Our firm is dedicated to providing you with quality estate planning resources, so you can become familiar with all of the existing options. When you visit or call our office, we want you to feel comfortable discussing such an important issue concerning both you and your family. We want to arm you with the information you need to make an informed decision about your family’s future.
If you have a well-drafted estate plan in place, you’ll ensure that your estate passes to whom you want, when you want, and is carried out in the manner you’ve chosen. You can rest assured that your family won’t have to endure the public process and costly matter of probate. The government won’t be able to take what you’ve spent a lifetime building. But you need to be aware of the many options that exist in estate planning—and you must choose your attorney wisely.
That is why our firm offers this wealth of free information and free seminars. Read our Estate Planning blog, and if you’re in the area, join us for an Estate Planning webinar. We want you to feel confident about the choices you make—let us be your guide on the path toward preserving your family’s future.
Why We Do What We Do
Clients often ask me why I chose estate planning as a career. When I was 10 years old, my grandfather passed away, and while this is sad for any child to go through, his passing altered the trajectory of my life – and family – forever.
My grandfather had seven children, and after he passed, my mother and her siblings were thrust into litigation over his estate because he failed to leave a tidy plan. My grandfather was an entrepreneur and real estate investor. He had valuable business and real estate assets, but because he didn’t leave a plan, these assets ultimately lost much of their value due to the litigation costs, conflict, and delays involved with settling his estate. However, it wasn’t just the value of my grandfather’s financial assets that were destroyed by this litigation battle — my family was too.
At the time of her father’s passing, my aunt just wanted the whole thing to be over, and she ended up forcing a partition of the estate to end the dispute. My mother never forgave her for this and refused to ever speak to her sister again for putting the family through litigation. I haven’t seen my cousins – her children – since then and have completely lost contact with that side of the family.
This debacle, which dragged on for nearly 20 years, was such a part of my daily life that I can’t say it pushed me to attend law school, but years later, I’m aware of how much it has shaped my passion for estate planning. When I first applied to college, I entered with no intention of practicing law. I was good at math and science and I was guided by both my father and guidance counselors to pursue chemical engineering at Georgia Tech.
By year two of working towards my chemical engineering degree, I started to realize that this probably wasn’t going to be the right career for me. I’ve never been one to quit, though, so I pushed through and graduated. I even got a job in Texas at a polyethylene plant, but after about 2 years or working as an engineer in various roles, I was drawn back to school for a career change.
I was living in New Orleans at the time, so Tulane University was the logical place to apply, and I was accepted to their prestigious MBA/JD program which would give me both a law degree and an MBA.
Once I started attending my classes, I realized I enjoyed studying law because I would have the opportunity to help people, and I was drawn to estate planning for this very reason. I saw that the combination of business and legal knowledge gave me the opportunity to help families and small business owners avoid the upheaval my family went through when my grandfather died, I also saw that I had a good background to help clients with investments and retirement planning during their lives.
I never wanted to be in the courtroom arguing in front of a judge; I wanted to be a trusted advisor families could turn to when they needed help with business and financial decisions— and I wanted people to avoid the upheaval my own family went through.
After graduating from Tulane, I worked at several large firms for about five years, where I got experience in tax and ERISA law, but I ultimately felt that I’d be much happier in a smaller practice helping families and small business owners, rather than the big firm practice helping mostly large corporations. So, in 2002, I opened my estate planning firm: Progeny Law Firm.
I started small, with a small book of real estate and estate planning clients, and I felt happier than ever. Over the years, our team has grown to include 2 additional attorneys, for a total of six incredible team members. We’ve recently expanded the Progeny Law Firm family to include Progeny Title, helping clients with real estate closings, and Progeny Wealth Management, our financial services firm that can assist our clients with investments and insurance.
Progeny Law Firm is successful because we offer a white-glove experience for our clients, and we never just do the minimum but strive to go above and beyond for every single person. We build rich and fulfilling relationships with our clients, so families can have peace of mind about what will happen to their estates and families in the future.
I want to make sure every family that comes through our doors is taken care of and that no family is ever torn apart by an improper estate plan. I’m honored to be that trusted advisor in the lives of so many wonderful people, and I look forward to serving you in the future!
–Myrna Arroyo
Estate Planning
Through the use of Living Trusts, Wills (simple & complex), Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Irrevocable Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships, and Charitable Gifting Strategies, our firm helps families preserve their wealth for future generations, minimize estate taxes, and avoid the expense and nightmare of probate.
We provide comprehensive, tailored estate planning services to meet all of our clients’ needs. Below is a sampling of the type of services we offer. If you have questions about any of our services, please do not hesitate to contact us or call us at (225) 465-1090.
Incapacity Planning
Our law firm helps clients create a plan to handle their affairs in the event of an incapacity before they pass away. This includes planning to avoid a Living Probate or Guardianship proceeding.
IRA Inheritance Planning
Our law firm has experience in the complex area of estate planning with IRAs and other retirement plans. We help ensure clients and their beneficiaries are protected by employing tax reduction techniques.
Elder Law & Medicaid Services
We help clients qualify for government Medicaid benefits legally and ensure their estates are preserved for their families, instead of their nest egg being wiped out by high nursing home expenses.
Asset Protection & Business Planning
We help clients who are small business owners and those who are most susceptible to being sued by assisting with Lawsuit and Asset Protection. We also assist with Business Succession Planning and Small Business Planning. Some of the tools and strategies used are Family Limited Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies and Buy-Sell Agreements.
Special Needs Planning
We offer assistance to clients who have special needs family members by creating Special Needs Estate Plans. These tailored plans help them preserve government benefits while having their loved one cared for in all areas of their life: financial, educational and Medicaid, and most importantly, their emotional and personal needs in the future.
Trust Administration & Probate
We help families who have experienced the loss of a loved one with the ensuing Probate or Trust Administration process.
