Baton Rouge Legal Blog

AAA is reaching out to drivers to encourage them to have a large number of air bags repaired or replaced as soon as they can. A recall was issued in 2015 covering vehicles in Louisiana and across the country that had certain Takata air bags installed. These air bags pose a serious risk to both drivers and passengers, and roughly 15.4 million vehicles remain on the road with these air bags equipped. According to a senior manager of traffic safety for AAA, the air bags will be repaired for free at dealerships all over the country.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a recall of the air bags in May 2015, but there was a parts shortage initially that forced drivers to wait for long periods before the repairs could be done. The required parts are now widely available for most vehicles, and the repair work can take as little as a few hours.

Parents in Louisiana who have young children are likely to want to leave certain high-value assets to those children. However, they should make sure that the estate plan they develop is more complex than just a will. In fact, including a trust as part of an estate plan can help parents ensure that the assets they leave to children or young adults will not be irresponsibly managed.

A trust can be used to create financial guidelines and boundaries for young beneficiaries. One of the duties of a trustee can be to work with the beneficiaries to create a flow of income that will address their needs and that will allow the trust principal to be maintained. The trustee can also be obligated to instruct the beneficiaries about financial matters so that when they are allowed more access to the inherited assets, they are able to manage them responsibly.

Almost 100,000 Porsche owners in Louisiana and around the country will soon be receiving recall notices in the mail. The German carmaker recently announced that 99,665 Cayenne SUVs produced between 2003 and 2010 and Panamera sedans built between 2010 and 2016 have transmission bushings that will likely need to be replaced. The recall is scheduled to begin on Aug. 11 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The transmissions of the vehicles being recalled feature plastic bushings that connect their main transmission units to the gear selector lever. If the plastic wears down over time, the bushing could detach. This could lead to a situation where the gear selector indicates that a vehicle is in one gear while it is really in a different gear. The recall has been ordered because a detached bushing could cause a rollaway accident. Porsche says that audible chimes or warning lights would not warn drivers about the danger. Media reports about the recall do not mention any accidents caused by the problem.

One of the mistakes Louisiana residents can make with estate planning is not developing an estate plan at all. There are many people who do not have a will, and if they die without a will in place, the state will be required to determine who should step into the role of executor and who will receive their assets. Married couples should be sure to develop an estate plan as intestacy laws do not stipulate that all assets will be transferred to the ownership of a surviving spouse.

Another estate planning misstep is not being prepared for the unexpected. It is important that an estate plan includes the legal documents that ensure an incapacitated individual's wishes and preferences will be honored regarding certain decisions. A financial power of attorney, which can be used to designate a trusted person to act on the behalf of an incapacitated person in the management of their financial affairs, should be completed. It is also important to have a health care power of attorney in place so that a trusted person can make medical decisions. For people who would prefer to not have extraordinary measures taken if they are on life support, they should also make sure to have a living will on file.