Estate Planning Law Firm of Louisiana

In Their Own Words

“We were very pleased with the services Mr. Rabalais and his staff provided in our Estate Planning. Mr. Rabalais is very knowledgeable in Louisiana Tax and Estate Law and explained everything very clearly. We appreciated the efficiency of the staff and the process from the first visit to the last. Sending the documents to be read and corrected by email allowed us time to really study them and the corrections were complete prior to the last visit for signing. Thank you for the nice binder to keep everything organized in one place. We highly recommend you and your staff.”

 

-Randy and Debora Braswell

Greenwell Springs, LA

Another testimonial - thanks!

“Your Firm provided needed guidance and knowledge in our estate planning. Trusts and living wills were also drawn up for us. Information was shared in a very professional manner. Prior to signing the final documents, all misunderstandings and areas of confusion were thoroughly explained, necessary changes were made to the documents. Dale and I appreciate the final binder which was provided to us. The information contained in it provided one place to start the search for account numbers when needed.”

 

 -William and Dale W.

Baton Rouge, LA

Looking For Expert on Term Life Insurance AND the Internet

I'm on a mission to make it easy for parents with minor children to legally and financially protect their kids. My wife, Amy, and I have five kids and we know how busy it is these days for parents to take time to address these important but often neglected legal and financial issues. Most parents ignore that fact that they need to create important legal documents to name guardians for their kids, and to require that their children's inheritance be placed in trust for their kids.

Here's a few things I've done to accomplish this goal - but I've got a long way to go:

• I wrote a book in layman's terms which teaches parents of minor children what they need to do to protect their minor children.

• I created a website called www.yourkidsguardian.com. Louisiana parents can go to this website and create free legal documents designating the guardian of their minor children in the event parents die before their children reach age 18.

• I created a separate company which hosts a website which allows Louisiana parents to create self help legal documents like Wills, Wills with Testamentary Trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney, Health Care Powers of Attorney, and Living Wills. The site is still in test mode at this moment but you can check it out at www.YourLouisianaWill.com

I know that many parents have also neglected to purchase term insurance to provide for their minor children. On my www.YourLouisianaWill.com site, I'd like to give parents an opportunity to purchase term insurance (which would be payable to their children's trust).

I'm looking for someone who is an expert in both term insurance AND the internet that can partner with me to provide this valuable service to Louisiana parents. Do not contact me if you are not familiar with internet marketing, website development, marketing campaigns, and you are qualified, experienced, and licensed to sell term insurance in Louisiana. The person I work with must be courteous to others, self-motivated, and have a passion for what they do.

If you think you can help, send me an email at paul@rabalaislaw.com and let me know why. This is a tremendous opportunity.

Paul Rabalais 

Force Beneficiaries of IRA to Take Required Minimum Distributions By Naming Trust as Beneficiary

Have been asked a couple of times in the last couple of weeks to help people set up their IRAs so that when they die, the beneficiaries could only receive the required minimum distribution (RMD) from the IRA.

The reason people typically want to do this is twofold:

1. You virtually can guarantee that your beneficiary will receive annual income for the rest of the beneficiary's lifetime. The rules say that a non-spouse beneficiary must take RMDs over the beneficiary's life expectancy.
2. You can prevent your beneficiary from taking a lump sum distribution - requiring a hefty income tax bill - and then blowing the inherited funds.

Here's how it works:

• Determine who you want your beneficiaries of your IRA to be. It might be your children, your grandchildren, or other loved ones.
• Determine who will be the trustee of your "Stretch IRA Trust." This should be a responsible person or a trust company that will manage your IRA after your death and distribute to your beneficiaries their RMD amount.
• Work with an attorney like me to establish your Stretch IRA Trust.
• Give a copy of your Trust to your IRA custodian and make sure they will comply with the terms of your trust after your death.
• Name your trust as primary or contingent beneficiary of your IRA. Perhaps - if you are married - you want your spouse to be your primary beneficiary, and you want your trust to be the contingent beneficiary.

Paul Rabalais

A Happy Estate Planning Client

Thanks to Richard and Joyce McGraw of Baton Rouge, LA, for sending in the following note regarding their experience with our firm: 

“My wife and I heard Paul at a church seniors gathering and were impressed with the level of information that was presented in less than an hour on various wills, estate planning and preservation of assets. At this years Life After 50 event, I went to another Estate Planning by Paul and decided then that my wife and I both needed Power of Attorneys, Living Wills, and Estate Planning final Will and Testaments. Our intent was to protect remaining assets for our children or grandchildren.

 

At each of the above events and at our consultation meeting with Paul, he was very professional in a relaxed setting, asking and answering all questions of attendee. If someone needs this type of service, I would strongly recommend that Paul be considered.”