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Transfer-on-Death Deeds · Louisiana

Louisiana Transfer-on-Death Deed

Can you pass a Louisiana home to your heirs outside probate with a transfer-on-death deed? No — Louisiana does not offer a transfer-on-death deed for real property. This page explains why, and the verified alternatives Louisiana families use instead.

Written by TTA Editorial

Published July 26, 2026 · Last verified July 26, 2026 · Update policy: reviewed at least annually and on change in law; statutory tables re-verified each legislative session

At a glance

TOD / beneficiary deedNot available
InstrumentNone — not available (civil-law state)
Governing lawNo transfer-on-death deed — Louisiana has not adopted the Act; verify options with a Louisiana notary or the parish recorder
Community-property stateYes

Why Louisiana has no TOD deed

Louisiana does not offer a transfer-on-death deed for real property. Louisiana follows a civil-law tradition — a legacy of its French and Spanish heritage, unlike the common law used elsewhere in the U.S. — and its property and succession rules — including forced heirship, which reserves a share of the estate for certain children — do not accommodate the common-law transfer-on-death deed. Louisiana has not adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act.

Real property (immovable property) in Louisiana generally passes through a succession, or through one of the lifetime tools below, each of which requires a formal notarial act. A homemade deed that tries to pass property at death cannot substitute for these mechanisms.

What to use instead

Because Louisiana offers no transfer-on-death deed, families keep a home out of probate with other tools. Common alternatives include:

  • Reservation of usufruct with a donation of naked ownership — the owner donates the naked ownership now (a formal notarial act) but keeps the right to use the property for life; at death the usufruct ends and the heirs hold full ownership with no succession for that property. It is a completed, taxable gift when made.
  • A revocable living trust, which can hold the property and pass it to beneficiaries outside succession while accommodating forced-heirship planning.
  • An inter vivos donation (outright lifetime gift) by notarial act, which removes the property from the estate but relinquishes control immediately.
  • For qualifying smaller estates, a small-succession affidavit streamlines the post-death transfer.

Mortgages, Medicaid & community property

Existing mortgages and liens

Louisiana's lifetime transfer tools pass immovable property subject to existing mortgages and liens; a donation or a transfer into trust does not extinguish a recorded mortgage.

Medicaid estate recovery

Louisiana's alternatives interact with Medicaid estate recovery differently — an outright lifetime donation removes the property from the estate (subject to the Medicaid look-back), while property that passes through succession may be within reach of recovery. Confirm the current rules with Louisiana Medicaid before choosing a tool.

Community property

Louisiana is a community-property state. Louisiana IS a community-property state, and spouses can and often do use survivorship and usufruct arrangements. A surviving spouse frequently receives a usufruct (a life right to use the property) by law or by testament, with the naked ownership passing to the children — a civil-law structure with no common-law TOD-deed equivalent.

State-specific quirks

Forced heirship changes the whole picture

Louisiana reserves a portion of the estate (the légitime) for forced heirs — generally children under 24 or those permanently incapable of caring for themselves. Any plan for passing a Louisiana home has to work around forced heirship, which is one reason the state has never adopted a transfer-on-death deed. Work with a Louisiana notary or succession attorney rather than a generic deed form.

Usufruct is the civil-law substitute — but it is a gift now

Donating the naked ownership while reserving a usufruct passes the home outside succession, but it is an irrevocable, taxable gift at the moment of the donation, and it starts the Medicaid look-back clock. That is a very different trade-off from a common-law TOD deed, which is revocable and transfers nothing until death.

Sources & methodology

Methodology & sources

A current primary-source transfer-on-death deed statute could not be confirmed for Louisiana. Check the rule with the county recorder or an attorney licensed in Louisiana. Cited rules link to the state code or legislature when available, otherwise to a codified copy of the state code. Deed-form vendors and roundups are not sources. See our editorial standards.

General information, not legal advice. Medicaid estate recovery, mortgage terms, and co-ownership can affect whether a transfer-on-death deed works as intended. An attorney licensed in Louisiana can assess your situation.

Last verified July 26, 2026.