We take the time to earn your trust – and serve clients from all walks of life with integrity and commitment.

Provide For And Protect Your Loved Ones And Legacy

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. These documents include wills and trusts, living wills, living trusts, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, health care directives, powers of attorney and more.

At the Lake Charles law firm of Lorenzi & Barnatt, L.L.C., our estate planning practice combines extensive knowledge of the law with a sympathetic approach to our clients’ concerns. We listen closely to our clients’ desires and concerns and then we devise a plan that helps them achieve their goals.

Addressing Your Estate Planning Needs And Concerns

Our estate planning practice is led by AV-rated* 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 a full range of estate planning services. Our clients usually come to us at defined stages of life:

  • After a new marriage or second marriage, to make definitive decisions about the 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 the 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 special needs trusts to create long-term financial security for the child and to ensure that financial contributions from the 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

Typical Estate Planning Documents And Services Include The Following:

  • Simple or complex will
  • Medical and financial powers of attorney
  • Health care directives and living wills
  • Trusts, including life insurance and special needs
  • Business continuation planning
  • Gifting and charitable giving
  • Tutorship for a minor child or incompetent adult

Contact Lorenzi & Barnatt, L.L.C., 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.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.