Who Inherits Under Louisiana Law

After someone passes away in Louisiana, “who gets what?” is almost always the first question the family asks. The answer depends on three things: whether the person left a valid will, the shape of their family, and how Louisiana law classifies each piece of property they owned. Unlike most states, Louisiana follows a civil-law system rooted in the Napoleonic Code, which means inheritance here is governed by specific numbered articles of the Louisiana Civil Code rather than the common-law principles used elsewhere. That’s why a succession in Louisiana can feel strange even to people who’ve handled probate in other states.

This page walks through how inheritance works in Louisiana — who is legally entitled to what, in what order, and why — so you can understand where you or your loved ones stand before talking to an attorney. It’s a general overview, not legal advice for your specific situation, and the rules we describe are subject to exceptions we can’t cover in a single article.

The first question: is there a valid will?

Louisiana divides every succession into one of two categories:

• Testate succession — the decedent left a valid Louisiana will (usually either a notarial testament or an olographic testament).
• Intestate succession — the decedent died without a valid will, or the will they left is legally invalid.

If there’s a valid will, that document — within the bounds of Louisiana law — determines who inherits. We say “within the bounds of” because Louisiana is one of the few states that still has forced heirship (La. C.C. art. 1493), which protects certain children’s rights to inherit even when the parent’s will says otherwise. More on that below.

If there’s no valid will, Louisiana’s intestate succession rules take over (La. C.C. art. 880 and following). These rules don’t care what the family thinks the decedent “would have wanted” — they apply automatically based on who was still alive when the decedent died.

Before the family can do anything, a determination has to be made about whether any document qualifies as a valid will under Louisiana law. Wills from other states sometimes do, sometimes don’t. Handwritten notes or letters may or may not qualify as an olographic testament. This determination alone is often where a succession attorney’s help starts.

Louisiana’s default inheritance order

When someone dies intestate (no will), Louisiana organizes potential heirs into classes. The first class that has any living members takes everything; nobody in a later class receives anything.

The classes, in order:

1. Descendants — children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren (La. C.C. art. 888)
2. Siblings and parents — with siblings getting ownership and surviving parents getting a usufruct (La. C.C. art. 891 and La. C.C. art. 892)
3. Ascendants — parents and grandparents if there are no siblings or descendants of siblings
4. More distant collaterals — aunts, uncles, cousins, and beyond
5. The surviving spouse — for separate property specifically, moves up this hierarchy when no blood relatives in the earlier classes exist (La. C.C. art. 894)
6. The State of Louisiana — if no heirs exist at all, the estate escheats to the state

This last point matters: the State of Louisiana does not take an estate simply because the decedent had no will. It only takes when there are no living relatives in any class, which is exceptionally rare.

If the decedent had children

This is the most common situation. Children are always first in line.

Every descendant alive at the moment of the decedent’s death inherits a share. If the decedent had three children and all three were alive when the decedent died, each child receives a one-third share of the decedent’s separate property and a one-third share of the decedent’s half of any community property (see “Community property and usufruct” below).

What happens if a child died before the decedent?

Louisiana follows the rule of representation (La. C.C. art. 881). If a child predeceased the decedent but left children of their own (the decedent’s grandchildren), those grandchildren “step into” their parent’s place and inherit what that parent would have received. This is done by roots rather than per capita — meaning all the grandchildren of one deceased child split the single share their parent would have received.

Example: A decedent has three children — Alex, Brandon, and Caroline. Brandon died before the decedent, but Brandon left two children of his own. In this case:

• Alex inherits 1/3
• Caroline inherits 1/3
• Brandon’s two children together inherit 1/3, which they split — so each grandchild gets 1/6

What if a child survived the decedent but died before the succession was closed?

This is different from the predeceased-child rule above. If a child is alive when the decedent dies but then dies shortly afterward (even before a succession is opened), that child’s share still vests at the decedent’s death (La. C.C. art. 934). The deceased child’s own estate then inherits that share, and a separate succession for the child may be required to distribute it. Two or three generations of successions can end up running in parallel as a result, which is one of the reasons sibling disputes are so common in drawn-out cases.

Adopted children, stepchildren, and non-marital children:

• Legally adopted children inherit from their adoptive parents exactly as biological children do (La. Ch.C. art. 1240).
• 1225pchildren who were never legally adopted do not inherit under Louisiana intestate succession — regardless of how the family treated them.
• Non-marital children (formerly “illegitimate”) inherit from a parent once paternity or maternity is legally established, which may require a timely filiation action.

These edge cases are where families most often find themselves surprised by the default rules.

If the decedent had no children

When there are no descendants, Louisiana’s rules become more complicated because the classification of property suddenly matters more.

Louisiana law distinguishes between two types of property a married person may own at death:

• Community property — generally, everything acquired during the marriage other than by inheritance or donation to one spouse alone (La. C.C. art. 2338).
• Separate property — property owned before marriage, or inherited or donated to one spouse during the marriage (La. C.C. art. 2341).

When a married person with no children dies:

• Community property goes to the surviving spouse in full ownership (La. C.C. art. 889).
• Separate property goes to the decedent’s blood relatives — starting with siblings, and with a usufruct to any surviving parent.

The order for separate property (no descendants):

1. Siblings (and representation for deceased siblings’ children) — inherit ownership, but if a parent is also surviving, that parent gets a usufruct for life (La. C.C. art. 891). Half-siblings inherit from the parent they share with the decedent; they do not inherit their share of property from the “other side” of the family (La. C.C. art. 893).
2. Parents (only) — if there are no siblings, parents inherit the separate property outright.
3. Grandparents and more distant ascendants — if no parents or siblings survive.
4. More distant collaterals — aunts, uncles, cousins, out to the farthest degree the law recognizes.

In practice, a large share of Louisiana successions without children wind up involving a mix of living siblings, surviving parents, and the question of who actually has the right to sell or use which piece of property — because the parent’s usufruct and the siblings’ naked ownership are held simultaneously.

The spouse’s role: community property and usufruct

Outside of forced heirship, this is the single most misunderstood part of Louisiana succession law.

The surviving spouse does not automatically inherit everything — not even close.

Here’s what the surviving spouse actually gets:

If there are children:

• The spouse keeps their own half of the community property (it was already theirs during the marriage).
• The decedent’s half of the community property passes to the children, subject to a surviving spouse’s usufruct (La. C.C. art. 890).
• The usufruct gives the surviving spouse the right to live in the home, collect rent on rental property, spend cash in joint accounts, and use community property as if they still owned it — until the spouse dies or remarries, whichever comes first.
• The children own the property on paper (called “naked ownership”), but they can’t sell, use, or interfere with the surviving spouse’s enjoyment of it during the usufruct.
• Separate property of the decedent goes directly to the children with no usufruct attached.

If there are no children:

• The spouse takes the community property in full ownership (La. C.C. art. 889).
• The decedent’s separate property goes to the decedent’s blood relatives as described above.

What about a “blended family” situation?

This is where Louisiana law often produces outcomes families don’t expect. If the decedent had children from a prior relationship (stepchildren to the surviving spouse), those children — not the surviving spouse — own half of the community property at the decedent’s death, subject to the spouse’s usufruct. When the spouse later dies or remarries, the usufruct ends and those children of the first marriage take full ownership, potentially requiring the sale of a home the surviving spouse has lived in for decades.

This is the single biggest reason estate planning matters in blended families. Executing a proper usufruct for life or a trust during the decedent’s lifetime can change the outcome dramatically.

Forced heirship: the exception every parent should know

Louisiana is the last state in the country that still recognizes forced heirship — the idea that certain children are entitled to a minimum share of a parent’s estate that the parent cannot give away by will.

Under La. C.C. art. 1493, a “forced heir” is:

• A child of the decedent who was under 24 years old at the time of the decedent’s death, or
• A child of the decedent (any age) who, because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity, is permanently incapable of taking care of their person or administering their estate at the time of the decedent’s death. This can also include certain descendants of a predeceased child (grandchildren) who meet similar criteria.

A forced heir is entitled to a “forced portion” of the estate (the legitime) that the parent cannot write out of their will without cause. If there is one forced heir, the legitime is 1/4 of the estate; if two or more, it is 1/2 of the estate (La. C.C. art. 1495).

There are limited grounds to disinherit a forced heir — these are specific and narrow (La. C.C. art. 1621), not general “I didn’t like them” reasons. Disinheritance must be expressly stated in the will and must be based on one of the enumerated causes.

For a detailed walkthrough, see our article on when a parent can disinherit a forced heir in Louisiana and our overview of rights of children in a Louisiana intestate succession.

Quick reference: who inherits in Louisiana when…

Does Louisiana have an inheritance tax?

No. Louisiana has no state inheritance tax and no state estate tax. Heirs in Louisiana do not owe any state tax simply because they inherited property, regardless of the value of what they received.

The only tax that can apply is the federal estate tax, which in 2024–2025 only affects estates worth more than approximately $13.6 million per individual ($27.2 million for married couples with proper planning). The vast majority of Louisiana families will never pay federal estate tax either.

One related benefit: inherited property receives a stepped-up basis for federal income tax purposes. If you inherit a house the decedent bought for $100,000 that is worth $400,000 at their death, your tax basis becomes $400,000. If you sell it immediately at that value, you pay no capital gains tax — one of the most underappreciated financial benefits of inheriting appreciated property.

What about life insurance, retirement accounts, and other non-probate assets?

Not everything a person owns at death passes through succession. A large and often overlooked category — called non-probate assets — passes directly to a named beneficiary regardless of what the will says and regardless of Louisiana’s inheritance rules.

Non-probate assets include:

• Life insurance policies with a named beneficiary (other than “estate”)
• Retirement accounts — IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s — with a named beneficiary
• Bank accounts with a payable-on-death (POD) designation
• Brokerage accounts with a transfer-on-death (TOD) designation
• Assets held in a living trust

These assets do not go through succession court and are not affected by the inheritance rules described on this page. Families are sometimes surprised to discover that a large life insurance payout goes entirely to one named beneficiary while the rest of the estate is divided under succession law. Reviewing and updating beneficiary designations on all financial accounts is one of the most important — and most commonly neglected — parts of estate planning in Louisiana.

What you should do next

If you’re trying to figure out where you stand after a death in the family:

1. Gather documents. Look for any wills, trusts, or estate plans. Also gather titles to real estate, vehicles, accounts, and life insurance policies.
2. Don’t transfer or sell anything yet. Even accessing a bank account in the decedent’s name can require formal steps — see our article on accessing a loved one’s bank account or wages for what’s allowed immediately versus what requires a succession.
3. Talk to a Louisiana succession attorney early. Small decisions in the first few weeks (signing documents, agreeing to sell property, making statements about paternity) can narrow your options later. Most of our clients come to us because they tried to handle the initial paperwork alone and hit an obstacle.

Frequently asked questions

Does a surviving spouse automatically inherit everything in Louisiana?

No. Louisiana is not a “spouse takes all” state. If the decedent had any children, the children inherit the decedent’s half of the community property and all of the decedent’s separate property. The surviving spouse keeps their own half of community property and receives a usufruct (use right) over the decedent’s half, which lasts until the spouse dies or remarries.

What happens if there’s no will in Louisiana?

The estate is distributed under Louisiana’s intestate succession rules (La. C.C. art. 880 and following). Heirs are determined automatically based on family structure at the time of death. Nothing goes to the State unless there are no living relatives at all.

Can I be completely disinherited by my parent’s will?

Usually not, if you qualify as a forced heir under La. C.C. art. 1493 — either under 24, or permanently incapacitated at the time of the parent’s death. A parent can only disinherit a forced heir for one of the specific causes listed in La. C.C. art. 1621, and the disinheritance must be expressly stated in the will.

Do stepchildren inherit under Louisiana law?

Not automatically. A stepchild who was never legally adopted has no right to inherit from a stepparent under intestate succession. If you want stepchildren to inherit, you must provide for them in a valid Louisiana will or trust, or formally adopt them.

What if a child of the decedent has already died?

The rule of representation applies (La. C.C. art. 881): that child’s children (the decedent’s grandchildren) step into their parent’s place and share that parent’s portion of the estate among them.

How long do I have to claim my inheritance?

Louisiana does not have a strict deadline to open a succession, but significant delays can create problems — creditors may seek action, property titles become harder to clear, and evidence about the decedent’s intent may be lost. We generally advise families to start the process within the first several months, though there are exceptions.

Does Louisiana have an inheritance tax?

No. Louisiana has neither a state inheritance tax nor a state estate tax. Heirs pay no state tax on what they inherit. The federal estate tax only applies to estates above approximately $13.6 million (2025), so the vast majority of Louisiana families owe no estate tax at all.

Does life insurance go through succession in Louisiana?

Not if there is a named beneficiary on the policy. Life insurance, retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s), and bank accounts with a payable-on-death designation are non-probate assets — they pass directly to the named beneficiary regardless of the will or Louisiana’s inheritance rules, without going through succession court.

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Inheritance questions can be emotionally and legally complicated, especially when multiple relatives are involved or when the family structure doesn’t fit neatly into the default rules. If you’d like to talk through your specific situation, contact Scott Law Group – Estate Counsel or call us at (504) 264-1057 for a consultation. We help hundreds of Louisiana families every year navigate succession, and we can usually give you a clear picture of where you stand in the first conversation.

This article provides general information about Louisiana inheritance law and is not legal advice. Every succession is fact-specific. Always consult with a qualified Louisiana attorney before acting on any information in this article.