How should a Louisiana assessor list property when the recorded owner has died and no succession has been opened?

Plain-English summary

Webster Parish's chief deputy assessor asked how to list property after its owner died without an opened succession. The assessor's office had kept the deceased owner's name on the tax roll until a judgment of possession was recorded, with a limited historical practice concerning affidavits of heirship. The AG said the assessment should follow the record owner. When the deceased person remained owner of record, the assessment should be in the name of that person's estate.

The AG said an affidavit of heirship did not by itself transfer record ownership to the heirs. It also said that if the purported heirs transferred the property, the assessment should then be made in the name of the purchaser of record. The opinion drew those answers from La. R.S. 47:1965 and prior AG opinions about the conveyance records; it did not decide the validity of any heir's underlying title.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Should the tax roll keep listing the deceased person by name?

The AG said that when the deceased person remained the record owner, the assessment should be made in the name of the deceased owner's estate.

Did a recorded affidavit of heirship make the heirs the owners for assessment?

The opinion said no. It found the affidavit insufficient to transfer record ownership to the purported heirs.

What if the heirs sold the property to another person?

The AG said the assessor should then list the purchaser of record. Its discussion of a prior opinion did not require completed succession proceedings before recognizing a purchaser shown in conveyance records.

Did the opinion tell assessors to resolve defects in title?

No. It repeated an earlier AG view that assessors should assess to the record owner without investigating title defects, including missing succession proceedings or a judgment of possession.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 47:1965 addressed assessments in the name of a deceased person and deemed assessment to the owner shown in mortgage records at listing proper. The AG used that rule and earlier opinions to distinguish a recorded affidavit of heirship, which did not itself transfer record ownership, from a purchaser reflected in public conveyance records. The request mentioned La. R.S. 47:2425 in explaining the assessor's past policy, but the AG based its answer on record ownership under La. R.S. 47:1965.

Citations

• La. R.S. 47:1965 (assessment of property following death and record ownership).
• La. R.S. 47:2425 (mentioned in the assessor's description of its historical affidavit policy).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/06-0028

Original opinion text

June 26, 2006
OPINION NUMBER 06-0028

4 - Assessors
Ms. Jan D. Elshout, CLDA
La. R.S. 47:1965
Chief Deputy Assessor
The assessor must assess property in the name of
Webster Parish
the record owner. If the record owner is deceased,
P.O. Box 734
the assessment should be made in the name of the
Minden, Louisiana 71058-0734 estate of the deceased owner.

Dear Ms. Elshout:

You requested an Attorney General’s opinion regarding the assessment of property in the name of a deceased owner. You indicate that it has been the policy of your office to leave the property listed on the tax rolls in the deceased owner’s name until a Judgment of Possession has been filed on record with the Clerk of Court, as per advisement by legal counsel. The only exception to this policy was that an Affidavit of Heirship filed on record was sufficient to transfer ownership on the tax roll, only if the deceased owner had died prior to January 1, 1973, the effective date of La. R.S. 47:2425. You contend that this policy is in compliance with the provisions of La. R.S. 47:1965. You advise that a local attorney has questioned the legality of this policy. Therefore, you question whether the assessment of property owned by a deceased owner, whose succession is unopened, is to be listed on the tax rolls in the deceased owner’s name as an estate, or does an Affidavit of Heirship filed on record with the Clerk of Court where the property is located suffice to transfer the ownership of the property to the heirs, no matter the date of death of the deceased.

First, we note that the listing and assessing of property in the name of a deceased owner is governed by La. R.S. 47:1965, which provides:

Any assessment made in the name of a party deceased shall be good and valid throughout the state unless notification in writing of the death and of whether or not the succession has been opened and when and where, shall have been made in due season to the assessor by the heirs or parties interested. In all cases property assessed in the name of the owner as appears on the record of the recorder of mortgages at the date of listing shall be deemed properly assessed.

Page 2

Ms. Jan D. Elshout
Opinion Number 06-0028
Page -2-

This office has opined that the taxes are the burden of the real property’s record owner. In our opinion dated March 25, 1960, this office concluded:

"Of course, assessments of property should be made according to the records of the Clerk of Court or Conveyance Records, and therefore when the owner of the property is known to have died, the assessment should be in the name of the estate of the deceased owner. However, under the facts presented by you, where children or forced heirs sell the property, we do not believe that it is incumbent upon you to require succession proceedings in order to make assessments, but in the absence of fraud or where you have reason to believe that these heirs are the actual heirs, it is our opinion that the assessment should be made in the name of the purchaser, or the last record owner as reflected by the Conveyance Books."

In Attorney General Opinion No. 92-67, we stated “the assessor must assess taxes to the record owner without inquiring into any defects which may exist in his title, including the lack of a succession proceeding and/or judgment or possession.”

In the situation you described, the deceased owner would still be the record owner of the property. An Affidavit of Heirship is not sufficient to transfer ownership of the property, as of record, to the purported heirs. Therefore, it is the opinion of our office that the property should be assessed in the name of the estate of the deceased owner. However, if the purported heirs transfer the property, the assessment should then be made in the name of the purchaser of record.

Trusting this adequately responds to your request, we remain

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _________
KENNETH L. ROCHE, III
Assistant Attorney General

CCF, JR/KLR, III/jv

Page 3

Opinion Number 06-0028

4 - Assessors
La. R.S. 47:1965

The assessor must assess property in the name of
the record owner. If the record owner is deceased,
the assessment should be made in the name of the
estate of the deceased owner.

Ms. Jan D. Elshout, CLDA
Chief Deputy Assessor
Webster Parish
P.O. Box 734
Minden, Louisiana 71058-0734

Date Received:

Date Released: June 26, 2006

Kenneth L. Roche, III
Assistant Attorney General