Good attorney in baton rouge for simple will.

Paul Rabalais

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I suppose you already know but in Louisiana you don't have to have an attorney write a will for you. You can write one yourself even if it's just handwritten and not typed.

You don't have to get it notarized but if you do get a notary to put his seal on it, it will just make it a little less prone to being questioned if you experience your grand finale'.

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this is somewhat true. if you are writing your own will, hand write it and include the date. if you type it yourself or order from some website, 99% chance it is invalid.

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who will draw it up and keep on file and make sure it gets carried out

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You'll want to keep an original as well. Keep it safe, but somewhere your heirs can find it. If you live at least another 10+ years a lot can happen. That attorney and/or his firm might not be around anymore when your heirs come calling for the will.

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Another option may be putting it in a safety deposit box and letting 2 heirs know it's there so together it can be retrieved.

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This is historically what people have done to ensure it was protected. Can't open the safety deposit box without a court order if name isn't on it. Also, lawyer usually just wants to keep a copy. This can be used later on if needed to help verify the original if there is a question about its legitimacy (along with witness affidavits, etc.)

Paul is a great guy. He has started posting a lot of content on LinkedIn which gives you an idea for his expertise.

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it could be filed in court too

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Yes and that would make it easier for them to probate later on. Two caveats with that:

1. It'll be available to the public. So if there's any sensitive issues in there, others can see it, heirs start squabbling with you over it, etc.
2. If you ever change your will, you have to remember to record the new one and revoke the old one so that it is clear which one is supposed to rule. And the courthouse will squeeze recording costs out of you each time.

Yes, please be one of the dopes that tries drafting one of your own wills. We make way more money that way.

Eta: that was mean seriously, if you have any assets at all, go see a professional

Ricky McDavid with Cypress Title in Zachary. One of his specialties.

A Notary Public can draft a will easily and perfectly legally in Louisiana. More than likely it will be at a fraction of the cost of an Attorney preparing one for you.

It’s a much more cost effective solution. Just my ¢2...

Notice the attorney’s downvoting, OP? Just do a small exercise for us:

1.) Call a few attorneys and report back the anonymous averaged price of the quotes you get.

2.) Then do the same for a similar amount of Notary Public’s.

3.) Report the numbers and the difference between them in this thread.

It sounds like you are asking two different questions.

If you are planning to leave everything to your siblings in equal shares, with some survivorship clauses, then the testament should only cost you $200-$300. That is the most I would charge as it will take one hour to an hour and a half, including the initial meeting and the meeting to execute the testament.

It sounds like you are also asking for someone to "make sure it gets carried out." A succession proceeding is more expensive, though it will be paid from remaining assets after you pass. You can name an attorney for the estate in your testament, but it will not be binding on your siblings/heirs/legatees.