A Detailed Descriptive List of Assets and Liabilities is one of the required pleadings that must be filed to open a succession in Louisiana. It accompanies the Petition for Possession, the Affidavit of Death, Domicile, and Heirship, and the Judgment of Possession.
The Descriptive List must include all assets the decedent owned at the time of death and — at the succession lawyer’s discretion — any debts.
Things to Keep Off the Detailed Descriptive List
Some property passes directly to beneficiaries outside of the succession process. Because this property is not part of the succession case, it does not belong on the Descriptive List filed with the court. Including non-succession assets can cause confusion about what the estate owns and complicate the proceeding unnecessarily.
Examples of property that generally does not need to be on the Descriptive List include:
- Life insurance policies — unless the estate itself is the named beneficiary
- Annuities with a named beneficiary — unless the annuity was acquired during marriage and is part of the couple’s community property
- Retirement or pension plans — unless the estate is the beneficiary
- IRAs and Simplified Employee Pension Plans — unless the non-participant spouse has a community property interest
- United States Savings Bonds
- Bank accounts with co-depositors, if the co-depositor owns the funds
- Property held in a living trust — trust assets pass according to the trust terms, not through the succession
Why Proper Exclusion Matters
Correctly identifying which assets belong on the Descriptive List — and which do not — affects both the succession process and the heirs’ understanding of the estate’s value. Accidentally including a life insurance payout or IRA that passes directly to a named beneficiary may incorrectly inflate the estate’s apparent value and create confusion for creditors and heirs alike.
Conversely, failing to include an asset that does belong on the Descriptive List — such as a brokerage account the decedent owned individually without a named beneficiary — can result in that asset being overlooked, which may require amending the succession documents or opening additional proceedings later.
What Happens With Community Property IRAs?
Louisiana’s community property rules create a specific complication for IRAs. If a married person contributed to an IRA during the marriage using community income, the non-participant spouse may have a community property interest in a portion of the IRA — even though the IRA has a named beneficiary. How this is handled requires careful analysis by a succession attorney familiar with both Louisiana community property law and federal retirement account rules.
You don’t have to guess at what should be included or excluded from the Descriptive List. Contact Scott Law Group — Estate Counsel or call (504) 264-1057 to ensure your succession pleadings are prepared correctly.
This article provides general information about Louisiana succession law and is not legal advice for your specific situation.