St. James Parish Clerk of Court Guide

Note: Louisiana imposes no statewide probate tax and no value-bracket court-cost scale; each parish Clerk of Court sets its own advance court-cost deposit under the La. R.S. 13:841 maximums. The St. James Clerk of Court's published civil filing-fee schedule sets a regular succession filing fee of $400 (and $500 for a double succession), which is recorded here as the formal_administration succession-opening filing fee. A small succession affidavit is not filed with the court but, for real estate, is recorded in the parish conveyance records: recording is $105 for 1-5 pages, $205 for 6-25 pages, $305 for 26-50 pages, and $305 plus $5 per page over 50 (includes up to 10 indexed names and a certified copy); the small_estate_affidavit and recording_judgment_of_possession figures reflect this $105 recording cost. Additional certified copies are $5 each. The statutory default succession representative compensation is 2.5% of the inventory (La. C.C.P. art. 3351). Verify current amounts with the Clerk of Court before relying on a figure.