5.4 Succession Debts

Estate debts are the debts of the decedent and administration expenses.1 Debts of the decedent are the decedent’s obligations and those arising as a result of the decedent’s death, such as funeral and burial costs.2 Administration expenses are those obligations incurred in the collection, preservation, management, and distribution of the decedent’s estate.3

A successor who accepts the succession is liable for the estate debts to the extent of the value of the property the successor receives, valued as of the time of receipt.4 If the succession debts are not partitioned, each heir remains liable for his share of the succession. Nevertheless, in order to equalize the shares, those heirs who take the largest allotments may be charged with the payment of a larger portion of the debts.5

The heirs or legatees may be sent into possession of the decedent’s estate on an ex parte petition if the succession is “relatively free from debt.”6 Mortgages and other secured debts are not considered in this calculation, as the creditor is protected by the fact that the debt is secured by the assets. 

• 1La. C.C. art. 1415.
• 2Id.
• 3Id.
• 4La. C.C. art. 1416.
• 5La. C.C. art. 1371.
• 6La. C.C.P. art. 3001(A).