Who Inherits If You Die Without a Will in Louisiana

Louisiana is a community property state and treats community and separate property differently. Community property: if the deceased left descendants, they inherit the deceased's half, subject to the surviving spouse's usufruct (a right to use it and its income) until the spouse dies or remarries; with no descendants, the surviving spouse takes the deceased's half. Separate property: descendants inherit first, in equal shares (by family branch when representing a deceased parent). With no descendants, brothers and sisters (or their descendants) inherit, subject to a usufruct for any surviving parents; if there are no siblings, the parents inherit; if there are no parents, the siblings take outright. The surviving spouse inherits separate property only if there are no descendants, parents, or siblings (or their descendants) and the spouse was not judicially separated.

Louisiana has no elective share. Instead, each spouse owns a present undivided one-half of the community property, so the surviving spouse keeps his or her own half regardless of the will. Louisiana also has 'forced heirship': children who are 23 or younger at the parent's death, or children of any age who are permanently unable to care for themselves or their property because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity, are forced heirs. Gifts and bequests cannot exceed three-fourths of the estate if there is one forced heir, or one-half if there are two or more.

A 'small succession' is the estate of a Louisiana resident whose property had a gross value of $200,000 or less at death (for a non-resident, Louisiana property of $125,000 or less), or of a person who died at least 20 years before the affidavit, regardless of value. No court proceeding is needed if the person died without a will; if there was a will and no Louisiana real estate, the spouse and all heirs and legatees must agree to waive probate. At least two people (including the surviving spouse, if any, and one or more heirs) sign a sworn affidavit listing the heirs, the property (real estate described well enough to transfer), its value, and each heir's share. Heirs who do not sign must be unlocatable or have received 30 days' mailed notice without objecting. Banks and others may pay or deliver property on the affidavit. Real estate is allowed: the affidavit must be recorded in the conveyance records of the parish where the property is located. No waiting period is set.