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Bill

SR 133

SECURITIES: Creates a task force to study the use of payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts and to report its findings and any recommendations for revisions to applicable Louisiana laws to the legislature.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Mark Abraham

Louisiana will study POD/TOD accounts to determine if and how laws should be revised to align with civil-law rules and improve clarity, predictability, and nonprobate treatment.

Enrolled. Signed by the President of the Senate and sent to the Secretary of State by the Secretary of the Senate on 5/22/2026.
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Bill Summary · SR 133

Summary: SR 133 (Louisiana, 2026) – Task Force on Payable-on-Death and Transfer-on-Death Accounts

Purpose and intent

  • Establishes a legislative task force to study the use of payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts in Louisiana.
  • Aims to evaluate whether revisions to applicable Louisiana laws are warranted and to propose recommendations and potential legislation to the legislature.
  • The study and reporting are intended to bring clarity, consistency with state law, and predictability to these account designations.

Key provisions and focus areas

The resolution directs the task force to consider a broad set of issues, including but not limited to:

  1. Interaction with forced heirship laws

    • Whether beneficiary designations on TOD/POD accounts align with Louisiana rules on forced heirs, legitimise, reduction, and required estates procedures.

  2. Community property implications

    • Classification of TOD account proceeds under community property law
    • Rights of surviving spouses and how funds are characterized.

  3. Nonprobate status and probate exemption

    • Whether TOD/POD proceeds should be treated as nonprobate and how exemptions from probate should be shaped (and whether to limit or condition them).

  4. Beneficiary designations versus testamentary dispositions

    • Legal effect of beneficiary designations made by contract
    • Whether such designations should supersede wills or be subject to collation or other succession principles.

  5. Executory requirements for designations

    • Whether beneficiary designations must be executed by authentic act
    • Prohibition on electronic designations or execution by power of attorney
    • Practical and legal implications of these requirements.

  6. Protections for financial institutions

    • Rights, duties, and liability protections for institutions
    • Scope of discharge from liability upon payment to a named beneficiary.

  7. Claims by heirs and creditors

    • How heirs, forced heirs, or the estate may assert claims
    • Adequacy of remedies to protect Louisiana policy interests and vices of consent.

  8. Ownership structure of TOD accounts

    • Treatment of multiple owners, requirements for unanimous execution, and implications for ownership rights vs. beneficiary designations.

  9. Bank and contract authority

    • Whether financial institutions can impose additional contract conditions
    • Conflicts with or potential preemption by state law.

  10. Secured interests and pledged funds

    • Exclusion of pledged/assigned funds from TOD provisions.

  11. Interactions with existing laws

    • How TOD accounts interact with existing POD laws and with other beneficiary designations (e.g., multiple-party accounts).

  12. Debt and administration costs

    • Treatment of creditors’ claims, debts, and administration expenses or reimbursement.

  13. Conflict of law

    • Recognition and enforcement of TOD accounts established under other states’ laws.

  14. Consumer protection

    • Risks of fraud, undue influence, or abuse, including considerations related to power of attorney restrictions and electronic execution.

  15. Compatibility with Louisiana civil law tradition

    • Overall alignment of TOD/POD accounts with Louisiana’s civil law framework.

  16. statutory revisions and drafting

    • Recommendations for revisions to statutes to promote clarity, uniformity, and predictability.
    • Development of proposed legislation to resolve uncertainties and implement recommendations.

Task force composition

  • 2 private attorneys with tax/estate planning expertise (appointed by Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs).
  • 2 members representing banking and securities industry (appointed by the same committee).
  • 2 members from the Louisiana State Law Institute with expertise in property, successions, or related areas (appointed by the president of the Institute).

Administrative and procedural details

  • Administrative support provided by the Louisiana State Law Institute.
  • Members serve without compensation, though per diem/expenses may be reimbursed as applicable.
  • First meeting required by October 1, 2026; organizational steps include selecting a chair and officers.
  • Quorum: majority of task force members; actions require a majority vote.
  • Report due: no later than March 1, 2027, to the legislature and the Law Institute.
  • Termination: task force ends upon submission of its report or March 1, 2027, whichever comes first.
  • Substantive reports and proposals to be delivered in writing.

Who is affected

  • Louisiana residents and families with POD/TOD designations on accounts.
  • Financial institutions handling POD/TOD arrangements.
  • Attorneys, trust and estate professionals, and financial planners advising on such accounts.
  • Courts and state agencies interpreting probate, succession, and property laws in Louisiana.

Significance

  • Addresses growing use and uncertainty surrounding TOD/POD accounts in Louisiana.
  • Seeks to harmonize these practices with Louisiana’s unique civil-law framework and existing probate/nonprobate rules.
  • Aims to provide legislative clarity to reduce litigation and improve predictability for account holders, heirs, and financial institutions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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