Frequently Asked Questions

Not for your consultation. We hold most Legacy Navigation Meetings by Zoom or phone, so you can meet with an attorney from your living room. You will need to come in person to sign your documents — that part has to happen in person — but the initial meeting can be done from wherever you are comfortable.

Yes. This is one of the things we get asked most often, and the answer is always the same — we serve all 64 Louisiana parishes. We have clients in communities far from any of our offices. A virtual Legacy Navigation Meeting gives them access to the same attorneys and the same level of preparation as anyone who walks in off the street.

Louisiana calls it succession. Every other state calls it probate. But the differences are more than just the name. Louisiana's civil law system has its own rules around forced heirship, community property, and how estate proceedings work in each parish's district court. An attorney who knows probate in Texas or Georgia does not automatically know how to handle a succession in Louisiana. You need someone who knows this state.

They are the same basic idea — a legal process to protect someone who can no longer manage their own affairs — but Louisiana calls it interdiction and handles it under Louisiana law, which is different from the guardianship laws in other states. There are two types in Louisiana: full interdiction and limited interdiction. Which one is appropriate depends on the person's situation and what they actually need help with.

It is a one-on-one meeting with one of our attorneys. Before you arrive, your attorney reviews the Legacy Navigation Worksheet you submitted, so they already know the basics of your situation when you sit down together. You will not spend the first half of the meeting answering setup questions. Most families spend the time walking through their options and leaving with a clear picture of what makes sense for them. The consultation fee is $450, and it covers the preparation your attorney does before you ever show up.

It depends on what you need, and that is exactly what the Legacy Navigation Meeting is designed to answer. After your attorney reviews your situation and you walk through your goals together, you will receive a clear proposal with transparent pricing — before any work begins. There are no surprises. A simple will looks very different from a full trust-based plan with Medicaid considerations, and we price accordingly.

That depends on your assets, your family situation, and your goals. A will is the foundation of any estate plan, but it goes through Louisiana succession after you pass, which takes time and becomes a matter of public record. A trust can avoid that process entirely, offer more control over how and when assets are distributed, and play an important role in Medicaid planning or protecting a beneficiary with special needs. Your attorney will help you figure out which approach — or combination — makes the most sense for your family.

Documents from another state may not hold up the way you expect them to in Louisiana. Our civil law system operates differently from the common law used in most other states, especially when it comes to community property, forced heirship, and how powers of attorney are recognized. If you have moved to Louisiana or acquired property here, it is worth having your existing documents reviewed by a Louisiana attorney to make sure they still do what you intended.