Louisiana Small Estate Affidavit

The $125,000 limit, and what actually counts

Who can sign the affidavit

At least TWO persons must execute the affidavit, including the surviving spouse (if any) and one or more heirs/legatees of the decedent. La. C.C.P. art. 3432(A), 3432.1(A), 3433(A). If there is no surviving spouse, it must be signed by at least two heirs; if there is only one heir, that heir plus a second person having actual knowledge of the facts must sign (art. 3432(B); 3433(B)). A natural tutor may sign for a minor child without a petition under art. 4061, and (new since Acts 2024 No. 90) a curator may sign for an interdict without court authorization (art. 3432(C), 3432.1, 3433(C)). A gubernatorially appointed public administrator may use the affidavit procedure for an unclaimed estate after one-time publication and no opposition (art. 3431(B)–(C)). All affiants swear under penalty of perjury and, if an heir/legatee, thereby accept the succession/legacy.

Either, with sharply different rules. This is the most error-prone branch in Louisiana. (1) intestate, la domicile: art. 3432 affidavit; immovables allowed; no probate. (2) testate, la domicile, no Louisiana immovable property: art. 3432.1 affidavit, available only if the surviving spouse, all persons who would inherit under the testament, and all persons who would inherit intestate agree to waive probate of the testament (art. 3431(A)(2)); a copy of the testament is attached to the affidavit (Acts 2024 No. 90 eliminated the former certified-copy requirement); signers affirm they accept their legacy and waive the right to contest the will's validity. The will is not probated and is not filed with a court. (3) testate, la domicile, with Louisiana immovable property: not eligible, must open judicially and probate the will. (4) testate, domiciled outside Louisiana: art. 3433 affidavit, but only if the testament has already been probated by court order of another state (art. 3431(A)(3)); a copy of the testament plus a certified copy of the foreign probate order must be attached (art. 3433(A)(8)). (5) intestate, domiciled outside Louisiana: art. 3432 affidavit for the ancillary succession, $125,000 Louisiana-situs cap.

The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary. Most banks and UPS Stores have a notary; many charge under $15.

Can it transfer a house or land in Louisiana?

Yes, immovable (real) property can pass by the same small succession affidavit. There is no separate companion instrument and no separate real-property threshold in Louisiana (unlike Cal. Prob. Code 13200/13150 or the Texas homestead-only limitation). Art. 3432(A)(5) expressly requires the property description to be 'sufficient to identify the property for purposes of transfer' in the case of immovable property, and to designate whether it is community or separate. But the testate trap: under La. C.C.P. art. 3431(A)(2), judicial opening is unnecessary for a Louisiana-domiciled decedent who died testate only if the decedent left no immovable property in Louisiana (and only if the surviving spouse, all testamentary takers, and all intestate heirs agree to waive probate). So: LA domicile + will + Louisiana real estate = the affidavit route is unavailable; the will must be probated and a judgment of possession obtained. It remains a 'small succession' for reduced court costs under art. 3422 (half the normal costs; representative compensation capped at 5% of gross assets), but it is a court proceeding. Intestate LA decedents and out-of-state decedents whose wills were probated elsewhere (art. 3431(A)(3), art. 3433) can transfer Louisiana immovables by affidavit. Mandatory recording: La. C.C.P. art. 3434(C)(1): a multiple original or certified copy of the affidavit, with any required attachments, shall be recorded in the conveyance records of the parish where any immovable property described in the affidavit is situated. Recording is with the parish Clerk of Court in its capacity as recorder of conveyances (Register of Conveyances in Orleans Parish), not as a court filing; no judge reviews it and no order issues. Evidentiary weight, not an adjudication: art. 3434(C)(2): a recorded affidavit is admissible in any action involving the immovable and is prima facie evidence of the facts stated, including the relationship of the parties recognized as heir, legatee, surviving spouse in community, or usufructuary, and of their rights in the immovable. Prima facie, i.e. rebuttable. It is not res judicata the way a judgment of possession is. Cleansing period: art. 3434(C)(3), an action by a person claiming to be a successor who was not recognized in an art. 3432 or 3433 affidavit, asserting an interest in the immovable against a third person who acquired by onerous title (or his successors), prescribes two years from the date of recording. Title examiners commonly want the 2 years to run, and many title insurers will still insist on a judgment of possession rather than insure off a fresh small succession affidavit. Flag this to users selling or mortgaging inherited Louisiana land. Disaster provision: art. 3422.1 lets a public entity conclusively presume that a co-owner in possession of disaster-damaged succession immovable property for more than one year is the 'managing co-owner,' able to repair, reconstruct, receive public disaster funds, and mortgage up to the cost of repair without other co-owners' consent. No dollar threshold; to be liberally construed. Relevant to post-hurricane Road Home / fema fact patterns.

Affidavit of heirship in Louisiana

Yes but the term means something different in Louisiana than in Texas, and conflating them is the liability event. Louisiana has three distinct instruments: 1. Small succession affidavit (La. C.C.P. arts. 3432 / 3432.1 / 3433). This is the instrument that actually moves property. It is 'full and sufficient authority' for a bank or other holder to pay money and deliver movable property (art. 3434(A)), and when recorded in the parish conveyance records it operates on immovable property (art. 3434(C)(1)). Even so, the statute does not call it a conveyance or a judgment: art. 3434(C)(2) says a recorded affidavit is 'prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the affidavit, including the relationship to the deceased of the parties recognized as heir, legatee, surviving spouse in community, or usufructuary as the case may be, and of their rights in the immovable property of the deceased.' Under Louisiana civil law, ownership devolves to the heirs at the instant of death by operation of law (La. C.C. arts. 934-935); the affidavit does not transfer title so much as it publicly evidences and perfects, in the public records, a transmission that already occurred, which is why it is sufficient to put title in the heirs' names for practical purposes yet remains rebuttable. Formalities: minimum two affiants (surviving spouse + heir, or two heirs, or one heir + one person with actual knowledge), sworn before a notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths; no attesting witnesses are required by the article; recording required only for immovables; unrecognized-successor actions against onerous-title third parties prescribe 2 years from recording (art. 3434(C)(3)). 2. Affidavit of death, domicile and heirship (La. C.C.P. arts. 2821-2822). This is not a transfer instrument at all. It is the evidentiary affidavit filed in support of a petition for possession inside a judicial succession, proving the death, domicile, marriages, and heirship. It must be signed by at least two competent affiants who personally knew the decedent and have personal knowledge of the facts; art. 2821 permits proof of death and heirship by affidavit in lieu of live testimony (a death certificate is not strictly required). Standing alone and recorded, it conveys nothing and is not a substitute for a small succession affidavit or a judgment of possession. Users who Google 'Louisiana affidavit of heirship' overwhelmingly land on this one or on out-of-state Texas-style forms. 3. Omv affidavit of heirship, form DPSMV 1696. Administrative, vehicle-only, good solely for retitling a motor vehicle at the OMV. No effect on land, bank accounts, or anything else. What Louisiana does not have: there is no Texas-style general recordable 'affidavit of heirship' (cf. Tex. Est. Code 203.002) by disinterested witnesses that clears real-property title after a seasoning period. If clean, insurable title to Louisiana land is the goal, the gold standard remains a judgment of possession from a judicial succession. Note also: La. R.S. 9:2431 is sometimes miscited online as the affidavit-of-heirship statute. It is not; 9:2431 is the definitions section of the estate-tax apportionment chapter (defining 'court,' 'estate,' 'fiduciary,' 'person interested in the estate,' 'state,' 'tax'). I verified this directly. Do not cite 9:2431 for heirship.

How to use a small estate affidavit in Louisiana

1. 1

   Confirm you're under the limit and past the wait

   Add up the property that passes through the estate and check it against the $125,000 ceiling. Gross value of all succession property (movable and immovable) valued as of the date of death, not net of debts. La. C.C.P. art. 3421(1). Assets that never enter the succession (life insurance/annuity with a named beneficiary, POD/TOD accounts, retirement accounts with a beneficiary, trust property, property already owned by the surviving spouse as her one-half of community) are not succession property and are not counted. Note: the decedent's one-half community interest is counted.

2. 2

   Gather the documents

   You'll need certified copies of the death certificate: order at least three, since institutions often keep one: plus account numbers, the vehicle title or VIN, and the names and addresses of every heir.

3. 3

   Complete the affidavit

   Fill in Small Succession Affidavit (Affidavit of Small Succession). La. C.C.P. arts. 3431–3434, listing the decedent, the heirs and their relationships, the assets and their values, and the known debts.

4. 4

   Sign it in front of a notary

   Sign in front of a notary public. Banks, credit unions and shipping stores all offer notarization, usually for a small fee.

5. 5

   Present it to whoever holds the property

   La. C.C.P. art. 3434(A). Mandatory language: a multiple original of the affidavit or a certified copy thereof authorized by art. 3432, 3432.1, or 3433 'Shall be full and sufficient authority for the payment of any money or the delivery of any property of the deceased described in the affidavit to the heirs or legatees of the deceased and the surviving spouse in community, if any, in the percentages listed in the affidavit, by any federally insured depository institution, financial institution, trust company, warehouseman, depositary, domestic or foreign corporation, or by any person having the property in his possession or under his control.' The affidavit must therefore state each person's fractional interest (art. 3432(A)(7)), the institution pays by those percentages. Safe harbor, art. 3434(B): 'The receipt of the persons named in the affidavit as heirs or legatees of the deceased, or surviving spouse in community thereof, constitutes a full release and discharge for the payment of money or delivery of property made in accordance with the provisions of this Article. Any creditor, heir, legatee, succession representative, or other person shall have no right or cause of action against the person paying the money or delivering the property in accordance with the provisions of this Article on account of the payment or delivery.' Quote art. 3434(A) and (B) verbatim in a cover letter when a bank branch balks, front-line staff frequently do not know this article exists. Employers / last wages, separate track: La. R.S. 9:1515 lets any employer (including the state and its political subdivisions) pay a deceased employee's wages, sick leave, annual leave, and other benefits directly to the surviving spouse (provided neither spouse had instituted a divorce proceeding), or to an adult child if there is no surviving spouse or a divorce was pending: 'without any court proceedings, order, or judgment authorizing the same' and without determining whether the funds are separate or community. The employer must first require the recipient to execute an instrument before two witnesses giving the deceased employee's name, address, date and place of death, the requester's relationship, the name and address of the surviving spouse or children, and any other information the employer requires. Execution of that instrument plus the receipt is 'a full release and discharge of the employer,' with no right or cause of action against the employer. I did not find a dollar cap in the text of R.S. 9:1515 as published on legis.la.gov; secondary sources assert a $6,000 limit. Treat that figure as unverified and do not surface it to users. OMV: accepts DPSMV 1696 + DPSMV 1799 + death certificate in lieu of a judgment of possession (see vehicleTransfer).

Where to take the signed affidavit

Debts and your personal liability

No creditor notice, no creditor claim period, no publication, and no requirement to list, schedule, or pay the decedent's debts anywhere in La. C.C.P. arts. 3431-3434. The art. 3432/3432.1/3433 content lists require property, values, heirs/legatees and their fractional interests, debts are simply not among the enumerated items. This differs sharply from states that require the affiant to swear all debts and funeral expenses are paid. Affiant exposure: (1) Each affiant swears 'under penalty of perjury that the information contained in the affidavit is true, correct, and complete to the best of their knowledge, information, and belief' (art. 3432(A)(9); 3433(A)(10)), false swearing is criminally punishable and grounds for civil damages. (2) By signing, an heir/legatee affirmatively accepts the succession/legacy (art. 3432(A)(8); 3433(A)(9)), acceptance is generally irrevocable, so an heir cannot later renounce to dodge the succession's problems. Under La. C.C. art. 1416 a successor's liability for estate debts is limited to the value of the property received, valued as of time of receipt (Louisiana abolished the old 'acceptance pure and simple / unlimited liability' regime in 1997), but an heir who takes assets and leaves creditors unpaid is exposed up to that value and can be sued by creditors. (3) A successor omitted from the affidavit retains an action against the recognized heirs; only actions against third parties who acquired an interest in immovables by onerous title are cut off, and only 2 years after recording (art. 3434(C)(3)). Advise users to satisfy known debts from the collected funds before distributing.

When you can’t use it

Louisiana takes the affidavit route off the table when:

• Gross date-of-death value exceeds the statutory threshold (unless the death occurred 20+ years before the affidavit is executed, art. 3421(3) removes the cap entirely in that case)
• Decedent domiciled in Louisiana, died testate, and left immovable property in Louisiana, art. 3431(A)(2) requires judicial opening (the will must be probated); the affidavit route is unavailable
• Decedent domiciled in Louisiana, died testate, no LA immovable property: still unavailable unless the surviving spouse, all persons who would inherit under the testament, and all persons who would inherit intestate agree to waive probate (art. 3431(A)(2)); one holdout defeats it
• Decedent domiciled outside Louisiana who died testate whose will has not been probated by court order of another state, art. 3431(A)(3); a certified copy of the foreign probate order must be attached (art. 3433(A)(8))
• A non-signing heir/legatee who, after 30 days' notice by U.S. mail of intent to execute the affidavit, objects, arts. 3432(A)(4)(b), 3433(A)(4)
• Fewer than two qualified affiants available
• Any dispute among heirs, contested forced-heirship claim, or will contest
• Need for an administration, e.g., succession property must be sold to pay debts, a succession representative is needed to sue or be sued, or creditors require formal handling
• Ancillary (non-domiciliary) successions remain capped at $125,000 under art. 3421(2) even after Aug. 1, 2026

If any of those apply, a probate attorney is the right call. A typical small-estate proceeding runs $1,000–$3,000 plus the court’s fee.

Louisiana small estate affidavit FAQ

Statute and sources

Last verified July 29, 2026. 1) acts 2026, No. 293 (HB 215, 2026 R.S., Reps. Robby Carter and Taylor). Amends and reenacts La. C.C.P. art. 3421(1) only: gross value threshold for a Louisiana-domiciled decedent raised from $125,000 to $200,000. House 92-0 (3/26/2026); Senate 33-0 (5/13/2026); signed by the Governor 5/22/2026. Effective August 1, 2026, three days after this record's research date of 7/29/2026. Art. 3421(2) (ancillary/non-domiciliary) and art. 3421(3) (20-year rule) are untouched. 2) acts 2024, No. 90 (SB 32, 2024 R.S., Sen. Miller). Effective August 1, 2024. Comprehensive rewrite of the whole small-succession title: amends C.C.P. arts. 3421, 3422, 3422.1(B)(C)(E), 3431, 3432, 3432.1, 3434, and 3443, and adds art. 3433. Substantive effects: restructured art. 3421 into the current three-branch definition (LA domiciliary / ancillary / 20-year-old death of any value) and confirmed that a small succession may include a testate LA decedent's immovable property valued at $125,000 or less for court-cost purposes; removed the $5 minimum from the art. 3422 reduced-cost schedule; expanded art. 3431 so judicial opening is unnecessary for a testate LA decedent with no immovable transfer where all takers waive probate, and for a decedent domiciled outside Louisiana whose will was probated by a foreign court; eliminated the certified-copy-of-testament requirement in art. 3432.1 (a plain copy now suffices); authorized curators to execute the affidavit for interdicts without court authorization (arts. 3432(C), 3432.1, 3433(C)); created the brand-new art. 3433 affidavit for foreign-domiciled testate decedents, requiring a copy of the testament plus a certified copy of the foreign probate order. 3) No change to the substantive affidavit mechanics between Aug. 2024 and Aug. 2026 other than the threshold. Prior history: Acts 2009, No. 81 (eff. 6/18/2009) raised $75,000 to $125,000; Acts 2011, No. 323 (eff. 6/29/2011); Acts 2012, No. 618 (eff. 6/7/2012) removed the clerk-endorsement requirement; Acts 2017, No. 96 and Acts 2018, No. 422 (art. 3422).

• La. C.C.P. art. 3421 (small successions defined; gross-value threshold)
• La. C.C.P. art. 3422 (reduced court costs in judicial small successions)
• La. C.C.P. art. 3422.1 (disaster-damaged immovable property; managing co-owner)
• La. C.C.P. art. 3431 (judicial opening unnecessary; who qualifies)
• La. C.C.P. art. 3432 (affidavit, decedent died intestate; contents)
• La. C.C.P. art. 3432.1 (affidavit. LA-domiciled decedent died testate, no immovable property)
• La. C.C.P. art. 3433 (affidavit, decedent domiciled outside Louisiana who died testate; added by Acts 2024 No. 90)
• La. C.C.P. art. 3434 (affidavit is full and sufficient authority for payment/delivery; safe harbor; recording of immovables; 2-year prescription)
• La. C.C.P. arts. 2821–2822 (Affidavit of Death, Domicile and Heirship, evidentiary only, used inside a judicial succession)
• La. R.S. 9:1515 (employer may pay last wages/leave to surviving spouse or adult child without court proceedings)
• Acts 2024, No. 90 (SB 32), eff. Aug. 1, 2024
• Acts 2026, No. 293 (HB 215), eff. Aug. 1, 2026

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• legis.la.gov(opens in a new tab)
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• legis.la.gov(opens in a new tab)
• legis.la.gov(opens in a new tab)

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