Louisiana
Louisiana is the only US state operating under civil law (the Napoleonic Code, not English common law). That distinction reshapes inheritance, marital property, and incapacity planning in ways that surprise nearly every family who moved here from elsewhere — and that anyone caring for a Louisiana parent needs to understand.
Louisiana is the only US state with statutory forced heirship. Under La. C.C. art. 1493, children who are under 24 or permanently incapacitated are entitled to a legitime — a guaranteed share of the parent's estate. A Louisiana will that disinherits a qualifying forced heir without proper just-cause grounds will be partially set aside. Out-of-state estate plans rarely anticipate this.
Louisiana is a community-property state — most assets acquired during marriage are owned 50/50 regardless of whose name is on the title. For Medicaid planning, this changes the spousal-resource allowance calculation and the way property is treated at look-back. Couples who moved from common-law states often have years of mistakenly-titled assets to untangle.
Louisiana abolished its inheritance tax in 2008 and has never had a state estate tax. The federal estate tax still applies above ~$13.99M per person in 2025. For most Louisiana families that means the estate-planning conversation is about probate (called "successions" here), incapacity documents, and forced-heirship coordination — not tax minimization.
Medicare in Louisiana
Original Medicare vs Advantage, Medigap rules, the SHIIP counselor network statewide.
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Medicaid & LTC in Louisiana
Healthy Louisiana managed care, the 60-month look-back, community-property spend-down planning.
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Care Settings & Costs in LA
ARCP licensure tiers, cost-of-care across NOLA, Baton Rouge, and the rural parishes.
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Legal & Financial — LA
Civil law, forced heirship, mandate/procuration (LA's POA equivalent), and the succession process.
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The Caregiver's Life — LA
Federal FMLA only, no state paid leave, sibling dynamics under community-property rules.
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For when you don’t want to dig
Medicaid agency, Area Agency on Aging, Adult Protective Services, free Medicare counseling, legal aid, official forms, and every statute we cite. All in one page.
OCT 15 → DEC 7
Medicare Annual Enrollment Period
Compare Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. Louisiana's MA market is moderately competitive in the I-10 corridor and thinner in the northern parishes.
ANNUAL
Louisiana Medicaid redetermination
Each enrollee's annual redetermination occurs on the anniversary of enrollment. Watch the mail — failure to respond is one of the top causes of avoidable coverage lapses.
JUN 30 ANNUAL
Louisiana Homestead Exemption verification
Parish assessors review homestead-exemption claims annually. Confirm your parent's exemption is intact; losing it triggers a property-tax shock.
Recent from Louisiana
Reviewer to be assigned · May 21
Reviewer to be assigned · May 21
Reviewer to be assigned · May 21
Caregiving rules differ meaningfully across state lines. If you’re weighing where to relocate your parent, these comparisons matter.
How we research Louisiana-specific guidance.
Every state page is built from three sources: the state’s own statutes and regulatory filings, federal CMS and SSA documents that apply, and direct input from at least one credentialed reviewer who practices in or is licensed in that state. We re-review every state page quarterly. Louisiana was last fully reviewed on May 21, 2026 by Reviewer to be assigned.