A Louisiana act of donation of immovable property is the notarized document used to give real estate to another person without payment. Louisiana Civil Code Article 1541 requires every donation of immovable property to be made by authentic act, and a donation that fails this form is an absolute nullity with no legal effect.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code CC 1541 – Form Required for Donations Get the formalities right the first time. A defective donation cannot be cured later, and Louisiana’s forced heirship rules can expose the donee to claims well after the paperwork is signed.
The Authentic Act Requirement
An authentic act is a document executed before a Louisiana notary public in the presence of two witnesses.2Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1833 – Authentic Act The donor, the donee, and both witnesses all sign in the notary’s presence, and the notary signs and affixes an official seal.
This is not flexible. A donation signed at home without a notary has zero legal effect. A notarized document signed without two witnesses present also fails. No court can validate an improperly executed donation after the fact.
What the Act Must Contain
Donor and Donee
Both parties are identified by full legal name and must have legal capacity. The donor has to understand the gratuitous nature of the transfer, and the donee has to be legally able to accept ownership. State each party’s marital status, because community property rules directly affect what the donor can give away.
Spousal Concurrence for Community Property
If the property is community property, both spouses must sign. Louisiana Civil Code Article 2349 requires the concurrence of both spouses for any donation of community property to a third person.3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code CC 2349 – Donation of Community Property; Concurrence of Other Spouse One spouse acting alone can only make “usual or customary” gifts of modest value relative to the couple’s finances. Donating a house is not that. A community property donation without the other spouse’s concurrence is voidable.
Legal Description of the Property
Describe the property with enough precision to identify it in the public records, using the metes-and-bounds or lot-and-block description from the most recent recorded deed. A street address alone is not enough. Pull the description directly from the prior title document or the parish conveyance records.
Donative Intent
The act must state clearly that the transfer is a gift made without expectation of payment. This gratuitous intent is what separates a donation from a sale. Any hint of a hidden price can turn the document into a disguised sale, changing the legal rules that apply and inviting challenges from forced heirs or creditors.
Acceptance by the Donee
The donee has to accept the gift. Article 1544 provides that a donation has no effect until it is accepted by the donee.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code CC 1544 – Donation Effective From Time of Acceptance Acceptance can appear in the act itself, which is the cleanest approach, or in a separate writing signed during the donor’s lifetime. A later written acceptance works, but the donation only takes effect from that date.
Valuation
State the property’s fair market value at the time of donation. That figure sets the baseline for forced heirship calculations, supplies the number needed for federal gift tax reporting on IRS Form 709, and helps show whether the gift exceeds the donor’s disposable portion. Base it on a recent appraisal or the current parish tax assessment.
Signing and Recording
Once the act is drafted, the donor, donee, and two competent witnesses gather before a Louisiana notary. The notary confirms identities, ensures the signatures are voluntary, and certifies the document. Everyone signs at the same gathering. Parties cannot sign separately at different times.
The signed act is recorded in the parish where the property is located.5Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2371 – Recordation of Donations Inter Vivos; Effect The Clerk of Court serves as the ex-officio recorder of conveyances, and filings go through the Clerk’s Mortgage and Conveyance division. Recording gives constructive notice to the world. An unrecorded donation is valid between donor and donee, but it will not protect the donee against a third party who records a competing claim first.
The Clerk’s office will typically require a parish tax certificate showing property taxes paid current through the transfer date,6Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:2155 – Tax Sale Certificates a mortgage certificate showing any existing liens, and in some parishes a local transfer form or general information sheet. If the property has an outstanding mortgage, disclose it in the act; the donee takes the property subject to the mortgage even though they never signed the loan.
Recording fees run roughly $100 to $150 for a standard act of donation, more in some parishes, and do not include the required certificates. The notary’s drafting and execution fee is separate. Agree on that fee before drafting starts. The Clerk stamps the recorded document with the date, time, and a unique instrument number, and returns a certified copy to the donee.
Forced Heirship Exposure
Louisiana is the only state with forced heirship laws that protect certain descendants from being disinherited, and those protections reach lifetime gifts, not just bequests at death. Forced heirs are the donor’s children who are either under 24 at the time of the donor’s death, or permanently incapable of caring for themselves due to mental or physical incapacity at that time.7Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code CC 1493 – Forced Heirs; Representation of Forced Heirs These heirs are entitled to a share of the estate called the “legitime.”
If a lifetime gift exceeds the donor’s “disposable portion,” a forced heir can file an action to reduce the excessive donation after the donor dies. The donee could be required to return part of the value, and in some cases return the property itself in kind.8Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1266 – Immovables in Excess of Disposable Portion; Collation in Kind Title insurers know this. Property acquired by donation can be harder to insure because a potential forced heirship claim clouds title until the donor dies and those rights are settled. If the donee may sell later, talk to a title company before closing.
Mortgaged Property
Donating mortgaged property does not erase the debt, and the transfer can trigger the mortgage’s due-on-sale clause, letting the lender demand the full balance immediately. The Garn-St. Germain Act blocks lenders from enforcing a due-on-sale clause when the borrower’s spouse or children become owners of a residential property with fewer than five dwelling units.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions
The exemption stops there. Donations to a sibling, parent, friend, or unrelated person are not protected, and the lender can call the loan. If you are donating mortgaged property to anyone other than a spouse or child, talk to the lender before signing. Even on exempt family transfers, notify the lender and expect conditions before they recognize the new owner.
Federal Gift Tax and the Donee’s Basis
The donor reports the gift. If fair market value exceeds the annual gift tax exclusion of $19,000 per donee for 2026, the donor must file IRS Form 709.10Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026, Including Amendments From the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Real estate almost always exceeds that, so the filing is almost always required. Filing does not usually mean owing. Amounts above the annual exclusion reduce the donor’s lifetime gift and estate tax exemption, which for 2026 is $15,000,000 following the One, Big, Beautiful Bill signed into law on July 4, 2025.11Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Federal gift tax is owed only if the donor has exhausted that lifetime amount. The donee owes nothing on receipt because gifts are not taxable income.
Basis is where donees often get caught. When you receive property as a gift, your cost basis is generally the donor’s original adjusted basis, not the property’s current market value.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust Inherited property, by contrast, steps up to fair market value at the date of death. For high-appreciation real estate, the choice between gifting now and bequeathing later can mean a large difference in future capital gains. Donees should collect and keep records of the donor’s original purchase price and any capital improvements; without them, proving basis at a future sale is expensive and difficult.
Louisiana itself repealed its gift tax effective July 1, 2008, and eliminated its inheritance tax for deaths after June 30, 2004.13Louisiana Department of Revenue. Inheritance and Estate Transfer Taxes The state’s remaining estate transfer tax applies only to estates already subject to federal estate tax. For most donors, the tax picture is entirely federal.
When a Donation Can Be Undone
A completed donation is not always final. Louisiana Civil Code Article 1556 recognizes three grounds for revocation or dissolution:14Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code CC 1556 – Causes for Revocation or Dissolution
- Ingratitude, meaning the donee attempted to take the donor’s life or was guilty of cruel treatment, crimes, or grievous injuries toward the donor. Ordinary family disputes do not qualify.15Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1557 – Revocation for Ingratitude
- Failure of a condition, whether a suspensive condition that was never met or a resolutory condition that occurred.
- Nonperformance of charges the donor attached to the gift, such as maintaining the property as a primary residence or paying certain debts.
Conditions and charges show up in practice more often than ingratitude claims. A donor who wants some ongoing control over the property should have the notary draft clear, enforceable conditions into the act itself.
Homestead Exemption for the New Owner
Louisiana’s homestead exemption shelters the first $7,500 of assessed value, equivalent to $75,000 in market value, from most property taxes. It does not transfer automatically. The donee must apply at the Parish Assessor’s office to establish a new exemption in their own name. Miss that window and the full, non-exempt tax bill applies until the exemption takes effect.