Planning for the Future of Your Family
When people come to us for help with estate planning questions, they are taking an important step in making their family—and their own future—more secure. The goal of estate planning is to create legal documents that protect your assets and establish a plan for the future needs of your family members, to express your wishes on how you want to be cared for during your later years of life or in the event of your incapacity, and to avoid or minimize succession costs and estate taxes.
At the Lake Charles law firm of Lorenzi & Barnatt, our estate planning practice combines extensive knowledge of the law with a sympathetic approach to our clients' concerns. We listen closely to our client's desires and concerns and then we devise a plan that helps achieve their goals.
An Attorney Board-Certified in Estate Planning and Administration
Our estate planning practice is led by attorney Theresa Ann Barnatt, an experienced lawyer who is board-certified in estate planning and administration by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. Ms. Barnatt's advanced knowledge of estate planning issues allows her to write simple wills and trusts with maximum efficiency, while allowing her to win her clients' confidence when handling complex estate plans.
"My goal is to take away the mystery behind wills and trusts and the estate planning process. I ask my clients: 'If you didn't have to worry about the tax consequences, how would you want to distribute your assets?' Then it's my job to construct the estate plan so that it accomplishes the client's goals and minimizes or eliminates the need to sacrifice assets to estate taxes."—Attorney Theresa Barnatt
Our Estate Planning Services
We offer the full range of estate planning services. Our clients usually come to us at well-defined stages of life:
- After a new marriage or second marriage, to make definitive decisions about distribution of assets after death and to create powers of attorney to give the spouse control over health care decisions
- After a birth or a divorce, to reorganize distribution of assets and to select a mutually acceptable legal guardian for the minor child
- After the birth of a child with special medical needs, to set up trusts to create long-term financial security for the child and to ensure that financial contributions from family do not create ineligibility for government assistance programs
- During or after retirement, to review existing wills and trusts and to engage in advance Medicaid planning
- After an inheritance or large personal injury award, to review the existing estate plan and to create a game plan for minimizing the tax consequences of the new assets
Contact Lorenzi & Barnatt for a Consultation
Whether you need to write a basic last will and testament or have complex concerns about asset protection and distribution, our lawyers can help you understand the estate planning options that are right for you.
To make an appointment, call 337-436-8401 or use our online contact form.
