Descendants are the decedent’s children or their representatives1  and take to the exclusion of other heirs.2

Children adopted through a formal adoption proceeding have the same inheritance rights as the other children of the deceased adoptive parent.3  An adopted child may also inherit from the child’s natural parents and their relatives; however, natural parents and relatives cannot inherit from the surrendered child.4  Stepchildren do not inherit unless they were formally adopted by the decedent.

A child born outside of marriage inherits to the same extent as a child born to married parents only if the child is formally acknowledged by authentic act or by a judgment in a timely-initiated filiation proceeding.5  Since 2016, signing a child’s birth certificate no longer qualifies as an acknowledgement.6

If you are faced with a situation involving a child born outside of marriage, search the public records for an acknowledgement of paternity or for proceedings ordering the father to pay child support, which may involve such an acknowledgment. Acknowledgments may also occur in divorce or other succession proceedings. A donation inter vivos may also meet the requirements of an acknowledgment.7

To establish filiation for purposes of succession, an unacknowledged child born outside of marriage must institute an action no later than 1 year after the father’s death.8  All relevant evidence is admissible to prove paternity, including lab tests, acts of informal acknowledgment by the father, and cohabitation of the father and mother at the time of conception.

Under prior law, the period to file a filiation action was limited to either 1 year after the parent’s death or 19 years after the child’s birth, whichever occurred first. Unacknowledged children’s filiation claims that were time-barred by the age of the child under prior law remain time-barred.9  Thus, even if the parent died after the effective date of the new law, if the child was over 19 years of age on June 29, 2005, the child cannot initiate a filiation action.

• 1For further discussion of representation, see Section 5.2.
• 2La. C.C. art. 888.
• 3La. C.C. art. 199.
• 4Id.
• 5See La. C.C. arts. 195–198.
• 6Act of June 2, 2016, No. 309, § 196, effective August 1, 2016.
• 7See In re Succession of Dangerfield, 2016-0293 (La. App. 1 Cir. 10/31/16), 207 So. 3d 427.
• 8La. C.C. art. 197.
• 9See In re Succession of Smith, 09-969 (La. App. 3 Cir. 02/03/10), 29 So. 3d 723; In re Succession of Faget, 2005-1434 (La. App. 1 Cir. 6/9/06), 938 So. 2d 1003; Succession of McKay, 2005-603 (La. App. 3 Cir. 2/1/06), 921 So. 2d 1219.

If the deceased leaves no descendants but is survived by a father, mother, or both, and by a brother or sister, or both, or descendants from them, the siblings (or their descendants) succeed to the deceased’s separate property subject to a usufruct in favor of the surviving parent(s).1

If both parents survive the deceased, the usufruct is joint and successive, which means that when one parent subsequently dies, the entire usufruct accrues to the survivor-parent and the siblings (or their descendants) remain naked owners with shares as identified below.2

If no parent survives the deceased, then the entire estate goes to the siblings (or their descendants) to the exclusion of all others.3

If there is more than one sibling, all siblings share equally.4  If a sibling predeceases the decedent, that sibling’s share goes to that sibling’s descendants by representation.5  Special rules apply to siblings related to the decedent by half-blood. In that case, the estate is equally divided between the deceased’s paternal and maternal lines. Siblings fully related by blood take in both lines, and those related by half-blood take only in the line shared with the deceased.

If the deceased had no full siblings and the deceased’s half siblings were in one line only, they take the entirety to the exclusion of all relations in the other line.6

If there are no siblings (or their descendants), the deceased’s parents inherit the separate property.7

• 1La. C.C. art. 891.
• 2Id.
• 3La. C.C. art. 892.
• 4La. C.C. art. 893.
• 5La. C.C. art. 882. For further discussion of representation, see Section 5.2.
• 6La. C.C. art. 893.
• 7La. C.C. art. 892.

If the deceased does not leave descendants, parents, or siblings (or descendants from them), a surviving spouse, if not judicially separated, succeeds to the deceased’s separate property to the exclusion of other ascendants and collaterals.1

A “judicially separated” but not divorced spouse is rare. Under La. C.C. art. 2374, a spouse may obtain a Judgment of Separation of Property for specific reasons. For example, when a Petition for Divorce has been filed, either spouse may obtain a Judgment of Separation of Property by a rule to show cause and upon proof that the spouses have lived separate and apart without reconciliation for thirty days from the date of the filing of the Petition for Divorce.2  However, should the spouses reconcile, the community regime is re-established (the same effect as a reconciliation after a judgment of separation from bed and board).3  A spouse can also obtain a Judgment of Separation of Property if the spouses have lived separate and apart continuously for a period of six months.4

• 1La. C.C. art. 894.
• 2La. C.C. art. 2374(C).
• 3La. C.C. art. 2375(B).
• 4La. C.C. art. 2374(D).

If a deceased does not leave descendants, parents, siblings (or their descendants), or a spouse not judicially separated, more remote ascendants succeed to the deceased’s separate property.1  The ascendants in the nearest degree take to the exclusion of more remote ascendants.2  If there are ascendants of the same degree in both the paternal and maternal lines, the property is divided into two equal shares, one of which goes to the ascendants on the paternal side and the other of which goes to the ascendants on the maternal side, whether the number of ascendants on each side be equal or not.3  In this case, the ascendants in each line inherit by heads.4

• 1La. C.C. art. 895.
• 2Id.
• 3Id.
• 4Id.

If the deceased has no surviving descendants, parents, siblings (or their descendants), surviving spouse not judicially separated, or ascendants, more remote collaterals succeed to the deceased’s separate property.1  Among collateral relatives, the nearest in degree excludes all others.2  If there are several in the same degree, they share equally and by heads.3

• 1La. C.C. art. 896.
• 2Id.
• 3Id.

If there are no heirs in any of the preceding classes, the estate of the deceased belongs to the state.1  This situation is extremely rare.

• 1La. C.C. art. 902.