Legal Corner: Does Louisiana require inheritance taxes be paid?

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Legal Corner answers viewers’ civil legal questions.

QUESTION: Several years ago, my parents made a will which has not been seen by any of their children. My father passed away 9 years ago and my mother now has dementia and has no idea where the will is. We only know the lawyer’s last name.

Do we legally have the right to try to obtain a copy of the will, and should we have been informed of the contents at the time of my father’s passing?

Does Louisiana require inheritance taxes to be paid?

ANSWER: Try to contact the attorney who prepared the will. If it is a Louisiana attorney, then the contact information for the attorney can be researched on the Louisiana State Bar Association’s website. If it is a non-Louisiana attorney, then research the contact information with the licensing state’s Bar Association.

If the father’s will is valid, then the attorney should have notified the listed heirs about the succession proceedings. The attorney is not required to divulge unnecessary information, but he should inform the heirs about certain aspects of the estate.

The heirs should find out if the will has been probated or if a succession has been opened. If it has been opened, then it is a public record and can be accessed at the office of the clerk of court where the father was domiciled if he was domiciled in Louisiana at the time of his death. If the father was not domiciled in Louisiana at the time of his death, then the succession must be opened in the parish where he owned immovable property (real estate).

If the will has not been probated and a succession has not been opened, the ask then attorney about the location of the will. It is important to know that in Louisiana, only the original, signed will can be probated. Furthermore, Louisiana law does not allow joint wills. Each person must execute his or her own will.

Louisiana no longer has inheritance taxes and laws. Act 822 of the 2008 Regular Legislative Session repealed the inheritance tax law (La.R.S. 47:2401–2426).