Louisiana Small Estates: the small estate affidavit
The short answer
Louisiana calls its simplified route the small estate affidavit (called a small succession in Louisiana), and it is set out in La. C.C.P. arts. 3421, 3431-3434. The limit went up on August 1, 2026, so ask the clerk which limit applies to an earlier death. It stays $125,000 for someone who lived outside Louisiana. Louisiana sets no waiting period for it. It can also cover real estate, which is unusual and worth knowing before you assume a house means full probate. The current limit and the date we last read the statute are on the card below.
Louisiana’s small estate affidavit (called a small succession in Louisiana)
Louisiana sets this out in La. C.C.P. arts. 3421, 3431-3434. The limit went up on August 1, 2026, so ask the clerk which limit applies to an earlier death. It stays $125,000 for someone who lived outside Louisiana. The figure itself, and the date we last read that statute, are on the card below.[1]
Louisiana
- Procedure:
- small estate affidavit (called a small succession in Louisiana)
- Limit:
- $200,000
- Wait:
- none stated
- Real estate:
- covered
The limit went up on August 1, 2026, so ask the clerk which limit applies to an earlier death. It stays $125,000 for someone who lived outside Louisiana.
La. C.C.P. arts. 3421, 3431-3434 — official page read September 18, 2026
It can also cover real estate, which is unusual and worth knowing before you assume a house means full probate.[1]
The small estate affidavit (called a small succession in Louisiana) is one piece of settling an estate in Louisiana. Answer a few questions and Go Forward builds the rest of the list for your situation — the notifications, the accounts, the paperwork — in the order it needs doing.
Build my plan →Steps this page connects to: Check whether probate is required · Order certified death certificates · List what the estate holds
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Sources
- La. C.C.P. arts. 3421, 3431-3434 (small estate affidavit (called a small succession in Louisiana)) — Louisiana — official statute or court self-help page. Read September 18, 2026.
Each state above links to the statute or court page we read, with the date we read it.
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