First Steps After a Death in Louisiana

If You Are the Named Executor in Louisiana

In plain terms: if you are handling a Louisiana estate, start with the records and court tasks below, at a steady pace. The details under each step explain exactly what to do.

If you are the named executor, personal representative, administrator, or the family member organizing a Louisiana estate, start with the state-specific records, court, and transfer tasks below. Check each step against the current county office or agency handling the estate.

1. Order certified death certificates

   Certified copies are issued by the Louisiana Department of Health, Vital Records Registry (Louisiana is a 'closed record' state, so only eligible persons such as the surviving spouse, certain relatives, the succession representative, or the attorney/notary handling a small succession may order). The funeral home usually orders them for you. Order more than you think you need - banks, insurers, the OMV, and the court all ask for one.

2. Make a first asset and debt list, classified community vs. separate

   Separate succession assets from non-succession assets such as life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death accounts with named beneficiaries. Then classify each succession asset as community property (the decedent's one-half share passes) or separate property. This list becomes the basis for the inventory or descriptive list and for deciding whether a full succession, a simple possession, or a small succession affidavit fits.

3. Determine which path fits - small succession affidavit vs. judgment of possession vs. full administration

   If the gross value of the Louisiana property is $125,000 or less at the date of death (or the death occurred at least 20 years ago), the heirs and surviving spouse may use a small succession affidavit instead of opening a court succession (La. C.C.P. arts. 3421, 3431-3434). Many uncontested testate or intestate successions are closed by a judgment of possession without a full administration. A full administration (with a succession representative) is used when there are debts to manage, disputes, or a need for ongoing authority.

4. Open the succession with the parish district court (or execute the small succession affidavit)

   For a court succession, file a petition with the parish district court and Clerk of Court, attach the death certificate and the testament (if any), and file an inventory or a sworn detailed descriptive list of assets. For a small succession, all required parties (including the surviving spouse and one or more heirs) execute the affidavit before a notary; it is NOT filed with the court, but where real estate is involved it is recorded in the parish conveyance records. There is no fixed statutory deadline to open a court succession.

5. Notify Social Security, banks, insurers, and creditors

   Report the death to the Social Security Administration (1-800-772-1213), notify each bank and brokerage, file life insurance claims, and address debts. In a full administration, the representative may publish notice and handle creditor claims; in a simple possession or small succession there is generally no formal creditor-notice publication.