How Much Does a Will Cost in Louisiana?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 11, 2026 Updated September 23, 2026 8 min read

Quick answer

No Louisiana law sets what a will costs, and we found no published source for Louisiana will-drafting prices as of September 2026 that is not a law firm, an online document seller, or a site paid to refer customers to one. What Louisiana law does set is below. Louisiana recognizes the olographic testament under La. Civ. Code art. 1575 and the notarial testament under art. 1576, as amended by Acts 2025, No. 30, §1. A testament does not remove an estate from the court process Louisiana calls a succession rather than probate; it directs how the succession distributes.

⚠️ Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.

The figures on this page are the ones a statute or a named, dated publisher sets. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for Louisiana with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.

What a will costs in Louisiana

We found no published source for this figure as of September 2026. The Louisiana will prices that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them. None is an independent publisher, so none is cited here.

No Louisiana statute sets what a will costs to draft. Louisiana law sets how a will must be executed to be valid, and what the court charges to probate it — neither fixes a drafting fee.

What the court charges

The deadline the fee buys into

What makes a will valid in Louisiana

La. Civ. Code art. 1576(A), as amended by Acts 2025, No. 30, §1: the notarial testament is "prepared in writing, dated, executed before a notary public in the presence of two witnesses, and signed by the testator, each witness, and the notary". A testator unable to sign may affix a mark or direct another person to sign on the testator’s behalf and in the testator’s presence. Under art. 1576(B) the signature "may appear anywhere in the testament and is sufficient if it identifies the testator and evidences an intent by the testator to adopt the document as the testator’s testament", and under art. 1576(C) the date "may appear anywhere in the testament, may be clarified by extrinsic evidence, and is sufficient if it resolves those controversies for which the date is relevant".

EPTL §3-2.1(a)(1)(C) provides that a person who signs the testator’s name for the testator must sign their own name and affix their address, and is not counted as one of the necessary attesting witnesses.

Can you write your own will by hand in Louisiana?

Louisiana recognizes the olographic testament. La. Civ. Code art. 1575(A), as amended by Acts 2025, No. 30, §1, defines it as one "entirely written, dated, and signed in the handwriting of the testator" and provides that it "is subject to no other requirement as to form" — so no witnesses and no notary. Art. 1575(B) and (C) allow the signature and the date to appear anywhere in the testament, with the date clarifiable by extrinsic evidence. Art. 1575(D) provides that additions and deletions made after execution "may be given effect only if made by the hand of the testator". La. C.C.P. art. 2883(A) requires it to be proved by the testimony of two credible witnesses to the testator’s handwriting, which art. 2883(B) permits by affidavit executed after the testator’s death unless the court requires oral testimony.

EPTL §3-2.2(a)(2) defines a holographic will as one written entirely in the testator’s handwriting and not executed and attested under the §3-2.1 formalities.

The self-proving affidavit

La. Civ. Code art. 1577, which the notarial testament’s form requirements used to sit in, was REPEALED by Acts 2025, No. 30, §3, along with arts. 1578, 1579 and 1580. The live provision is art. 1576, "Notarial testament; requirements of form", as amended by Acts 2025, No. 30, §1. Art. 1576(A) requires the notarial testament to be "prepared in writing, dated, executed before a notary public in the presence of two witnesses, and signed by the testator, each witness, and the notary", and provides that a testator unable to sign "may affix his mark in place of signing or direct another person to sign on behalf of the testator and in the presence of the testator". It does NOT require a signature on each page, and it does not require an attestation clause. On proof: La. C.C.P. art. 2883(A) requires an olographic testament to be "proved by the testimony of two credible witnesses that the testament was entirely written, dated, and signed in the testator’s handwriting", which may be given by affidavit after the testator’s death under art. 2883(B). No comparable proof-by-witness requirement for a notarial testament appears in the proof articles read (C.C.P. arts. 2881, 2882, 2883, 2884 and 2885); art. 2881, added by Acts 2025, No. 34, §1, provides that "[t]he court shall proceed to probate the testament ex parte, unless an objection is made." No article stating that a notarial testament is self-proving was located, so none is cited here.

Without it, the attesting witnesses may be called to testify to the execution when the will is offered for probate. SCPA §1406(1) is what removes that step, by letting the court accept their sworn affidavit instead.

What a will does not do in Louisiana

A will directs an estate through probate; it does not remove assets from it. A will tells the Louisiana probate court who receives what and who administers the estate. Property governed by the will still passes through probate — the court-supervised, public process.

The cost of the document and the cost of probate are therefore separate figures. For what probate itself costs in Louisiana, see How Much Does Probate Cost in Louisiana?.

What passes outside probate in Louisiana

Assets transfer outside probate only by operation of law or contract, regardless of what a will says. The recognised mechanisms are:

Beneficiary designations — retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary.
Joint ownership with right of survivorship — passes to the surviving owner.
Transfer-on-death instruments, where Louisiana authorises them.
Assets titled into a funded living trust.

A will has no effect on any asset transferred by these routes. For the Louisiana figures on the trust alternative, see How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Louisiana?, and for the documented differences between the two instruments, Will vs. Trust: How They Differ.

What affects the price in Louisiana

We found no published source for Louisiana will-drafting prices as of September 2026, so this page states no range and no price drivers. The prices on this page that are fixed by law are the court’s, above, with the statute that fixes them cited there.

What the record shows

Item	Louisiana
Price of a will	Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026
Governing statutes	La. Civ. Code art. 1576 (notarial testament; requirements of form, as amended by Acts 2025, No. 30, §1); La. Civ. Code art. 1575 (olographic testament; requirements of form); La. Civ. Code arts. 1577, 1578, 1579, 1580 (repealed by Acts 2025, No. 30, §3); La. C.C.P. art. 2883 (proof of olographic testament); La. C.C.P. art. 2881 (ex parte probate if no objection; added by Acts 2025, No. 34, §1)
State authority	Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov)

A will directs an estate through probate and does not remove assets from it. Execution requirements, the treatment of handwritten wills, the self-proving affidavit, the court’s own fee schedule and the claim period are set out above with their statutory citations. No figure is published here for what a will costs to draft: we found no independent published source as of September 2026.

Will costs in other states

Compare Louisiana with what a will costs in other states:

How to Write a Will (and What Makes It Valid) — the full step-by-step.
Do I Need a Will? — what happens under intestacy when there is none.
How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer? — the national cost picture.
How Much Does Probate Cost in Louisiana? — the separate cost of probate itself.
How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Louisiana? — the instrument that holds assets outside probate.

This page sets out what Louisiana law fixes about making a will and probating it, as of September 2026. It is not legal advice; statutes and figures change and depend on your situation. Confirm current rules with a licensed Louisiana attorney. It states no drafting price, because we found no independent published source for one. Sources: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov); La. Civ. Code art. 1576 (notarial testament; requirements of form, as amended by Acts 2025, No. 30, §1), La. Civ. Code art. 1575 (olographic testament; requirements of form), La. Civ. Code arts. 1577, 1578, 1579, 1580 (repealed by Acts 2025, No. 30, §3), La. C.C.P. art. 2883 (proof of olographic testament), La. C.C.P. art. 2881 (ex parte probate if no objection; added by Acts 2025, No. 34, §1).

Related guides

What Happens If You Die Without a Will by State

Do I Need a Will? What a Will Does and What Intestacy Does

How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer?