Louisiana Probate Information
Quick facts
| Topic | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court that hears successions | Louisiana successions are heard in the district court of the parish. The district court has exclusive original jurisdiction over probate and succession matters (La. Const. art. V, § 16(A)(2)). |
| Filing officer | File with the elected clerk of court in the proper parish. In an unopposed matter, the clerk of court may probate a testament, confirm or appoint a succession representative, and issue letters (La. Const. art. V, § 28; La. C.C.P. arts. 282, 283, 3159). |
| Where to file | Open the succession in the district court of the parish where the decedent was domiciled at death. If the decedent was not domiciled in Louisiana, venue is a parish where Louisiana immovable property is situated, or where movable property is situated if there is no Louisiana immovable property (La. C.C.P. art. 2811). |
| Main routes | Louisiana uses four statewide routes: small succession affidavit, possession without administration, administration, and independent administration. |
| Small succession ceiling | For a person domiciled in Louisiana, the small succession ceiling is $200,000 of gross property value at the date of death, effective August 1, 2026 under Act 293 of 2026 (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). For a person domiciled outside Louisiana, the ancillary ceiling is a gross value of $125,000 of Louisiana property as of the date of death and was not changed by Act 293 (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). A death at least twenty years before the affidavit falls inside the small succession chapter at any value (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). |
| Creditor claims | Louisiana does not create a publication-based creditor cutoff for succession creditors. A creditor of a succession under administration submits a written claim to the succession representative for acknowledgment and payment in due course of administration, and no particular form is required other than writing (La. C.C.P. art. 3241). Estate debts are paid with court authorization, with limited exceptions (La. C.C.P. art. 3301). |
| Community property | Each spouse owns a present undivided one-half interest in community property, so only the decedent's half is in the succession (La. C.C. art. 2336). If descendants survive, the surviving spouse has a usufruct over the decedent's share of the community to the extent not disposed of by testament, and the usufruct ends when the surviving spouse dies or remarries (La. C.C. art. 890). |
| Forced heirs | Forced heirs are descendants of the first degree who are twenty-three years of age or younger at death, or descendants of the first degree of any age who are permanently incapable because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity (La. C.C. art. 1493). The legitime is the forced portion: donations may not exceed three-fourths of the donor's property if one forced heir survives, or one-half if two or more forced heirs survive, and the rest is the disposable portion (La. C.C. art. 1495). |
| Fees | Louisiana does not set one succession filing fee for the state. La. R.S. 13:841 caps particular clerk charges, La. R.S. 13:842 requires an advance cost deposit that costs are drawn from, and Orleans Parish charges under its own civil clerk fee statutes (La. R.S. 13:841, 13:842, 13:1213, 13:1213.1). |
| State taxes | Louisiana does not impose an inheritance tax, and no Louisiana estate transfer tax is due for deaths after December 31, 2004. Questions about any Louisiana filing go to the Louisiana Department of Revenue. |
| Statewide forms | Louisiana has no statewide succession form set. A succession is opened by a petition drafted to the Code, and local checklists or templates, if any, are parish clerk of court materials. |
| E-filing and records search | Since January 1, 2026, filings made by an attorney must be made in person on paper or electronically through a system established by a clerk of court or by the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority. The original testament is filed on paper and retained by the clerk of court in perpetuity (La. C.C.P. arts. 253, 2911). eClerks LA is a statewide portal, but what each parish exposes through it is a parish fact. |
| Remote appearance | For a civil proceeding that does not require witness testimony or introduction of evidence, a party may give at least ten days' written notice of audio-visual appearance, and the court shall allow it if the court has the required technology unless the court declines in writing for good cause (La. C.C.P. art. 195.1). District court rules also allow courts to authorize audio-visual appearances and place local practice in Appendix 3.5 (La. Dist. Ct. R. 3.5). Ask the clerk of court in the parish when a matter is set. Most Louisiana successions are handled ex parte on the papers and never produce a hearing: domicile, death, marriage and heirship may be evidenced by affidavits or official certificates, and a supported petition for possession is signed immediately (La. C.C.P. arts. 2821, 3061). |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before choosing a Louisiana succession route, identify the assets, debts, domicile, testament status, and any Louisiana immovable property. The small succession affidavit turns on gross value at the date of death and on the immovable-property rules, while community property means only the decedent's half of the community is in the succession at all.
Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and assembles the asset picture families need for estate settlement in Louisiana. That record helps determine whether the family is preparing an affidavit, a petition for possession, or an administration packet.
Which court handles probate
Louisiana succession matters are organized through the district court of the parish, not through a separate succession tribunal. The district court has exclusive original jurisdiction over probate and succession matters (La. Const. art. V, § 16(A)(2)), and filings go to the elected clerk of court in the parish (La. Const. art. V, § 28; La. C.C.P. art. 253).
Venue follows domicile. A proceeding to open a succession is brought 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). For competing nonresident filings, the first Louisiana court where the proceeding was brought retains jurisdiction (La. C.C.P. art. 2812).
Louisiana has forty-one judicial districts, and some judicial districts include more than one parish (La. R.S. 13:477). A shared judicial district is a grouping of judges, not a shared filing counter: the filing still goes to the clerk of court in the parish itself. Orleans Parish is not part of the numbered judicial-district scheme at all. R.S. 13:477 does not include it, its court carries no district number, and successions there belong to the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans and its separately elected civil clerk (La. Const. art. V, § 32).
The probate process
- Gather the death certificate and the original testament if there is one. A person holding a document that purports to be a testament must present it to the court with a petition asking that it be filed in the succession record, and doing so does not vouch for its validity (La. C.C.P. art. 2853).
- Identify the property and debts, including whether any property is Louisiana immovable property. In a community property state, each spouse owns a present undivided one-half interest in the community, so only the decedent's half is in the succession (La. C.C. art. 2336).
- Choose the route. A gross estate of $200,000 at the date of death for a person domiciled in Louisiana may qualify as a small succession, effective August 1, 2026 under Act 293 of 2026 (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). For a person domiciled outside Louisiana, the ancillary figure is a gross value of $125,000 of Louisiana property and was not changed by Act 293 (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). A death at least twenty years before the affidavit has no ceiling (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). If the affidavit route does not fit, the choices are possession without administration, administration, or independent administration.
- If the affidavit route fits, prepare and sign the small succession affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths. Who must sign depends on domicile and whether the person died testate or intestate (La. C.C.P. arts. 3432, 3432.1, 3433).
- If the affidavit route does not fit, file the petition with the clerk of court in the parish where the decedent was domiciled at death, or in a proper parish for a nonresident decedent (La. C.C.P. arts. 253, 2811). Jurisdiction, death, marriage and heirship may be evidenced by affidavits or official certificates (La. C.C.P. art. 2821).
- Pay the advance cost deposit required by that parish clerk of court. Costs are drawn against the deposit as they accrue, and the clerk can require more (La. R.S. 13:842). A small succession opened judicially is charged one-half of the court costs of a similar succession that is not small (La. C.C.P. art. 3422).
- Send the original testament on paper. The attorney filing rule allows electronic filing or in-person paper filing, but an original testament is expressly carved out for paper filing, including by mail or commercial courier, and the clerk of court retains it in perpetuity (La. C.C.P. arts. 253, 2911).
- If nobody opposes, the clerk of court may probate the testament and confirm or appoint the succession representative, and may sign orders that give those unopposed acts effect (La. C.C.P. arts. 282, 283). A notarial or statutory testament needs no proof; the court orders it filed and executed and that order has the effect of probate (La. C.C.P. art. 2891). If someone objects, the testament can be probated only at a contradictory trial before a district judge (La. C.C.P. art. 2901).
- If a succession representative is needed, qualify by furnishing any required security and taking the oath. The clerk of court then issues letters testamentary, letters of administration, letters of independent administration, or letters of independent executorship (La. C.C.P. arts. 3151, 3153, 3159, 3396.1).
- Administer the succession. File an inventory or sworn detailed descriptive list, collect and manage the property as a prudent administrator, handle written creditor claims, and pay estate debts with court authorization unless the succession is under independent administration (La. C.C.P. arts. 3191, 3241, 3301, 3396.15, 3396.18).
- Close with a judgment of possession. The judgment is rendered and signed by a district judge, not by the clerk of court. Where the petition and record support it, the judge signs immediately; after an administration, a contradictory hearing with the succession representative is required unless the representative joins in the petition (La. C.C.P. arts. 3061, 3381).
- Handle recordation where immovable property is involved. Where an intestate small succession affidavit covers Louisiana immovable property, the affidavit is recorded in the conveyance records of the parish where the property is situated, and it is prima facie evidence of the successors' rights in it (La. C.C.P. art. 3434).
Types of probate
| Route | When it fits | What happens | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small succession affidavit | A person domiciled in Louisiana with a gross estate of $200,000 at the date of death, effective August 1, 2026 under Act 293 of 2026; a person domiciled outside Louisiana with a gross value of $125,000 of Louisiana property, not changed by Act 293; or any value where the death was at least twenty years before the affidavit is signed. | No court proceeding is opened if the art. 3431 conditions also fit. The required signers swear to the family facts, property values, community or separate status, and each successor's interest. A multiple original or certified copy is authority for a bank or holder to pay or deliver property. An intestate affidavit can carry Louisiana immovable property; a Louisiana testate affidavit cannot because it requires an affirmation that the decedent owned no Louisiana immovable property. | La. C.C.P. arts. 3421, 3431, 3432, 3432.1, 3433, 3434 |
| Possession without administration | No size limit. In an intestate succession, all heirs are competent, all accept, and the succession is relatively free of debt. In a testate succession, the testament has been probated or given the effect of probate, the general and universal legatees petition, and no creditor has demanded administration. | No succession representative is appointed and no letters issue. The court signs a judgment of possession immediately if the petition and record support it. | La. C.C.P. arts. 3001, 3002, 3031, 3061 |
| Administration | Use administration when someone needs authority to act, debts must be paid, property must be sold, successors do not all agree, an heir is not competent, or a creditor has demanded administration. | An executor is confirmed or an administrator is appointed, security is furnished where required, the clerk issues letters, an inventory or sworn detailed descriptive list is filed, estate debts are paid with court authorization, and the succession closes with a judgment of possession. | La. C.C.P. arts. 3081 to 3392 |
| Independent administration | The testament provides for it, the general and universal legatees agree, or in an intestate succession all intestate successors agree. A testator can forbid it. | The clerk issues letters of independent administration or letters of independent executorship. The independent administrator has the rights and duties of a succession representative without applying to the court for each act, including a sale of immovable property. Before closing, an inventory or sworn detailed descriptive list of assets and liabilities is filed. | La. C.C.P. arts. 3396 to 3396.20 |
Executor duties
Executor duties in Louisiana
| Duty | What Louisiana requires | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Act as a fiduciary | A succession representative must collect, preserve and manage succession property as a prudent administrator and is personally responsible for damage caused by failing to do so. | La. C.C.P. art. 3191 |
| Qualify before acting | The representative furnishes any required security and takes the oath before the clerk issues letters testamentary, letters of administration, letters of independent administration, or letters of independent executorship. | La. C.C.P. arts. 3151, 3153, 3159, 3396.1 |
| Handle security | An administrator furnishes security exceeding by one-fourth the total value of the property shown by the inventory or descriptive list, unless reduced by the court. A dative testamentary executor furnishes the same security. A person named as executor by the testator furnishes security if the testament requires it or if forced heirs, the surviving spouse in community, or a creditor compels it. An independent administrator furnishes security only if the testament requires it or the court orders it after an interested person's application and a contradictory hearing. | La. C.C.P. arts. 3151, 3153, 3154, 3155, 3396.14 |
| Appoint a Louisiana agent if living elsewhere | A nonresident may serve, but must appoint a Louisiana agent for service of process and file that appointment in the succession proceeding. | La. C.C.P. art. 3097 |
| File asset information | An inventory or sworn detailed descriptive list is part of administration, and under independent administration it must be filed before the succession can be closed and the representative discharged. | La. C.C.P. art. 3396.18 |
| Control digital accounts | The succession representative may take control of, handle, continue, distribute or terminate the decedent's digital accounts. A provider must give access or possession within thirty days after receiving the letters. | La. C.C.P. art. 3191 |
| Handle creditor claims | A creditor may submit a written claim to the succession representative for acknowledgment and payment in due course of administration, and no particular form is required other than writing. | La. C.C.P. art. 3241 |
| Pay debts properly | In an ordinary administration, estate debts are paid with court authorization, with limited exceptions. In independent administration, the representative acts without applying to the court for each act. | La. C.C.P. arts. 3301, 3396.15 |
| Account and close | An independent administrator does not file interim accounts by default, but an interested person may demand annual accounting and the court may require more frequent accounts. Unless heirs and legatees waive it, a final account is filed and homologated before discharge. The representative must close the succession as soon as advisable. | La. C.C.P. arts. 3197, 3396.17, 3396.19 |
| Compensation | An executor is paid what the testament provides. An administrator is paid what the surviving spouse and all competent heirs or legatees agree. Otherwise, compensation is two and one-half percent of the amount of the inventory, subject to increase by the court on a proper showing (La. C.C.P. art. 3351). | La. C.C.P. art. 3351 |
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Louisiana
Louisiana has no statewide succession form set. A succession is opened by a petition drafted to the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, not by filling in a state-issued succession packet. The Louisiana Supreme Court's Law Library states that Louisiana has very few official court forms and that forms, when they exist, are usually found on a court or clerk of court website.
The statewide Civil Case Cover Sheet Form does not apply to successions. Louisiana District Court Rule 9.6 requires that cover sheet only at the start of litigation involving an offense or quasi-offense, and a succession is not that kind of action (La. Dist. Ct. R. 9.6). Rule 9.6 does set pleading format rules, including legible, double-spaced pleadings, legal-sized white paper, English language text, and stated margins, while La. C.C.P. art. 253 also accepts legal or letter size paper for filings.
Some parish clerks of court publish local checklists, affidavit templates or filing preferences, and many publish none. Use the parish page and the parish clerk of court for local materials.
Fees
Louisiana does not set one succession filing fee that holds across the state. La. R.S. 13:841 is a ceiling schedule for particular clerk of court acts, not a total succession charge, and La. R.S. 13:842 requires an advance cost deposit that costs are drawn from as they accrue. The clerk can require more when the original deposit is exhausted (La. R.S. 13:842).
Orleans Parish charges under its own civil clerk fee statutes rather than under the statewide clerk fee section (La. R.S. 13:1213, 13:1213.1). Sunset's parish pages carry the advance cost deposit each parish clerk of court publishes.
The one statewide proportion is for a small succession that is opened judicially: court costs are one-half of the court costs in similar proceedings in successions that are not small successions, and the succession representative's compensation is capped in that title (La. C.C.P. art. 3422).
Timeline
- A succession occurs at death, and Louisiana law does not set a date by which an heir has to open a judicial succession (La. C.C. art. 934).
- An action for recognition of a right of inheritance and recovery of all or part of a succession is subject to liberative prescription of thirty years, beginning on the day the succession opens (La. C.C. art. 3502).
- Before an intestate small succession affidavit is executed without an heir's signature, that heir must either be unlocatable after reasonable diligence or receive thirty days' notice by United States mail of the intent to execute the affidavit and not object (La. C.C.P. art. 3432).
- After a small succession affidavit covering immovable property is recorded, an action by an unrecognized successor against a third person who acquired by onerous title is prescribed two years from the date of recording (La. C.C.P. art. 3434).
- When forced heirs, the surviving spouse in community, or a creditor compels an executor to furnish security, the court orders the security furnished within ten days of service of the order (La. C.C.P. arts. 3154, 3155).
- A person that stores or administers a digital account must give the succession representative access or possession within thirty days after receiving letters testamentary, letters of administration, or letters of independent administration (La. C.C.P. art. 3191).
- A creditor of a succession under administration submits a written claim to the succession representative for acknowledgment and payment in due course of administration. Louisiana law does not set a publication-based filing window that cuts off succession creditors (La. C.C.P. art. 3241).
State-specific considerations
California uses statewide Judicial Council forms (the DE-series). The same forms apply in all 58 counties, although counties may add local cover sheets. Los Angeles requires LASC PRO 010.
| Louisiana feature | Why it matters | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Civil-law succession | Louisiana's proceeding is a succession, and it is filed in the district court of the parish through that parish's clerk of court. The state does not use a separate succession tribunal. | La. Const. art. V, § 16(A)(2); La. C.C.P. art. 2811 |
| Clerk of court powers | In an unopposed succession, the clerk of court may probate a testament, confirm or appoint an executor, administrator, or dative testamentary executor, sign orders that give those unopposed acts effect, and issue letters after qualification. | La. C.C.P. arts. 282, 283, 3159 |
| Contests go to a district judge | The clerk's powers are limited to acts with no opposition. A contested testament goes to a contradictory trial before a district judge. The judgment of possession is rendered and signed by a district judge, not by the clerk of court. | La. C.C.P. arts. 282, 2901, 3061, 3381 |
| Community property | Each spouse owns a present undivided one-half interest in community property. Only the decedent's half enters the succession, which can change both the route and the inventory. | La. C.C. art. 2336 |
| Usufruct | If descendants survive, the surviving spouse has a usufruct over the decedent's share of community property to the extent the decedent did not dispose of it by testament. The usufruct ends when the surviving spouse dies or remarries. | La. C.C. art. 890 |
| Forced heirship and legitime | Forced heirs are descendants of the first degree who are twenty-three years of age or younger at death, or descendants of the first degree of any age who are permanently incapable because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity (La. C.C. art. 1493). The forced portion, or legitime, limits donations: donations may not exceed three-fourths of the donor's property if one forced heir survives, or one-half if two or more forced heirs survive; the remainder is the disposable portion (La. C.C. art. 1495). Charges, conditions or burdens may not be imposed on the legitime except those expressly authorized by law, such as a usufruct in favor of a surviving spouse or placement of the legitime in trust (La. C.C. art. 1496). | La. C.C. arts. 1493, 1495, 1496 |
| Creditor structure | Louisiana does not create a publication-based filing window that cuts off succession creditors. A creditor submits a written claim to the succession representative for acknowledgment and payment in due course of administration, and estate debts are paid with court authorization, with limited exceptions. | La. C.C.P. arts. 3241, 3301 |
Small-estate alternatives
Louisiana's small succession chapter changed recently. For a person who died domiciled in Louisiana, the ceiling is $200,000 of gross property value at the date of death, effective August 1, 2026 under Act 293 of 2026 (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). For a person who died domiciled outside Louisiana, the ancillary ceiling is a gross value of $125,000 of Louisiana property at the date of death, and Act 293 did not change that figure (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). If the date of death was at least twenty years before the affidavit is signed, the small succession chapter applies at any value (La. C.C.P. art. 3421).
Even when the value fits, the affidavit route depends on art. 3431. It is available without judicial opening for a Louisiana-domiciled person who died intestate; for a Louisiana-domiciled person who died testate with no Louisiana immovable property if the required people waive probate of the testament; and for a person domiciled outside Louisiana who died intestate or whose testament was probated by court order of another state (La. C.C.P. art. 3431).
The immovable-property rule is different from many states. An intestate Louisiana small succession affidavit can describe Louisiana immovable property and is recorded in the conveyance records of the parish where the property is situated. A Louisiana-domiciled testate affidavit requires an affirmation that the decedent owned no immovable property in Louisiana (La. C.C.P. arts. 3432, 3432.1, 3434).
Who signs depends on the situation. An intestate affidavit generally needs at least two signers, including the surviving spouse if there is one and one or more heirs, with special notice rules for a non-signing heir. A Louisiana-domiciled testate affidavit requires all heirs and legatees, including the surviving spouse, to sign and waive any challenge to the testament. A nonresident testate affidavit attaches the testament and a certified copy of the other jurisdiction's order (La. C.C.P. arts. 3432, 3432.1, 3433).
A multiple original or certified copy of the affidavit is full and sufficient authority for a bank or other holder to pay or deliver the described property, and the recipient's receipt releases the holder. In a small succession that is opened judicially, court costs are one-half of the court costs in similar proceedings in successions that are not small successions (La. C.C.P. arts. 3422, 3434).
Recent updates
| Change | Effective date | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| The small succession ceiling for a person who died domiciled in Louisiana rose to $200,000 of gross property value at the date of death. The ancillary figure for a person who died domiciled outside Louisiana was not changed by Act 293 and remains a gross value of $125,000 of Louisiana property. The twenty-year, any-value category was unchanged. | August 1, 2026 | Act 293 of the 2026 Regular Session; La. C.C.P. art. 3421 |
| Filings made by an attorney must be made in person on paper or electronically through a system established by a clerk of court or by the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority. Certain originals still go in on paper, including an original testament, which the clerk of court retains in perpetuity. | January 1, 2026 | La. C.C.P. arts. 253, 2911 |
Page last reviewed: August 2026.
Scenarios
| Scenario | Likely Louisiana path | Key issue | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse with a co-owned home | This is usually a community property and usufruct analysis. Each spouse already owns a present undivided one-half interest in the community, so only the decedent's half is in the succession (La. C.C. art. 2336). If descendants survive, the surviving spouse has a usufruct over the decedent's share of the community to the extent it was not disposed of by testament, ending at death or remarriage (La. C.C. art. 890). If no descendants survive, the surviving spouse succeeds to the decedent's share of the community (La. C.C. art. 889). | The family needs to know whether the home is community property, whether descendants survive, whether a testament changes the result, and whether possession without administration fits. | Sunset organizes the asset and debt picture, identifies accounts tied to the household, and helps build the estate settlement file for a petition or attorney review. |
| Out-of-state adult child with a small estate | If the parent died domiciled in Louisiana, the affidavit route may fit a gross estate of $200,000 at the date of death, effective August 1, 2026 under Act 293 of 2026 (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). If the parent died domiciled outside Louisiana, the ancillary ceiling is a gross value of $125,000 of Louisiana property and was not changed by Act 293 (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). If administration is needed, living elsewhere does not disqualify the child from serving, but a Louisiana agent for service of process must be appointed and filed (La. C.C.P. art. 3097). | The value, domicile, testament status and immovable-property rules decide whether the affidavit route is available. Travel questions depend on parish practice and whether anything is set for hearing. | Sunset gathers institution results and documents so the child can see whether the small succession affidavit is realistic before paying for a larger filing. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | A sale of immovable property usually points to administration, often independent administration if the testament provides for it or the successors agree. An independent administrator can act without applying to the court for each act (La. C.C.P. art. 3396.15), and independent administration can be granted through the testament, agreement of general and universal legatees, or agreement of all intestate successors (La. C.C.P. arts. 3396.2, 3396.3, 3396.5). | Authority to sell, debts, possible succession representatives, and family relationships all matter. If the child left no descendants but left parents and siblings, separate property can pass to siblings or their descendants subject to a usufruct in favor of a surviving parent (La. C.C. art. 891). | Sunset helps assemble the account list, property information and attorney-ready packet for a sale-driven estate settlement. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Southeast Louisiana Legal Services | Free civil legal help for eligible people in 22 southeast Louisiana parishes. SLLS says it helps people by creating wills, powers of attorney and uncontested successions, subject to eligibility. | slls.org; intake line 1-844-244-7871 |
| Acadiana Legal Service Corporation | Free civil legal help for eligible people in the other 42 parishes. ALSC publishes civil legal services and estate planning among its general law topics, but it does not publish a succession-representation service. | la-law.org; 1-866-275-2572 |
| LouisianaLawHelp.org | Louisiana's LawHelp site includes topics for Estates, Wills, And Guardianships, legal aid organization lookup by parish, the Louisiana Civil Legal Navigator, and online applications for free legal help. Do not use it for the current small succession dollar figure. | louisianalawhelp.org |
| Law Library of Louisiana | The Louisiana Supreme Court's law library publishes research guides, including an Online Legal Forms guide with Wills and Estates and Court Forms by parish sections. Reference librarians help locate legal information, not legal advice. | lasc.libguides.com/forms; 504-310-2400; toll free 800-820-3038; [email protected] |
| Parish clerk of court | The clerk of court takes filings, accepts advance cost deposits, retains original testaments, issues letters after qualification, and can answer questions about local hours, local deposits, local forms and records access. The clerk of court does not advise on which route to choose or how to draft the petition. | Use the Sunset parish page for the local clerk of court. |
When to hire an attorney
Counsel makes sense when Louisiana immovable property has to be sold, the affidavit route does not fit, heirs or legatees disagree, an objection to probate of a testament is likely, a forced heir or legitime issue may exist, a usufruct must be addressed with naked owners, the estate may be insolvent, a creditor has demanded administration, a minor or interdict would take, a business or farm must be valued, or the succession is old enough that heirship must be traced. A clerk of court's office is a filing and recording office and cannot advise on those choices, even though a clerk can act on an unopposed testament. Sunset connects the family to a vetted local attorney.
How Sunset helps in Louisiana
Find the accounts and assets. Louisiana route choice depends on the asset picture. Sunset searches financial institutions, helps identify accounts and balances, and gives the family a clearer estate settlement starting point.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset organizes the death certificate, testament information, account list, debts, property notes and family details into an attorney-ready succession packet for the correct Louisiana route.
Find a local probate attorney. When a succession needs a petition, a sale of immovable property, independent administration, forced-heir analysis or a contested issue, Sunset connects the family with a vetted Louisiana attorney.
Sunset is free for families. Sunset is paid by partners, not by grieving families, and it serves all 64 Louisiana parishes for estate settlement support.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file a succession in Louisiana?
File in the district court of the parish where the decedent was domiciled at death, through that parish's clerk of court. If the decedent was not domiciled in Louisiana, file in a parish where Louisiana immovable property is situated, or where movable property is situated if there is no Louisiana immovable property (La. C.C.P. art. 2811).
What is the small succession limit in Louisiana?
For a person domiciled in Louisiana, the ceiling is $200,000 of gross property value at the date of death, effective August 1, 2026 under Act 293 of 2026 (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). For a person domiciled outside Louisiana, the ancillary ceiling is a gross value of $125,000 of Louisiana property and was not changed by Act 293 (La. C.C.P. art. 3421). A death at least twenty years before the affidavit fits the small succession chapter at any value (La. C.C.P. art. 3421).
Can a small succession affidavit transfer a house in Louisiana?
Sometimes. An intestate Louisiana small succession affidavit can describe Louisiana immovable property and is recorded in the conveyance records of the parish where the property is situated (La. C.C.P. arts. 3432, 3434). A Louisiana-domiciled testate affidavit cannot be used if the decedent owned Louisiana immovable property, because the affidavit must affirm that none was owned (La. C.C.P. art. 3432.1).
Do I have to open a succession in Louisiana, and is there a deadline?
A succession occurs at death, but Louisiana law does not set a date by which an heir must open a judicial succession (La. C.C. art. 934). The long-term limit is different: an action for recognition of a right of inheritance and recovery of succession property is subject to liberative prescription of thirty years from the opening of the succession (La. C.C. art. 3502).
How long do creditors have to file a claim in a Louisiana succession?
Louisiana does not create a publication-based creditor cutoff for successions. A creditor of a succession under administration may submit a written claim to the succession representative for acknowledgment and payment in due course of administration, and no particular form is required other than writing (La. C.C.P. art. 3241). Estate debts are paid with court authorization, with limited exceptions (La. C.C.P. art. 3301).
What is a judgment of possession in Louisiana?
A judgment of possession is the document that recognizes the heirs or legatees and sends them into possession of the succession property. If the petition and record support it, the district judge signs it immediately; after an administration, a contradictory hearing with the succession representative is required unless the representative joins in the petition (La. C.C.P. arts. 3061, 3381).
What does a Louisiana succession cost?
Louisiana does not set one statewide total. La. R.S. 13:841 caps particular clerk of court charges, and La. R.S. 13:842 requires an advance cost deposit that costs are drawn from as they accrue. The parish clerk of court publishes the local deposit, and a small succession opened judicially is charged one-half of the court costs of a similar succession that is not small (La. C.C.P. art. 3422).
Are there statewide succession forms in Louisiana?
No statewide succession form set exists. A succession is opened by a petition drafted to the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure. The Civil Case Cover Sheet Form in Louisiana District Court Rule 9.6 is for litigation involving an offense or quasi-offense, not for successions (La. Dist. Ct. R. 9.6).
Can I handle a Louisiana succession from another state?
Living outside Louisiana does not stop someone from serving as a succession representative. A nonresident must appoint a Louisiana agent for service of process and file that appointment in the succession proceeding (La. C.C.P. art. 3097). If a hearing is set, art. 195.1 may allow audio-visual appearance for a civil proceeding that does not require witness testimony or evidence, with at least ten days' written notice and the court's required technology, unless the court declines in writing for good cause (La. C.C.P. art. 195.1).
Does Louisiana have an inheritance tax or an estate tax?
Louisiana does not impose an inheritance tax, and no Louisiana estate transfer tax is due for a death after December 31, 2004. Federal estate tax filing applies only to very large estates, and questions about any Louisiana filing go to the Louisiana Department of Revenue.
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