Probate Estate Closing and Representative Discharge in Louisiana

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Ordinary and independent closing

For ordinary administration, the representative may file a final account after the final tableau of distribution is homologated and estate debts and legacies listed there are paid. The tableau is the petition's list of estate debts proposed for payment. The account shows property held at the beginning, receipts, disbursements, dispositions and the ending balance. The tableau may be homologated after the statutory publication or requested-notice delay, and the representative pays approved debts after the suspensive-appeal delay. Annual accounts continue during administration. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3303; art. 3307; art. 3331; art. 3332; art. 3333.)

An independent administrator ordinarily has the succession representative's Chapter 4–12 duties without routine court application or delay. Closing is expressly different: a verified inventory or sworn detailed assets-and-liabilities list must be filed before closing, and a final account must be filed unless the heirs and legatees waive it. After account homologation, the court enters a discharge order. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3396.15; art. 3396.18; art. 3396.19.)

Notice and court approval

Serve every heir or residuary legatee with the account and notice of possible homologation 10 days after service. For a final account, service must follow Article 1314 or use certified mail or a commercial courier requiring a signed receipt; the attorney's certificate and signed receipt are filed before homologation. An opposition may be filed any time before homologation and is tried summarily. An unopposed account may be homologated after the ten-day period. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3335; art. 3336.)

Discharge and bond

After final-account homologation, or proof that the heirs waived the account, the representative may petition for discharge. Receipts or other evidence satisfactory to the court must show creditors paid and remaining property distributed to heirs and legatees. The judgment discharges the representative, cancels the bond and ends further duty, responsibility and authority. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3391; art. 3392.)

What trips people up

The independent administrator's general freedom from routine court action does not eliminate the express inventory, account and discharge-order steps. An independent descriptive list can be sealed on request, but copies still go to universal successors and the surviving spouse, and the court may furnish relevant information to an eligible movant. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3396.15; art. 3396.18; art. 3396.19.)

Common questions

Can an heir require a final account? An heir or residuary legatee sent into possession may apply for an order requiring one; a removal judgment also triggers an order to file it. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3332.)

What if an ordered account is not filed? An interested person may move contradictorily to remove the representative and obtain the remedies referenced in Article 3334. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3334.)

When is the representative's compensation due? Ordinarily on homologation of the final account; the court may advance an administrator's or executor's compensation earlier. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3351.)

Statutes and sources

The cited Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure articles were checked in the official Louisiana Legislature code on October 4, 2026.