Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Louisiana, louisiana (a civil-law jurisdiction using ‘succession representative’ terminology) requires security by default only for an intestate administrator or a court-appointed (‘dative’) testamentary executor, at an amount exceeding the inventoried succession property value by one-fourth (i.e. 125%) (La. C.C.P. arts. 3151, 3153). A testator-named executor is NOT required to furnish security by default.
Does Louisiana require an executor to post a bond?
Louisiana (a civil-law jurisdiction using ‘succession representative’ terminology) requires security by default only for an intestate administrator or a court-appointed (‘dative’) testamentary executor, at an amount exceeding the inventoried succession property value by one-fourth (i.e. 125%) (La. C.C.P. arts. 3151, 3153). A testator-named executor is NOT required to furnish security by default.
“The person named by the testator as executor is not required to furnish security, except when required by the testament or as provided in Articles 3154 through 3155.”
Can the will waive it in Louisiana?
Sometimes. For a testator-named executor, the default is no security at all; the testament can only ADD a security requirement, not waive one that doesn’t otherwise exist (art. 3153). For a dative testamentary executor or an intestate administrator, the mandatory 125%-of-inventory security is not described as will-waivable in the articles fetched.
Can the heirs or beneficiaries waive it in Louisiana?
No. Forced heirs and the surviving spouse in community can only compel (add) security from a named executor by ex parte petition (art. 3154); the opposite of a waiver right; separately, a court may reduce (not eliminate) an administrator’s mandatory bond under art. 3151 ‘on proper showing.’
If a bond is required, how much?
When a bond is required, Louisiana sizes it at 125% of the estimated value of the personal estate, per its own bond-amount statute.
“the person appointed administrator shall furnish security for the faithful performance of his duties in an amount exceeding by one-fourth the total value of all property of the succession as shown by the inventory or descriptive list”
Source: La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3151
What makes Louisiana different
Louisiana is the only state in this survey where the statutory default flips based on who is serving: a testator-named executor owes no security absent a will provision or a forced-heir/spouse petition, while a dative executor or intestate administrator owes mandatory 125%-of-inventory security that heirs cannot waive; the reverse of the common ‘bond required unless the will waives it’ pattern.
A note on sourcing: Justia returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch this session; FindLaw (quoting the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure text verbatim with article citations) was used, and Louisiana’s own legis.la.gov site was not separately fetched this session.
| Bond-requirement source | La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 3151, 3153, 3154 |
| Louisiana courts (general reference) | Louisiana judicial branch |
| Confidence | Medium |
Every statute quoted on this page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; a probate court has final discretion over bond in every state; confirm your own case with the court or a local attorney before relying on the default described here.
Related: how long creditors have to file a claim against an estate in Louisiana.