How Do I Fill Out a Small Estate Affidavit in Louisiana?

Full question:

I downloaded an affidavit of heirship for the state of louisiana and I have one question about the real estate left by the decendent. If he died before his wife, and a succession was done on her, do I need to list the property description of the real estate at the time of his death? Also, when listing the children of the deceased children, what do I do if their address and exact whereabouts are not known. I have located two individuals that knew the deceased and they are willing to sign a notarized form stating the deceased did not have any other children other than the ones listed on the form. This is all that is required by the state of Louisiana. I just need to know more about the two questions listed above

• Category: Wills and Estates
• Subcategory: Probate
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Louisiana

Answer:

The Louisiana statutes require all property owned by the deceased at the time of death to be listed in the small estate affidavit. If you are unable to locate the heirs, it is possible to list the address as unknown. The court may require you to serve notice to them at the last known address or publish a notice in a local newspaper. You may also try to locate them on www.zabasearch.com. Ademption is a principle that says if a testator leaves a specific devise of property to a beneficiary, but the property is no longer in the estate when the testator dies, the beneficiary receives nothing.

Please see the following LA statutes:

Art. 3431. Small successions; judicial opening unnecessary

A. It shall not be necessary to open judicially the small succession of
a person who died intestate leaving no immovable property, excluding an
ownership interest in any cemetery space intended for the interment of
the person who died intestate, and whose sole heirs are the following:

(1) His descendants.

(2) His ascendants.

(3) His brothers or sisters or descendants thereof.

(4) His surviving spouse.

B. Any person appointed as public administrator by the governor may use
the affidavit procedure of this Chapter to take possession of the estate
of the decedent for transmittal to the state provided there is no
surviving spouse or other heir present or represented in the state and
provided that the estate does not include any immovable property, and
provided he has advertised one time in the official journal of the parish
and verifies that he has received no notice of opposition.

C. The legal notice required in Paragraph B of this Article shall read
as follows:

"Notice is hereby given to any heirs or creditors
of __________ that __________, Public Administrator for the
parish of, intends to administer the intestate succession of
__________, under the provisions of Small Successions as set
forth in Chapter 2 of Title V of Book VI of the Code of Civil
Procedure.

Anyone having an objection to such administration of the
succession should notify __________ at __________"

Art. 3432. Submission of affidavit to inheritance tax collector

When it is not necessary under the provisions of Article 3431 to open
judicially a small succession, the competent major heirs of the
deceased, and the surviving spouse thereof, if any, may submit to the
inheritance tax collector one or more multiple originals of their
affidavit setting forth:

(1) The date of death of the deceased, and his domicile at the
time thereof;

(2) The fact that the deceased died intestate and left no immovable
property;

(3) The marital status of the deceased, and the names and addresses of
the surviving spouse, if any, and of the heirs and their relationship to
the deceased; and

(4) A brief description of the movable property left by the deceased,
and a showing of the value of each item thereof, and the aggregate value
of all such property, at the time of the death of the deceased.

Art. 3434. Endorsed copy of affidavit authority for delivery of property

A multiple original of the affidavit required by Article 3432, bearing
the endorsement of the inheritance tax collector that no inheritance
taxes are due, shall be full and sufficient authority for the payment or
delivery of any money or property of the deceased described in the
affidavit by any bank, trust company, warehouseman, or other depositary,
or by any person having such property in his possession or under his
control. Similarly, a multiple original of this affidavit endorsed as
required above shall be full and sufficient authority for the transfer to
the heirs of the deceased, and surviving spouse, if any, or to their
assigns, of any stock or registered bonds in the name of the deceased and
described in the affidavit, by any domestic or foreign corporation.

The receipt of the persons named in the affidavit as heirs of the
deceased, or surviving spouse thereof, constitutes a full release and
discharge for the payment of money or delivery of property made under the
provisions of this article. The inheritance tax collector, and any
creditor, heir, succession representative, or other person whatsoever
shall have no right or cause of action against the person paying the
money, or delivering the property, or transferring the stock or bonds,
under the provisions of this article, on account of such payment,
delivery, or transfer.