Valorem Law Group
Services

Considered counsel in three disciplines.

Estate planning protects the things you've already built. Business formation shapes what you'll build next. Oil & gas counsel keeps mineral interests on solid Louisiana ground. Each demands careful drafting and rewards the long view.

— 01

Estate Planning

A complete plan that reflects your family, your assets, and your wishes — drafted to be unambiguous when it matters most.

  • Revocable Living Trusts The cornerstone of most plans — providing privacy, avoiding probate, and giving you complete control during life.
  • Wills & Pour-Over Wills Clear instruments naming guardians, executors, and beneficiaries, working in concert with your trust.
  • Irrevocable Trusts Specialized vehicles for asset protection, tax efficiency, and multi-generational planning.
  • Powers of Attorney Durable financial and healthcare authority, prepared with the same care as the rest of your plan.
  • Advance Healthcare Directives Clear, dignified instructions that ensure your wishes are honored.
  • Probate & Trust Administration Counsel for executors and trustees through the period after a loved one passes.
  • Wealth Transfer Strategy Lifetime gifting, generation-skipping planning, and charitable structures.
  • Plan Reviews & Amendments Plans should evolve. We revisit yours as life and law change.
— 02

Business Formation

From the first entity choice through governance, partnerships, and eventual transition — a legal foundation engineered to scale with your work.

  • Entity Selection & Formation LLC, S-Corporation, C-Corporation, or partnership — the right structure for your goals, taxes, and risk profile.
  • Operating Agreements Carefully drafted governance documents that anticipate the harder conversations before they happen.
  • Shareholder Agreements Voting, transfer, and dispute-resolution terms that give every owner a clear voice.
  • Founder & Partnership Agreements Equity, vesting, decision rights, and what happens when someone wants to leave.
  • Buy-Sell Agreements Clear mechanics for ownership transitions triggered by retirement, disability, or death.
  • Corporate Governance Bylaws, board structures, and the disciplined records that protect the corporate veil.
  • Succession & Exit Planning Strategies for handing the business to the next generation — or selling it on your terms.
  • Escrow Services Neutral handling of funds and documents through closings, transactions, and contractual milestones — with disciplined recordkeeping and clear release conditions.
  • Ongoing General Counsel A standing relationship for the recurring questions that come with running a business.
— 03

Oil & Gas Law

Louisiana mineral law is its own discipline — built on the Mineral Code, shaped by parish records, and unforgiving of imprecise drafting. We advise landowners, mineral owners, and closely held operators with the same care we bring to every engagement.

  • Mineral Leases Negotiating, drafting, and reviewing oil & gas leases — bonus, royalty, depth severance, Pugh clauses, and post-production cost language.
  • Title Examination & Curative Mineral and surface title opinions, chain-of-title review, and the curative work needed to clean up gaps before a transaction or unit formation.
  • Royalty & Division Order Disputes Underpayment claims, suspended royalties, division order corrections, and Louisiana Mineral Code §137 demand letters.
  • Servitudes & Prescription Counsel on mineral servitudes, the ten-year prescription of nonuse, interruption events, and the documentation that protects future rights.
  • Surface Use & Right-of-Way Agreements Surface use, pipeline, and access agreements drafted to protect long-term land value alongside development.
  • Unitization & Pooling Voluntary unitization agreements and counsel on Office of Conservation forced-pooling proceedings.
  • Mineral Conveyances & Estate Integration Sales, donations, and successions of mineral interests — coordinated with the estate plan so rights pass cleanly.
  • Operator & JOA Counsel Joint operating agreements, farmouts, and ongoing counsel for closely held Louisiana operators.
Our Process

A predictable rhythm, from first conversation to signed documents.

Every engagement follows the same four-step path. You'll know where you are at every point.

  1. Initial conversation

    A no-obligation consultation to understand your situation, answer questions, and confirm a path forward.

  2. Engagement & discovery

    A flat-fee engagement letter, followed by a careful review of your assets, family structure, and goals.

  3. Drafting & review

    We draft your documents, walk through them with you in plain language, and refine until everything fits.

  4. Execution & follow-through

    Signing, funding, and the administrative work needed to bring your plan or entity fully into effect.

Have a matter in mind? We'd be glad to listen.

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The information on this website is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Communication with Valorem Law Group through this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Valorem Law Group, A Professional Law Corporation, and its attorneys are licensed to practice law only in the State of Louisiana. We do not offer or provide legal services in any jurisdiction in which we are not licensed to practice.