knows Louisiana Trust Law

Online templates usually follow other states’ laws. Louisiana’s civil law system, forced heirship rules, and strict signing requirements mean a generic form can look complete and still fail when your family needs it.

The right lawyer asks questions about your family, your property, and your concerns, then designs a trust around those answers.

Qualities worth looking for in an attorney include:

• Regular experience with Louisiana trusts and successions
• A willingness to explain your options in plain language
• Familiarity with real estate, business interests, and tax issues
• Availability for future updates as your life changes

Richard J. Tomeny Jr. holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has helped Louisiana families with trusts, wills, and successions for decades. The firm has operated as a fully digital practice since 2011, so clients can meet in person, by phone, or by video.

Working with a Baton Rouge trust lawyer early in the process helps you make every decision with a clear understanding of how Louisiana law applies.

Step 3. Choose the Type of Trust

Your attorney will help you choose between two main categories.

1. Inter vivos trusts are created during your lifetime. A living trust is the most common.
2. Testamentary trusts are created through your will and take effect only after your death.

You will also decide whether the trust can be changed. Louisiana treats a trust as irrevocable unless the trust document reserves the right to revoke it, so this choice needs to be written into the instrument from the start.

The differences between Louisiana trust types affect taxes, flexibility, and how well the trust protects assets.

Step 4. Name Your Trustee and Beneficiaries

The trustee manages the trust property and follows its instructions. Many people serve as their own trustee during their lifetime and name a successor trustee to take over later.

Choose someone organized, trustworthy, and willing to do the work.

Beneficiaries are the people or organizations who benefit from the trust. In Louisiana, children who qualify as forced heirs may be entitled to a portion of your estate, and their share can often be placed in a trust rather than given outright.

Step 5. Sign the Trust in the Proper Form

Under Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:1752, a living trust must be created by authentic act or by a signed document executed before two witnesses and properly acknowledged.

If these requirements are not met, the property may end up passing through a succession.

Step 6. Fund the Trust

A trust only controls the property placed in it.

Funding usually involves:

• Recording an act transferring real estate into the trust in the parish where the property sits
• Retitling bank and investment accounts in the name of the trustee
• Assigning business interests or other movable property

Some assets, such as life insurance and retirement accounts, pass through beneficiary designations instead, and those forms should be coordinated with the trust.

Step 7. Review the Trust Over Time

Marriage, divorce, new children, and new property can all affect whether a trust still fits your family. A periodic review keeps the trust aligned with the rest of your estate plan.

Getting Started

Setting up a trust is a manageable process with the right guidance. To begin planning with a trust lawyer in Baton Rouge, contact our office and schedule a private consultation.