Louisiana Succession Accounting: A Representative's Guide

Louisiana calls its probate proceeding a succession, and its fiduciary a succession representative, whether the court names an executor under a will or an administrator when there is none. Louisiana has no separate probate court; the district court of the parish where the decedent was domiciled handles the succession, and in Orleans Parish that is the Civil District Court. Louisiana prescribes no statewide or parish form for either document. Two documents carry the work instead: the sworn detailed descriptive list, and the account of the succession representative.

The sworn detailed descriptive list (La. C.C.P. art. 3136) is filed in lieu of a formal notarial inventory, and it can be filed without judicial authority. It is sworn and subscribed by the person filing it, shows the location of every item of succession property, and sets the fair market value of each item at the date of death. It carries two value columns: Total Value, the date-of-death figure, and Decedent's Interest, the customary figure for the decedent's own share, which is all of the separate property plus one-half of the community property. The registry does not classify any asset as community or separate property, so that column is left for you to complete by hand. Under art. 3137, the list stands as prima facie proof of what it shows unless amended or successfully traversed; if it is amended or traversed, a copy of the corrected list goes to the Department of Revenue.

The account of the succession representative (arts. 3331 through 3337) follows what art. 3333 requires: money and property on hand at the start of the period, revenue and other receipts, disbursements and the disposition of property, and what remains on hand at the end. In an independent administration (arts. 3396.17 through 3396.19), no interim account is required unless an interested person demands one, and the heirs and legatees can waive a final account entirely.

The descriptive list carries no fixed statutory day count (arts. 3136, 3396.18). It has to be on file, sworn, before the court can render a judgment of possession or discharge the succession representative. ExecutorLedger seeds a 30-day reminder from your appointment as a conservative marker, not a deadline the statute itself sets.

Art. 3351 sets the default: 2.5% of the amount of the inventory or the descriptive list, unless the testament or an agreement with the heirs sets a different figure. It is due on homologation (court approval) of the final account, and advances are allowed during administration.

Many simple Louisiana successions skip administration entirely and go straight to an ex parte judgment of possession (art. 3061), sending the heirs and legatees into possession without ever filing a descriptive list or an account.

An administered succession follows four steps instead: the sworn detailed descriptive list on file (arts. 3136, 3396.18); the final account homologated after notice, or, in an independent administration, waived by the heirs and legatees (art. 3396.19); a judgment of possession (art. 3381), the order that puts the heirs and legatees in possession and transfers title; and discharge (art. 3391), once the court sees that creditors were paid and the property delivered.

Independent administration lets the succession representative administer with less court supervision along the way, but it closes through the same last two steps: a judgment of possession, then discharge.

• Make sure a sworn detailed descriptive list (or formal inventory) of the estate is on file. The court will not render a judgment of possession or discharge you without one (La. C.C.P. arts. 3136, 3396.18).
• In an independent administration, the heirs and legatees can waive the final accounting (La. C.C.P. art. 3396.19). Otherwise file a final account with the court and have it homologated (court-approved) after notice to each heir and residuary legatee (La. C.C.P. arts. 3332, 3335).
• Petition the district court for a judgment of possession, the order that puts the heirs and legatees in possession of the property and transfers title to them (La. C.C.P. arts. 3061, 3381).
• Distribute what remains, keep signed receipts, and petition for discharge; once the court sees that creditors were paid and the property was delivered, it renders a judgment discharging you and canceling your bond (La. C.C.P. art. 3391).

Louisiana has no separate probate court: the district court of the parish where the deceased was domiciled handles the succession (in Orleans Parish, the Civil District Court). Many simple Louisiana estates skip administration entirely and go straight to an ex parte judgment of possession, and independent administration (La. C.C.P. art. 3396 et seq.) lets an executor administer with minimal court supervision before closing the same way.

Immovable property (real estate) on the descriptive list needs a full legal description, not a street address; a street address alone leaves a cloud over the title. Art. 3136 also requires the location of every item, movable or immovable.

The registry does not classify any asset as community or separate property, and it does not track what the decedent owed at death, only what the succession has paid. That is why the list's Decedent's Interest column, and its Debts section, are yours to complete by hand.

Art. 3333 lays the account out in four parts: money and property on hand at the start of the period, revenue and other receipts, disbursements and the disposition of property, and what remains on hand at the end. A sale during the period moves the account by its gain or loss against the value the asset was carried at: a gain is a receipt, a loss a disbursement, and a sale at its carried value still gets its own zero-dollar line, so the record shows the sale happened.

Before homologation, the account goes to every heir and residuary legatee with ten days' notice; a final account needs the more formal service art. 1314 describes, or certified mail (art. 3335). Any interested person may oppose it before homologation (art. 3336). Once homologated, a final account has the effect of a final judgment; an interim account is only prima facie proof of what it shows (art. 3337).

Recording is free for as long as the succession takes: every receipt and disbursement with its date and description, distributions per heir or legatee, and a balance that checks itself as you go. ExecutorLedger builds Louisiana-style documents from those records, a sworn detailed descriptive list and an account of the succession representative, ready to transcribe if you end up filing them or handing a copy to the heirs and legatees. Neither is a court form, and your attorney should review them before anything is signed or filed. Every document previews free with your real numbers, and $149 once per estate lifts the watermark.