Succession
Louisiana's word for the whole of what other states call probate — and for the estate itself.
What it means
Louisiana's civil law tradition uses its own vocabulary, and succession is the largest of the differences. It means both the process and the estate that passes through it.
A small succession is the simplified route, and Louisiana defines it three ways: by value, by a lower value for somebody who lived out of state, and by time, because a death more than twenty years ago opens the route whatever the property is worth.
Why it matters
Advice written for the other forty-nine states uses words a Louisiana clerk will not recognize, and searching for probate in Louisiana finds less than searching for succession.
The affidavit route is unusually strong: the affidavit is full and sufficient authority for a bank to pay, and no creditor or heir has any cause of action against the bank for having paid.
When you are likely to meet it
- Anywhere in Louisiana, from the first form onwards.
- When a bank or a notary asks how the succession was settled before it will do anything with a car.
How this varies by state
Louisiana only. The other states use probate and administration for the same ideas.