In a ruling on November 6, 2026, the Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit, overturned a lower court decision that had deemed a will invalid due to signature challenges from six out of nine children. The father, Louis Lloyd Sr., had left his estate to his surviving wife in the October 2015 will, which was questioned for failing to meet legal requirements regarding signatures and witnesses. The appeals court found insufficient evidence provided by the children to establish the document's invalidity, sending the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.
On July 19, 2021, Louis Lloyd Sr. passed away, leaving behind his wife Evelyn Robertson Lloyd and nine children. Six of these children were from another relationship. In December 2021, Evelyn filed a petition to be recognized as the sole legatee under her husband's will. However, six of Lloyd's children challenged this arrangement in October 2022, claiming that their brother, Louis E Lloyd Jr., qualified as a forced heir under Louisiana law and demanding the annulment of the probated will to reopen succession proceedings.
The main disagreement centered around the appearance of Lloyd's name on the two-page document. The children argued that the difference between his printed name on the first page and the cursive signature on the second page made the will legally invalid due to issues with its signatures and execution. They also questioned whether the document had been signed in the presence of a notary and two witnesses, and raised concerns about another version of the will that contained differences in family member names.
In January 2025, the six children sought partial summary judgment, asking the court to declare the will absolutely null. The trial court granted their request on April 3, 2025, with an amended judgment on August 12, 2026, formally declaring the will invalid. Evelyn appealed, arguing that the children had failed to prove the document's legal defectiveness and that the burden of establishing its invalidity rested with those challenging it, not her.
The Louisiana Court of Appeal examined the case in light of a revised Civil Code, which took effect on August 1, 2025, simplifying requirements for notarial wills. Under the amended provision, a will must be written, dated, and executed before a notary in the presence of two witnesses, with signatures from the testator, both witnesses, and the notary. The revised law removed the requirement that the person making the will sign every separate page and eliminated the attestation clause as a condition of validity. Importantly, the legislation applied retroactively to pending claims, provided they had not already been decided through a final judgment. Since the children's challenge was still pending when the amendments took effect, the appeals court held that the revised requirements applied.
After examining the will, the judges found that it appeared to have been written, dated, and signed by Lloyd, the two witnesses, and the notary. The evidence presented by the children did not establish that Lloyd had failed to sign the document or that it had not been properly executed. The court also noted that the existence of the separate 'True Copy' version did not prove that the actual will was invalid. Under Louisiana law, those challenging a notarial testament carry the burden of proving its invalidity, and the children had failed to meet this burden.