A donation inter vivos in Louisiana is a binding, irrevocable gift of property made during the donor’s lifetime under Louisiana Civil Code Article 1468, taking effect the moment the donee accepts rather than at some future date.1Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1468 – Donations Inter Vivos It is a permanent transfer with federal gift tax consequences, a lasting effect on the property’s tax basis, and potential Medicaid implications that reach five years into the future. Before you sign anything, understand what a valid donation actually requires and what it costs the person receiving it.
What Makes a Donation Valid
Three elements have to line up. The donor must genuinely intend to give the property away for nothing in return, and that intent must exist at the moment of the gift. The property must be delivered, whether by handing it over or by executing a document that transfers title. And the donee must accept the gift while the donor is still alive.1Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1468 – Donations Inter Vivos
Acceptance is where donations often fail. It can happen in the donation document itself, in a later writing, or by taking physical possession of a movable. But if the donor dies or loses capacity before the donee accepts, the donation is void. If the donee dies without accepting, the donee’s heirs cannot accept in their place.2LSU Law Center. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1546 – Acceptance During Lifetime of Donee
Authentic Act or Manual Gift
Louisiana requires almost all donations to be made by authentic act. Skip that formality and the donation is absolutely null: legally, it never happened.3Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1541 – Form Required for Donations An authentic act is signed before a notary public and two witnesses, identifies the donor and donee by full legal names, describes the property, and includes the donee’s acceptance.
The main exception is the manual gift. A tangible movable object, such as jewelry, furniture, a vehicle, or cash, can be given simply by handing it over. No writing is required.4Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1543 – Manual Gift This exception does not extend to real estate or to intangible assets like stocks or intellectual property; those always require the authentic act.
When the property is real estate, the authentic act takes the form of a deed. A general warranty deed guarantees clear title and obligates the donor to defend against later claims. A quitclaim deed transfers only whatever interest the donor happens to hold, with no guarantees. Quitclaim deeds are common between family members but leave the donee exposed if a title defect surfaces. Either way, the deed needs a full legal description of the property using lot numbers, subdivision references, or metes-and-bounds language from prior conveyance records. An ambiguous description can cloud the title for years.
Who Can Give and Who Can Receive
The donor’s capacity is measured at the moment of the donation; the donee’s capacity is measured at acceptance.5LSU Law Center. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1471 – Capacity to Donate Inter Vivos Everyone is presumed capable of giving or receiving unless a specific exception applies.6Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1470 – Persons Capable of Giving or Receiving
A minor under sixteen cannot make a donation at all except to a spouse or child. A minor between sixteen and eighteen can donate only by will, again with the same spouse-or-child exception.7LSU Law Center. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1476 – Capacity of Minor to Donate Receiving is easier. A parent, grandparent, or tutor can accept a donation on behalf of a minor, even if that same person is the donor.8LSU Law Center. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1548 – Acceptance for Unemancipated Minor An unborn child can receive a donation if the child is in utero at the time of the gift and is later born alive.
People under interdiction or with significantly diminished mental capacity face restrictions similar to those on young minors. Confirming the donor was of sound mind at the signing is the standard safeguard against later challenges from heirs.
The Forced Heirship Ceiling
Louisiana is the only state with forced heirship, and those rules cap how much you can give away. Forced heirs are children twenty-three or younger, or children of any age who are permanently incapable of caring for themselves. They are guaranteed a minimum share of your estate called the legitime.
A donation that cuts into the legitime is not void, but it is reducible. A forced heir can go to court after the donor’s death and have the donation trimmed back to restore what the law guarantees them.9Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1503 – Reduction of Excessive Donations If you have qualifying children and are considering a large donation, the calculation matters. A generous gift today can produce a lawsuit between the donee and your heirs tomorrow.
Signing and Recording
The donor, donee, notary, and two witnesses have to be together in the same room, and everyone signs. Once the notary certifies the document, it gets filed in the conveyance records of the parish where the property sits. That public filing is what makes the donation enforceable against third parties like creditors or future buyers. Without recording, the transfer is valid between donor and donee but invisible to everyone else.
Parish clerk recording fees generally run from about $105 for short documents to $300 or more for longer ones, depending on page count and indexing. The notary charges separately for the signing. After recording, the clerk assigns a book-and-page or instrument number that serves as permanent proof of the transfer. Most parishes complete recording within a few business days.
Federal Gift Tax Reporting
The IRS treats a donation inter vivos as a gift. In 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year without owing gift tax or filing a return.10Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Married couples who agree to split gifts can give up to $38,000 per recipient before triggering a filing requirement.
A donation above the $19,000 annual exclusion requires the donor to file IRS Form 709 for that calendar year. Filing does not mean you owe tax. The excess reduces your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption, which for 2026 sits at $15,000,000 per person under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act signed into law on July 4, 2025.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2010 – Unified Credit Against Estate Tax That figure adjusts for inflation in years after 2026. Most donors will never come close, but the Form 709 filing obligation applies to every gift above the annual exclusion regardless of lifetime totals.
Louisiana does not impose a state gift tax, so only federal rules apply.
The Carryover Basis Problem
This is the cost most donors miss. When you give property away during your lifetime, the donee takes your original cost basis. Buy a house for $80,000, donate it when it’s worth $400,000, and the donee’s basis is still $80,000. When the donee later sells, capital gains tax applies to the difference between the sale price and that $80,000 figure.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust
Compare that with passing the same property through your estate at death. The heir gets a stepped-up basis equal to fair market value on the date of death, and the $320,000 of appreciation disappears from the tax picture. For highly appreciated property, the swing between gifting during life and bequeathing at death can be tens of thousands of dollars in capital gains tax. It is the single most overlooked factor in donation planning.
The carryover basis can be adjusted upward by a portion of any federal gift tax actually paid, tied to the net appreciation of the gift. Since almost no one exceeds the $15 million lifetime exemption and therefore pays no gift tax, this adjustment rarely helps in practice.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust
Medicaid and the Five-Year Look-Back
Giving property away to qualify for Medicaid nursing home coverage does not work the way many people think. Federal law requires states to review every asset transfer made within the 60 months before a Medicaid application.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets A donation made in that window for less than fair market value triggers a penalty period during which the applicant is disqualified from Medicaid-funded long-term care.
The penalty is calculated by dividing the total value of disqualifying transfers by the average monthly cost of private-pay nursing home care in the applicant’s state. In 2026 that divisor runs from roughly $8,200 per month in lower-cost states to over $13,300 in higher-cost ones. A $120,000 donation in a state with a $10,000 divisor produces a 12-month penalty during which you pay for nursing home care out of pocket.
The penalty clock does not start until you actually apply for Medicaid and would otherwise qualify. A donation made four years before your application can still produce a penalty that leaves you without coverage exactly when you need it. If Medicaid planning motivates the gift, the timing needs to sit well outside the five-year window.
When a Donation Can Be Undone
A donation inter vivos is built to be permanent. Louisiana allows it to be reversed only on narrow grounds: ingratitude by the donee, or failure of a condition attached to the gift.14Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1556 – Causes for Revocation or Dissolution
Ingratitude
Ingratitude is not bad manners or a broken promise. The statute limits it to two situations: the donee attempted to kill the donor, or the donee subjected the donor to cruel treatment, crimes, or grievous injuries.15LSU Law Center. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1557 – Revocation on Account of Ingratitude Family disputes and hurt feelings do not qualify.
The donor must file a revocation suit within one year of learning of the act. If the donor dies within that year, heirs can continue the action for whatever time remains. If the donor never knew, heirs have one year from the donor’s death.16LSU Law Center. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1558 – Prescription for Ingratitude Action Revocation does not automatically undo what the donee already did with the property. Sales, leases, or mortgages made before the lawsuit was filed remain valid.17Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1559 – Revocation for Ingratitude Effects
Failure of Conditions
A donation can carry conditions the donee must satisfy: maintaining a family property, caring for the donor in old age, using donated funds for education. If the donee fails to perform, the donor can ask a court to dissolve the gift. The court has to be involved for title to revert.
Creditor Challenges
Separate from the donor’s revocation rights, creditors can attack a donation they believe was made to move assets beyond their reach. Under the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act, adopted in nearly every state, a creditor can void a transfer made with intent to defraud, or one made without reasonably equivalent value while the donor was insolvent. The typical limitations period is four years from the transfer, with additional time possible if the creditor discovered it later. A donation to a family member while carrying significant debt is the kind of transaction courts scrutinize closely.