Provides for donations that a curator may make on behalf of an interdict and limitations on forced portion to forced heirs with disabilities. (8/1/26)

SB 127 amends Code of Civil Procedure Article 4566 and enacts two new statutory sections to establish a framework allowing curators to make donations on behalf of wealthy interdicts and to limit the forced portion owed to disabled forced heirs with substantial assets. The bill creates R.S. 9:1026, which authorizes curators to make inter vivos and testamentary donations on behalf of interdicts with net worth of at least one hundred million dollars, including noncharitable donations to direct descendants, siblings, and their descendants using available federal gift tax exclusions and estate tax exemptions, subject to specified limits and equal distribution requirements among same-generation recipients. The statute also permits charitable donations up to ten percent annually of net worth exceeding one hundred million dollars, and testamentary charitable dispositions not exceeding seventy-five percent of the gross estate. Additionally, the bill enacts R.S. 9:2374 to provide that forced heirs with disabilities who have direct or beneficial net worth exceeding fifty million dollars shall have a forced portion of only one dollar rather than the amounts otherwise prescribed by Civil Code Article 1495. The amended Article 4566(C) provides that curators affiliated with charitable recipients may make approved charitable donations without breach of fiduciary duty and allows curators to refuse, renounce, or disclaim gifts to interdicts with net worth of one hundred million dollars or more without court approval.

The practical effect of this legislation falls primarily on three groups: curators managing the affairs of wealthy interdicts, the interdicts themselves, and potential heirs and charitable organizations. Curators of interdicts with net worth of at least one hundred million dollars gain authority to make significant inter vivos and testamentary gifts within defined parameters, including to family members and charities, without facing liability for breach of fiduciary duty even when the curator or related parties are affiliated with charitable recipients. Wealthy interdicts themselves effectively gain expanded wealth transfer opportunities through their curators, allowing for strategic use of federal tax exemptions and charitable giving strategies. Conversely, disabled forced heirs with net worth exceeding fifty million dollars will inherit substantially reduced forced portions, receiving only one dollar instead of the statutory forced share, which may significantly diminish their inheritance rights and benefit other heirs or charitable causes. Charitable organizations may benefit from increased giving opportunities from wealthy interdicts, even those controlled by family members of the interdict.

This legislation operates within Louisiana's succession law framework established by the Civil Code and Code of Civil Procedure. Louisiana's forced heirship system, governed primarily by Civil Code Articles 1493 through 1510, ordinarily grants certain family members the right to inherit a minimum portion of a decedent's estate regardless of the decedent's testamentary wishes. The present bill modifies this regime by creating a narrow exception for disabled forced heirs with substantial independent wealth. The legislation also integrates federal tax law, specifically incorporating by reference the annual gift tax exclusion under 26 USC Section 2503(b), lifetime estate tax exemptions under 26 USC Section 2010, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions under 26 USC Section 2631 et seq., effectively making federal tax planning mechanisms available to wealthy interdicts through their curators. The bill preserves existing laws governing curator authority found in Code of Civil Procedure Articles 4271 and 4566 and respects preexisting wills and trusts established before an individual's interdiction, ensuring that testamentary plans made during capacity are not disturbed. The framework also recognizes the distinction between direct ownership and beneficial ownership as a trust beneficiary, addressing common estate planning structures used by high-net-worth individuals.