Simplified route
$200,000
Small succession affidavit; waiting period not verified.
Eligibility and caveatsLouisiana estate administration
Louisiana probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $200,000
This guide explains probate in Louisiana: Louisiana administers a succession in District Court. Its civil-law framework uses succession representatives, optional independent administration, and judgments of possession; the small-succession affidavit can avoid a judicial opening in defined cases.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.
Answer first
Louisiana simplified probate route
Up to $200,000; waiting period not verified. Source: La. C.C.P. art. 3421.
Small succession affidavitScreen a specific Louisiana estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Varies locally
Set locally; ask the receiving court.
District-court clerk charges are local and document-dependent: R.S. 13:841 states maximum components and permits clerks to charge less; C.C.P. art. 3422 makes judicial small-succession costs one-half of costs in comparable non-small successions. No single statewide opening total follows. Where it is set: La. C.C.P. art. 3422 and La. R.S. 13:841.
Executor compensation
Statutory schedule
A statutory percentage schedule applies. Source: La. C.C.P. art. 3351.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
La. C.C.P. art. 3242 (Louisiana State Legislature; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsLouisiana decision map
The four facts that change the Louisiana route
Each Louisiana answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Louisiana answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Small succession affidavit |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route. |
| What is the amount screen? | $200,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule. |
| What does compensation use? | Statutory percentage schedule, measured on the estate accounting. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- No single statewide filing total exists; parish clerk advance deposits and document counts control.
- No common-law-style creditor nonclaim deadline was inferred from the succession claim articles.
- No independent verifier has re-derived the civil-law characterization.
Continue
What Louisiana courts publish
Every link is probed before each release.
- Self-help centreLouisiana court structureLouisiana Supreme Court
- Court resourceLouisiana district courtsLouisiana Supreme Court
Limits on court material
- No statewide small-succession affidavit or statewide probate opening-fee total was located on the Louisiana Supreme Court site; parish clerks provide filing requirements and advance-cost deposits.
- Louisiana terminology is succession, succession representative, testament, independent administration, and judgment of possession—not a forced common-law executor/probate model.
Louisiana primary sources
- La. C.C.P. art. 3421 — Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Small Successions Defined
- La. C.C.P. art. 3431 — Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Judicial Opening Unnecessary
- La. C.C.P. art. 3432 — Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Small Succession Affidavit Contents
- La. C.C.P. art. 3422 — Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Small Succession Costs and Compensation
- La. C.C.P. art. 3351 — Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Succession Representative Compensation
- La. R.S. 13:841 — Louisiana Revised Statutes, District Court Clerk Fees
- La. C.C.P. art. 3242 — Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Response to Submitted Claim
- La. C.C.P. art. 3241 — Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Presenting Claim Against Succession
- La. C.C.P. art. 3245 — Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Formal Proof and Prescription
- La. C.C.P. art. 3396 — Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, Independent Administration Definitions
Every quotation, edition label and machine check is on the Louisiana source record.
Louisiana record: 10/10 verified, 32 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction