Louisiana: Spousal Elective Share Requirements
The short answer
Louisiana has no general spousal elective share. A spouse instead already owns a present one-half interest in community property and may have a usufruct over the decedent's community share. A comparatively less-wealthy survivor may also claim the separate marital portion—up to one-fourth ownership or a child-based life usufruct, capped at $1 million—within three years after death.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Louisiana. Ask about your specific facts and see which parts of current Louisiana law apply, with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and system | No general elective share in the current Civil Code; community-property ownership under arts. 2336 and 2356, surviving-spouse usufruct under art. 890, and comparative-wealth marital portion under arts. 2432–2437 |
|---|---|
| Eligible spouse and who may elect | No elective-share claimant. Surviving spouse may claim marital portion when decedent died rich in comparison; separated spouse must prove separation without survivor's fault; right is personal and nonheritable (arts. 2432–2433, 2436) |
| Share amount and marriage length | No elective percentage. Spouse owns one-half community property; marital portion is 1/4 ownership with no children, 1/4 life usufruct with ≤3 children, or a child's-share life usufruct with >3, capped at $1 million (arts. 2336, 2434) |
| Estate base and nonprobate transfers | No elective estate. Marital portion is a charge on the succession; art. 890 usufruct reaches the decedent's community share not disposed of by testament; no nonprobate-transfer inclusion list (arts. 890, 2432–2433) |
| Deductions, exclusions, and valuation | Legacy to spouse and payments due because of death are deducted from marital portion; arts. 2432–2437 state no further deduction list or valuation formula (art. 2435) |
| Deadline, extensions, and withdrawal | No election deadline. Personal, nonheritable marital-portion claim prescribes 3 years from death; no express extension or withdrawal rule in arts. 2432–2437 (art. 2436) |
| Filing, service, and court procedure | No elective-share filing. Marital portion is claimed from succession; during administration survivor may demand periodic allowance from succession representative, with amount fixed by succession court (arts. 2432, 2437) |
| Waiver and agreement requirements | No elective-share waiver. Articles 2432–2437 state no special marital-portion waiver form; art. 2433 makes the right an incident of any matrimonial regime |
| Payment sources and recipient liability | Marital portion is charged to succession; spouse legacy and death-result payments offset it; periodic allowance comes from succession representative and excess is charged back to spouse (arts. 2433, 2435, 2437) |
| Effect of election and other spousal rights | No election. Survivor retains own one-half community interest; qualifying art. 890 usufruct over decedent's community share ends at death or remarriage; forced-heir status belongs to qualifying descendants, not spouse (arts. 2336, 890, 1493) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Louisiana uses ownership, usufruct, and a marital portion
Louisiana's complete current Civil Code table of contents contains no general
elective-share article. The ordinary story begins with ownership: under
§ 2336, each spouse already owns a present undivided one-half of community
property. Article 2356 terminates the legal community regime at death. The
survivor's half is therefore an ownership interest, not a percentage elected
from the decedent's estate.
Article 890 can add a usufruct—a right to use property and receive its fruits—
over the decedent's community share when descendants survive and the decedent
did not dispose of that share by testament. This usufruct ends when the spouse
dies or remarries.
Louisiana forced heirship is also different from a spousal elective share.
Article 1493(A) defines forced heirs as qualifying first-degree descendants,
not the surviving spouse.
The marital portion is the substitute claim
The marital portion under arts. 2432 through 2437 is a separate claim when the
decedent died rich in comparison with the surviving spouse. It applies under
any matrimonial regime and is charged to the succession. A separated spouse
may claim it only by proving that the separation occurred without the
survivor's fault.
The amount depends on descendants:
- No children: one-fourth of the succession in ownership.
- Three or fewer children: one-fourth of the succession in life usufruct.
- More than three children: a child's share in life usufruct.
The marital portion may not exceed $1 million. A legacy left to the spouse
and payments due because of the death are deducted. The six-article chapter
states no additional deduction list or valuation formula.
Timing and succession administration
The marital-portion right is personal and nonheritable. It prescribes three
years after death. Articles 2432 through 2437 state no elective-style filing,
service, extension, withdrawal, or waiver procedure.
During succession administration, a spouse who appears entitled may demand a
periodic allowance from the succession representative. The court handling the
succession fixes the amount. If the final marital portion is smaller than the
allowance already paid, the spouse is charged with the deficiency.
What trips people up
- One-half community ownership is not an elective share. It is the spouse's
existing property interest under art. 2336. - The Article 890 usufruct is conditional. Descendants must survive, the
relevant community share must not have been disposed of by testament, and
death or remarriage ends it. - The marital portion changes form with the number of children. Only the
no-child tier is ownership; the other tiers are life usufructs. - Death benefits reduce the marital portion. Article 2435 deducts both a
spouse's legacy and payments due as a result of death.
Common questions
Can every surviving spouse claim one-fourth? No. The spouse must first meet
art. 2432's comparative-wealth condition, and the form and fraction then depend
on the number of children under art. 2434.
Does a matrimonial regime eliminate the marital portion? Article 2433 says
the marital portion is an incident of any matrimonial regime. The six-article
chapter does not state a special waiver form.
Can the spouse's estate continue a marital-portion claim after the spouse
dies? Article 2436 calls the right personal and nonheritable.
Is the three-year period measured from probate? No. Article 2436 measures it
from the date of death.
Statutes and sources
- La. Civ. Code arts. 2336 and 2356 — present one-half community ownership
and termination of the community regime at death. Official Civil Code art.
2336 and art.
2356 (accessed 2026-08-02). - La. Civ. Code art. 890 — surviving-spouse usufruct over the decedent's
undisposed community share. Official Civil Code
(accessed 2026-08-02). - La. Civ. Code arts. 2432 to 2433 — comparative-wealth eligibility,
matrimonial-regime scope, succession charge, and separation rule. Official
Civil Code (accessed
2026-08-02). - La. Civ. Code arts. 2434 to 2435 — amount, $1 million cap, and spouse
offsets. Official Civil Code art.
2434 and art.
2435 (accessed 2026-08-02). - La. Civ. Code arts. 2436 to 2437 — personal right, three-year
prescription, and periodic allowance. Official Civil Code art.
2436 and art.
2437 (accessed 2026-08-02). - La. Civ. Code art. 1493(A) — forced heirs are qualifying first-degree
descendants. Official Civil Code
(accessed 2026-08-02). - Official Civil Code table of contents — complete current index used to
confirm the absence of a general elective-share article. Louisiana
Legislature
(accessed 2026-08-02).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
Get the answer for your situation
You just read how Louisiana handles this in general. Ask your specific question and see which parts of current Louisiana law apply to your facts, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.