LA risk area
Intestacy risk in Louisiana
How assets are distributed when there is no will and state default rules control the outcome.
Louisiana intestacy depends on whether property is community or separate, with descendants inheriting first and special usufruct rights for surviving spouses and parents.
Who inherits first if there is no will?How do spouse and children shares change by scenario?What are the most common surprises families face?
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Descendants succeed to the property of their ascendants and take by representation when applicable.
- If there are no descendants, the surviving spouse succeeds to the decedent’s share of community property.
- If descendants survive, the surviving spouse has a usufruct over the decedent’s community-property share until death or remarriage.
- If there are no descendants but parents and siblings, siblings inherit separate property subject to a usufruct in favor of the parents.
Questions to consider
Questions this risk area helps you evaluate in Louisiana
- Who inherits first if there is no will?
- How do spouse and children shares change by scenario?
- What are the most common surprises families face?
State overview
Louisiana intestacy depends on whether property is community or separate, with descendants inheriting first and special usufruct rights for surviving spouses and parents.
- Descendants succeed to the property of their ascendants and take by representation when applicable.
- If there are no descendants, the surviving spouse succeeds to the decedent’s share of community property.
- If descendants survive, the surviving spouse has a usufruct over the decedent’s community-property share until death or remarriage.
- If there are no descendants but parents and siblings, siblings inherit separate property subject to a usufruct in favor of the parents.
- If there are no descendants and no parents, siblings inherit separate property; if no siblings, parents inherit.
- If the order of death cannot be determined, each person is deemed to have predeceased the other for succession purposes.
Sources
- https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/civil-code/article-888/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/civil-code/article-889/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/civil-code/article-890/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/civil-code/article-891/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/civil-code/article-892/
- https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/intestate-succession-louisiana.html
- https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/civil-code/article-938/
Risk sources
- Uniform Probate Code (2019) - Intestate succession (Article II)
Article II, Part 1 covers intestate succession, spouse/descendant shares, and representation rules.
National sources provide baseline context; state statutes and court rules control in Louisiana.