Most uncontested successions close in roughly 14 business days from the time we have the necessary documents. Complex estates, contested matters, or out-of-state real property can extend the timeline. Results May Vary.

Our flat fees start at $2,500 for simple successions. Standard successions with multiple properties run $3,500–$4,500. Complex matters start at $5,000. You receive a written flat-fee quote within 24 hours of your free consultation, before you sign anything. Results May Vary.

Two tests decide it, and both have to be met. Domiciled means where the person made their permanent legal home. The first test is value, and it is set by La. C.C.P. art. 3421. For a person who died domiciled in Louisiana, the Louisiana property must have a gross value of $200,000 or less. For a person who died domiciled outside Louisiana, the Louisiana property must have a gross value of $125,000 or less. Where the death occurred at least twenty years before the affidavit is signed, and the person left property in Louisiana, there is no dollar limit at all. Gross value means the value before debts are subtracted. Value is measured as of the date of death, not at today's prices.

The second test is who the person was and what they owned, and it is set by La. C.C.P. art. 3431. It is much narrower than the value test. A person who died domiciled in Louisiana without a will can use the affidavit, and it can transfer Louisiana real estate. A person who died domiciled in Louisiana with a will can use it only if they left no Louisiana immovable property. That route also requires the surviving spouse, everyone who would inherit under the will, and everyone who would inherit without a will, all to agree to waive probate. A person who died domiciled outside Louisiana can use the affidavit if they left no will, or if a court in another state has already probated the will. Where the person died domiciled outside Louisiana and the affidavit is available, it can also transfer Louisiana real estate. Anyone outside those three descriptions has to have the succession opened in court, however small the estate. A person who died domiciled in Louisiana, left a will, and owned any Louisiana immovable property cannot use the affidavit at any value. Immovable property means real estate such as a house, land or a camp.

Where only the value test is met, the succession still has to be opened in court. Court costs are then half the rate charged in a succession that is not a small succession, under La. C.C.P. art. 3422(1). Attorney fees are separate and are not affected.

No. We handle most successions entirely remotely. You sign one notarized document in front of any notary near you and return it by mail or secure upload.

It depends on where the person who died was domiciled, which means where they made their permanent legal home. If they made their permanent home outside Louisiana, the Louisiana part of the estate is handled as an ancillary succession. An ancillary court proceeding is not always needed, because a small succession affidavit may be available instead. If they made their permanent home in Louisiana, it is an ordinary Louisiana succession, even though you live elsewhere. We handle both for heirs in Texas, Florida, Georgia, and across the country. That includes mineral interests and inherited Louisiana real estate. Most of this work is done remotely.

Yes. We work directly with title companies and real-estate agents on stalled closings. In most uncontested matters the Judgment of Possession is delivered in about 14 business days. A contested matter or a missing heir can extend that. Results May Vary.

Louisiana law protects certain children as forced heirs. A child who is 23 years of age or younger when the parent dies is a forced heir. So is a child of any age who is permanently unable to care for themselves or manage their own affairs when the parent dies. A grandchild can be a forced heir only by stepping into a deceased parent's place. That happens where the parent would have been 23 years of age or younger when the decedent died, or where the grandchild is permanently unable to care for themselves or manage their own affairs. A forced heir is entitled to a guaranteed portion of the estate, even if the will says otherwise. That share can be taken away only where there was just cause to disinherit the heir under Louisiana law. We check for forced heirs in every succession involving a parent, before anything is filed.