Louisiana Small Estate Affidavit

Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Louisiana lets a small estate be settled with a sworn affidavit, usable not stated in the text we read, and it is presented straight to the bank or holder — no court filing. Real estate: yes.

Louisiana does not use the phrase most states use. Its own statute calls this a small succession affidavit (civil-law; not called “affidavit of small estate”).

The verdicts

What the statute actually says

A person domiciled in Louisiana who died intestate… [judicial opening unnecessary]; the affidavit… duly sworn before any officer or person authorized to administer oaths; …shall be recorded in the conveyance records of the parish where any immovable property described in the affidavit is situated; …full and sufficient authority for the payment of any money or the delivery of any property.

— La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 3421, 3431-3434

The dollar limit

$200,000 gross value where the decedent died domiciled in Louisiana — ‘small succession’ (La. C.C.P. art. 3421); $125,000 where a non-domiciliary left Louisiana property (ancillary succession), and any value where the death was at least 20 years before the affidavit; affidavit procedure (art. 3431 et seq.) generally limited to intestate successions; 90-day wait to record affidavit covering immovable property.

All 51 limits, compared.

The form

We did not locate an official free state form. That does not mean none exists — many states publish forms through individual county or probate offices rather than a single statewide page, and several court websites blocked automated access entirely. Ask the probate court or register of wills in the county where the person lived before paying anyone for a form.

The waiting period is the part that voids transfers

Using the instrument before its waiting period has run is the most common way one of these fails. A bank can refuse it, and a transfer made on a defective affidavit can be unwound — with the person who signed it personally exposed, because these are sworn statements made under penalty of perjury. Wait the full period and count from the date of death.

What could not be verified

No fixed number-of-days waiting period tied to date of death exists in the statute — only a requirement that non-signing heirs get 30 days’ mail notice before execution. sos.la.gov and lasc.org had no self-help page on this topic; no free standardized statewide official form was located (unlike Michigan’s SCAO forms), so no official form link is published rather than a guessed one. courts.la.gov did not resolve (DNS failure).

When this route is the wrong one

• The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
• There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
• Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
• Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.

Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.

General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.