Paul Rabalais' Louisiana Succession Law Blog

Special Rules for Out of State Executor

Hey, I’m often asked whether an executor of a Louisiana succession or probate must be a Louisiana resident and the answer is no. I’m working with a family right now out of Washington and their father died. He lived in Louisiana, but all of the children live out of the state. So the question they had was can an executor live out of the state? The answer is yes, but there are a couple of rules that apply specifically to out of state executors.

 One, is an out of state executor must appoint someone in Louisiana as what’s called their registered agent for service of process and the reason for that is if the executor ever gets sued, the out of state executor must have named someone in Louisiana who can received those lawsuit papers.

That’s one factor for an out of state executor; the other factor is that when they go to open the estate account, the estate account must be opened at a Louisiana bank.

That is just one Louisiana state succession rules some out of state executors would prefer to open at estate account where they live, but it needs to be a Louisiana bank. You could get smacked with a pretty hefty penalty for not compiling with that rule.

So be aware of that, an out of state person can be an executor If you have any questions about becoming an executor of a succession or an Louisiana probate we handle those in all of the 64 Louisiana parishes. We would be happy to talk to you about it, give us a call at 866-491-3884. Have a great day!

Why Hire The Rabalais Law Firm To Handle a Louisiana Succession

Selecting the appropriate lawyer or law firm to handle a Louisiana Succession for a family member or other loved one can be one of the most important legal decisions you ever make. Selecting the right lawyer can provide for a quick and smooth transition in the handling of legal, tax, and financial concerns after the death of a loved one. On the other hand, working with the wrong attorney can result in unnecessary delays, conflicts, costs, and mistakes that can strain your most valued family relationships.

There are both some obvious and not-so-obvious reasons why surviving family members should select our law firm when making the all-important decision of who to guide and represent them through this often difficult process.

The following are 11 obvious reasons why you will want to work with us:

1. I have been handling Louisiana successions for more than 18 years;
2. I am a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Administration, a certification issued by the Specialization Board of the Louisiana State Bar Association.
3. I have a B.S. in Finance from Louisiana State University.
4. I earned my law degree from the LSU Law Center.
5. After graduating from law school, I earned a Masters Degree in Tax Law (LL.M.) from Boston University School of Law.
6. We perform our legal services for a fixed fee which you know in writing up front - never any surprises about legal fees.
7. We have convenient offices and convenient free parking.
8. We stay in touch with our valued clients by writing and providing educational e-newsletters, print newsletters, and events that I conduct.
9. I wrote a book, "Estate Planning in Louisiana, A Layman's Guide To Understanding Wills, Trusts, Probate, Power of Attorney, Medicaid, Living Wills & Taxes," which is available at Barnes & Noble and amazon.com.
10. I maintain a blog that I update weekly regarding Louisiana Succession issues.
11. I attend continuing educational events around the state and around the country to keep myself updated on estate administration issues that affect our valued clients.

The following are 132 not-so-obvious reasons for emailing us, calling us, or coming by our office to discuss our handling your important estate administration needs:

1. We have a passion for providing amazing estate administration legal services.
2. We conduct training sessions EVERY DAY (from 8:30am - 9:00am) for me and our incredible employees so that everyone in our office is up to date on the latest and greatest things that we can do for our valued clients.
3. We have created and maintained written business systems for how we do what we do. This allows us to give high quality predictable legal services to every client we serve.
4. We love to use technology to speed up the delivery of our estate administration legal services. For example, when someone comes in to discuss our Louisiana succession legal services, we already have the initial set of court documents prepared and ready for their signature, even though they have not even retained our law firm yet.
5. We love improving the way we deliver customer service. You won't wait unnecessarily in our reception area. Instead, you will be greeted by name from a friendly service provider.
6. We have hundreds of written testimonials from satisfied clients. If you want to read them all, just come by our office or ask to read them. They are awesome.
7. I'm currently writing my second book for Louisiana residents. It will teach you how to make sure that a Louisiana succession is handled quickly and professionally - from A to Z.
8. Our mission is to use our Louisiana succession legal services to enhance the relationships of Louisiana families.
9. We abhor hourly rate work. This promotes inefficiency and delays.
10. We intend to transform our broken legal services industry.
11. Our clients are invited to monthly educational events (teleseminars, webinars, live events).
12. We can't stand to get in the middle of messy family disputes. We'd much rather see family members communicate professionally and improve relationships.
13. Since all uncontested Louisiana Successions DO NOT require a single court appearance, we can handle successions in ALL 64 LOUISIANA PARISHES.

If you want to look into how we may assist you with your important Louisiana Succession proceeding, simply send me an email at paul@rabalaislaw.com, call me toll-free at 866-491-3884, or come by our convenient and comfortable home office in Baton Rouge. It will cost you nothing to look into our estate administration services. Don't be shy - I'm certain you will be impressed with your initial contact.

Paul Rabalais