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Ascension Parish, LA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Topic | Ascension Parish details |
|---|---|
| Court | Twenty-Third Judicial District Court, serving Ascension, Assumption and St. James Parishes. |
| Filing office | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court, Civil Department. |
| Courthouse address | Ascension Parish Courthouse, 607 East Worthey Street, First Floor, Gonzales, LA 70737. |
| Second office | 300 Houmas Street, Donaldsonville, LA 70346, (225) 473-9866. The clerk publishes death certificate, marriage licence and public records computer services there. The clerk does not say whether a new succession may be opened there, so call before going. |
| Mailing address | No post office box is published. Mail goes to 607 East Worthey Street, First Floor, Gonzales, LA 70737. |
| Phone | Main line (225) 621-8400. For successions, use the Civil Suits line, extension 2. |
| Fax | (225) 621-8403 for civil filings. |
| The office does not publish a general email address for civil filings. Call the Civil Suits line. | |
| Hours | 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at both offices. Birth and death certificates are issued until 3:30 p.m. |
| Advance cost deposit | The clerk's published new probate matters deposit, including a succession, is $500.00, confirmed August 24, 2026 on the clerk's Civil Filing Fees page, with no printed effective date. The clerk states Ascension courthouse building fund charges are already included. |
| Local forms | No local succession petition or succession checklist is published by the clerk or the court. The parish assessor publishes a small succession assistance checklist for qualifying families. |
| E-filing | The clerk offers e-filing and e-recording and links eClerksLA and Clerk Connect. The January 1, 2026 filing rule in La. C.C.P. art. 253 applies to attorneys' filings. The original testament goes in on paper. |
| Case search | The clerk says eClerksLA searches include mortgage, conveyance, map, criminal, traffic, civil and marriage records, with monthly subscription and daily access options. Free public access computers are available at both offices. |
| Remote appearance | The court publishes Zoom joining instructions. Whether a particular civil matter can be attended remotely is set when the matter is scheduled and under La. C.C.P. art. 195.1 when its conditions are met. |
| Websites | Clerk: https://www.ascensionclerk.com/. Court: https://www.23rdjdc.org/. |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file in Ascension Parish, identify the assets, debts and whether any immovable property is in the parish. A judgment of possession that affects Ascension immovable property is recorded with the same Clerk of Court, and recording costs depend on page count, index books and names indexed.
Do the asset work before choosing the succession route or estimating the deposit. Sunset's 2,300-institution asset discovery helps families find accounts, insurance and other property before an estate settlement packet is filed, which matters because the clerk requires the correct advance cost deposit with the original petition and can stop work when a deposit is exhausted.
Which court handles jurisdiction
Successions for Ascension Parish are filed with the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court at the courthouse in Gonzales and heard in the Twenty-Third Judicial District Court, which also serves Assumption and St. James Parishes. The shared district means shared judges, not a shared filing counter. Assumption Parish has its own Clerk of Court in Napoleonville, and St. James Parish has its own Clerk of Court in Convent.
The Ascension Parish Clerk of Court's main civil filing office is at 607 East Worthey Street, First Floor, Gonzales, LA 70737. The clerk also operates a Donaldsonville office at 300 Houmas Street, but the clerk does not say whether a new succession may be opened there. Call the Civil Suits line at (225) 621-8400, extension 2, or the Donaldsonville office at (225) 473-9866, before making that trip.
The Ascension Parish communities to orient around are Gonzales, Donaldsonville, Sorrento and the unincorporated areas of the parish. A succession is opened in the district court of the parish where the decedent was domiciled at death. If the decedent was not domiciled in Louisiana, it may be opened in a parish where immovable property is situated, or where movable property is situated if there is no Louisiana immovable property (La. C.C.P. art. 2811).
The jurisdiction process
- Collect the death certificate, the original testament if one exists, asset information, debt information and any deed or acquisition document for Ascension immovable property. The clerk issues Louisiana death certificates at both the Gonzales and Donaldsonville offices for deaths from 2013 to the present, during the published vital records hours.
- Choose the Louisiana succession route with the facts in hand. The local filing office is the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court, Civil Department, because the clerk says that department files and processes civil matters including successions.
- Prepare the petition and supporting documents for the route selected. Do not use a tort cover sheet for a succession. If a self-represented filer needs pauper status, the Twenty-Third Judicial District Court publishes a motion for pauper status.
- File with the Civil Department at 607 East Worthey Street, First Floor, Gonzales. If you want to use the Donaldsonville office, call first because the clerk does not say whether new succession filings are taken there.
- Pay the required advance cost deposit. The clerk's published new probate matters deposit, including a succession, is $500.00, confirmed August 24, 2026 on the Civil Filing Fees page with no printed effective date. The clerk says pleadings without the correct advance deposit can be returned or held, and work can stop when the deposit is exhausted (La. R.S. 13:842).
- Submit the original testament on paper if there is one. La. C.C.P. art. 253 allows an original testament to be filed in paper form, and the clerk retains the original testament in perpetuity under La. C.C.P. art. 2911.
- For an uncontested matter, the clerk of court can probate an unopposed testament, confirm or appoint the succession representative, sign the corresponding order and issue letters testamentary, letters of administration or letters of independent administration when the representative has qualified (La. C.C.P. arts. 282, 283, 3159).
- Administer the succession as needed. That can include an inventory or sworn detailed descriptive list, court authority for paying debts when required, and letters for the executor, administrator or independent administrator to act.
- Present the judgment of possession for the court to sign. In an uncontested possession proceeding, the court renders and signs the judgment immediately (La. C.C.P. art. 3061). A contested matter goes to the court.
- Record the signed judgment of possession with the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court when Ascension immovable property is involved. The clerk publishes recording tiers for documents recorded through the Civil Suit Department, including one certified copy and a Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority portal charge.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Ascension Parish
Neither the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court nor the Twenty-Third Judicial District Court publishes a local succession petition, succession checklist, judgment of possession template or small succession affidavit form. Louisiana successions are opened by pleadings drafted to the Code of Civil Procedure, not by completing a statewide succession form set.
What Ascension does publish is practical filing material. The clerk publishes the Civil Filing Fees schedule with the succession advance cost deposit and related probate matters line items. The court publishes a motion for pauper status. The Ascension Parish Assessor publishes a Succession Assistance page with a small succession data form and checklist for qualifying families, help identifying an acquisition document in the clerk's records, and a referral path to Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. Do not rely on the assessor page for a current dollar limit.
Fees
Ascension Parish uses an advance cost deposit for a succession filing. The deposit is not a fixed final price. Costs draw against it, and the clerk can require additional deposits when the original deposit is exhausted (La. R.S. 13:842). The clerk's Civil Filing Fees page prints no effective date for the deposit schedule, so call (225) 621-8400, extension 2, before filing.
| Charge | Amount | Date or note |
|---|---|---|
| New probate matters deposit, including succession | $500.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Initial page in probate matters | $36.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Each subsequent page in probate matters | $4.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Conformed copy | $3.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Certified copy | $5.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Certificate of no opposition | $15.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. This is a line item only, not a step in every succession. |
| Notice of publication without certified copies | $15.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. This is a line item only. |
| Issue and process letters of confirmation, appointment, administration, testamentary or tutorship, without certified copies | $20.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Fax fee, without filing costs | $5.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Fax receipt | $15.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
Ascension also has a courthouse building fund charge of $150.00 for the initial filing of a civil suit and $30.00 for each additional pleading, effective December 1, 2017 under La. R.S. 13:996.69. The clerk states those building charges are already included in the published advance deposits, so do not add them again.
| Recording through the Civil Suit Department | Amount | Date or note |
|---|---|---|
| One index book, 1 to 5 pages | $105.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. Includes the LCRAA charge, ten names indexed and one certified copy. |
| One index book, 6 to 25 pages | $205.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| One index book, 51 or more pages, first 50 pages | $305.00, plus $5.00 for each additional page after 50 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Both books, 1 to 5 pages | $205.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Both books, 6 to 25 pages | $405.00 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Both books, 26 to 50 pages | $605.00, plus $10.00 for each additional page after 50 | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Indexing after ten names | $5.00 for each additional name | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Pages larger than 8.5 by 14 inches | $20.00 for each page | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
| Judgments and liens with the effect of judgments recorded without the last four digits of the debtor's Social Security number | $25.00 additional for each debtor | Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Civil Filing Fees page, confirmed August 24, 2026, with no printed effective date. |
Local nuance
Ascension Parish-specific considerations
| Local point | Why it matters for an Ascension succession |
|---|---|
| Two clerk offices | The clerk operates the main office in Gonzales and a satellite office in Donaldsonville. Both have the same published public hours, both issue death certificates and marriage licences, and both provide public access computers. The clerk does not say whether a new succession may be opened in Donaldsonville, so call first. |
| Shared judicial district | Ascension, Assumption and St. James Parishes share the Twenty-Third Judicial District Court. Each parish has its own Clerk of Court, so an Ascension succession is filed with the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court in Gonzales, not with the offices in Napoleonville or Convent. |
| Separate parish court | Ascension Parish also has an Ascension Parish Court, and the same Clerk of Court serves both courts. A succession still goes only to the Twenty-Third Judicial District Court because a parish court has no jurisdiction over a succession proceeding (La. C.C.P. art. 4847(A)(5)). |
| Courthouse building fund | Since December 1, 2017, Ascension has had courthouse building fund charges of $150.00 on an initial civil filing and $30.00 on each additional pleading under La. R.S. 13:996.69. The clerk states the charges are already included in the advance deposits. |
| Assessor succession assistance | The Ascension Parish Assessor publishes a Succession Assistance page with a small succession data form and checklist, help identifying an acquisition document in the clerk's records, and a referral path to Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. It is not a filing office and does not replace legal counsel. |
| Historic records | The clerk describes records dating to 1770, marriage records indexed from 1770 to the present, and older succession records covering 1843 to 1932 that are stored in a climate-controlled setting at State Archives. |
Recent updates
| Change | What changed |
|---|---|
| Small succession law, effective August 1, 2026 | Act 293 of 2026 amended La. C.C.P. art. 3421 and raised the Louisiana-domiciled small succession ceiling to $200,000. |
| Attorney filing rule, effective January 1, 2026 | La. C.C.P. art. 253 changed the filing rule for attorneys' filings. The Ascension Parish Clerk of Court posts the January 1, 2026 rule on its Civil Filing Fees page and links electronic filing options. |
Scenarios
| Scenario | Likely Ascension Parish path | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse with a co-owned home | Start with community property and the surviving spouse's usufruct over the decedent's share when descendants survive (La. C.C. art. 890). The end point is usually a judgment of possession that is recorded with the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court if the home is Ascension immovable property. | Sunset helps identify accounts, debts and title-linked assets before the estate settlement packet is prepared, then helps organize the information a local attorney needs. |
| Out-of-state adult child with a small estate | Check whether a small succession affidavit fits and whether Ascension immovable property is involved. Local help may include the Ascension Parish Assessor's succession assistance checklist and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services for eligible uncontested matters. | Sunset helps locate accounts, insurance and statements from outside Louisiana, then helps decide what should be reviewed by an Ascension succession attorney. |
| Parent settling predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | A sale of Ascension immovable property often points toward administration or independent administration so letters can issue. The clerk's published charge to issue and process letters is $20.00, confirmed August 24, 2026 on the Civil Filing Fees page with no printed effective date. | Sunset helps gather asset details, create a clear attorney handoff and connect the family with counsel for the sale authority and judgment of possession. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Ascension Parish Clerk of Court, Civil Department | Files and processes civil matters including successions, indexes filings, endorses each filing with its date, issues citations and process, and collects advance cost deposits. The office is a filing and records office, not legal counsel. | 607 East Worthey Street, First Floor, Gonzales, LA 70737. Civil Suits line: (225) 621-8400, extension 2. Civil fax: (225) 621-8403. |
| Twenty-Third Judicial District Court Self Help Resource Center | Free in-person form assistance at the Ascension Parish Courthouse in Gonzales. Its own flyer limits help to Civil Code article 103 divorce forms and notary services, and says legal advice is not provided. It does not cover successions. | Ascension Parish Courthouse, 607 East Worthey Street, Gonzales, LA 70737. Court forms page: https://www.23rdjdc.org/ordersforms. |
| Southeast Louisiana Legal Services | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income people in Ascension Parish. SLLS says it helps with wills, powers of attorney and uncontested successions, subject to eligibility. | Intake: 1-844-244-7871. Nearest office: 715 St. Ferdinand Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, local (225) 448-0080. |
| Ascension Parish Assessor, Succession Assistance | Publishes a small succession data form and checklist for a surviving spouse or heir, help identifying an acquisition document in the clerk's records, and a referral path to Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. The assessor states no attorney-client relationship is created and no title examination is performed. | 815 East Worthey Street, Gonzales, LA 70737. https://www.ascensionassessor.com/resources/succession-assistance/. |
| LouisianaLawHelp.org | Public legal information site with sections titled Estates, Wills, And Guardianships, a legal aid organization directory searchable by parish, and online applications for free legal help. | https://louisianalawhelp.org/. |
| Law Library of Louisiana | Louisiana Supreme Court law library and research guides for people representing themselves. It is a research resource, not legal advice. | https://lasc.libguides.com/. |
Clerk staff, court staff and self-help staff cannot choose the succession route, draft the petition or advise how Louisiana succession law applies to a family.
When to hire an attorney
Local counsel is especially useful in Ascension Parish when a testament must be probated, heirs or legatees disagree, a nonresident executor or administrator needs a Louisiana agent, debts must be paid with court authority, or Ascension immovable property must be sold before the judgment of possession. Sunset connects the family to a vetted attorney.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches across more than 2,300 institutions to help identify accounts, insurance, retirement assets and other property before the Ascension Parish estate settlement begins.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset organizes the family, asset, debt and document information needed for a Louisiana succession filing, including the facts a local attorney needs for the petition, inventory or sworn detailed descriptive list.
Find a local probate attorney. When the matter needs counsel, Sunset connects families with a vetted Louisiana attorney who understands Ascension Parish filing practice, the Twenty-Third Judicial District Court and judgment of possession work.
Sunset is free for families. Families can use Sunset to organize estate settlement tasks, find assets and get connected to help without paying Sunset a fee.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file a succession in Ascension Parish?
File with the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court, Civil Department, at 607 East Worthey Street, First Floor, Gonzales, LA 70737. The case is heard in the Twenty-Third Judicial District Court.
Can I file an Ascension Parish succession at the Donaldsonville office?
The clerk operates a Donaldsonville office at 300 Houmas Street and publishes several services there, including death certificates, marriage licences and public access computers. The clerk does not say whether new succession filings are accepted there. Call the Civil Suits line at (225) 621-8400, extension 2, or the Donaldsonville office at (225) 473-9866, before going.
What does it cost to open a succession in Ascension Parish?
The clerk's published new probate matters advance cost deposit, including a succession, is $500.00, confirmed August 24, 2026 on the Civil Filing Fees page with no printed effective date. It is a deposit, not a fixed final price, and additional costs can be required under La. R.S. 13:842.
Can an Ascension Parish succession be e-filed?
The clerk offers e-filing and links eClerksLA and Clerk Connect. The January 1, 2026 rule in La. C.C.P. art. 253 applies to attorneys' filings. The clerk does not say whether a self-represented filer may open a succession electronically, so call the Civil Suits line. The original testament goes in on paper.
Can I look up an Ascension Parish succession record online?
The clerk says online searches through eClerksLA include civil records, among other record types, with subscription and daily access options. The clerk does not separately name successions in that list. Free public access computers are available at both clerk offices.
Will there be a hearing in an Ascension Parish succession, and can it be by Zoom?
Many uncontested Louisiana successions are handled on the papers. If a hearing is set, the Twenty-Third Judicial District Court publishes Zoom joining instructions, and La. C.C.P. art. 195.1 gives a conditional route for remote appearance in civil proceedings that need no witness testimony or evidence. Ask when the matter is scheduled.
Are there Ascension Parish succession forms?
The clerk and the court do not publish a local succession petition, succession checklist or judgment of possession template. The court publishes a motion for pauper status, and the parish assessor publishes a succession assistance checklist for qualifying families.
Does the Ascension Parish Court handle successions?
No. Ascension Parish has a separate Parish Court, and the same Clerk of Court serves both courts, but a parish court has no jurisdiction over a succession proceeding (La. C.C.P. art. 4847(A)(5)). Ascension successions are heard in the Twenty-Third Judicial District Court.
Where do I get the death certificate for an Ascension Parish succession?
The Ascension Parish Clerk of Court issues Louisiana death certificates at both the Gonzales and Donaldsonville offices for deaths from 2013 to the present. The clerk publishes vital records hours of 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, and asks applicants to arrive by 3:30 p.m.
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Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.