What to Do First When a Loved One Dies in Louisiana: A Practical Checklist

In the days after a death, families are asked to make decisions while grieving, often with no clear sense of what is urgent and what can wait. This checklist is meant to bring a little order to that period. It is written for Louisiana families, and it reflects the way our state actually handles these matters — including when a formal succession becomes necessary. Take it at your own pace. Very little of what follows must happen in the first day, and almost none of it must be perfect.

The first days

The earliest tasks are practical and human, not legal.

• Obtain a legal pronouncement of death. If your loved one died in a hospital or under hospice care, the staff will handle this. If the death occurred at home and unexpectedly, call 911.
• Contact a funeral home or crematory. They will guide you through immediate arrangements and, importantly, will help order certified copies of the death certificate. Order more than you think you need — ten is not excessive. Banks, insurers, and the court will each want originals.
• Notify close family and a few trusted others. Ask one or two people to help you with calls and logistics. You do not have to carry this alone.
• Secure the home and property. Make sure the residence is locked, pets are cared for, and any vehicles are secured. If the home will be empty, arrange for mail collection.

The first weeks

Once arrangements are made, attention turns to documents and notifications.

• Locate the will, if there is one. Look for a last will and testament — in Louisiana this may be a notarial testament or an olographic (entirely handwritten) one. Check safe deposit boxes, home safes, and with the attorney who may have drafted it. Do not be alarmed if you cannot find one immediately, and do not discard any handwritten document that might be a will.
• Gather key documents. Begin collecting the death certificate, the will, recent tax returns, deeds, vehicle titles, insurance policies, bank and investment statements, and information on any debts. A single folder or box is enough to start.
• Notify, but do not rush to close, financial institutions. Banks will typically freeze or restrict accounts upon notice of death. Resist the urge to move money or pay debts from the deceased's accounts before understanding the full picture — doing so can create complications in the succession.
• Notify Social Security, pension providers, and insurers. The funeral home often reports the death to Social Security, but confirm it. Stop any benefit payments that should not continue, and begin any survivor or life-insurance claims.
• Do not distribute property yet. It is natural for family members to want to take a keepsake or settle who gets what. In Louisiana, ownership passes under specific rules, and distributing assets before the succession is addressed can cause real problems. Preserve everything for now.

A word of reassurance: there is no Louisiana deadline that forces a grieving family to rush a succession in the first weeks. The pressing early tasks are practical — arrangements, securing property, gathering documents. The legal steps can be taken in due course, with guidance.

When is a succession required?

This is the question most Louisiana families eventually reach. A succession is the legal process by which a deceased person's property is transferred to those entitled to receive it. A formal succession is generally required when the deceased owned immovable property (real estate) or other assets that need a court judgment to transfer clear title to the heirs. Even where assets are modest, institutions frequently require a court order — a judgment of possession — before they will release funds or transfer ownership.

Louisiana does provide simpler paths in some circumstances, including a small succession procedure for qualifying estates, which can avoid a full court administration. Whether a particular estate qualifies depends on its size, its assets, and whether there is a will. This is precisely the point at which most families benefit from a short conversation with an attorney — often it can be resolved more simply than feared.

Testate or intestate?

If there is a valid will, the succession is testate and the property generally passes as the will directs, subject to Louisiana's forced-heirship rules. If there is no valid will, the succession is intestate, and the Civil Code determines who inherits and in what order — a scheme that treats community property and separate property differently and may grant a surviving spouse a usufruct rather than ownership. Either way, the heirs are typically placed in possession by a judgment of the court.

The months that follow

• Open the succession with the assistance of counsel, gathering the documentation needed to identify heirs and assets.
• Address debts and taxes properly, including any final income tax return and creditor claims, before distribution.
• Obtain the judgment of possession that transfers ownership to the heirs and allows accounts and property to be retitled.
• Attend to special assets — particularly mineral interests, family businesses, and out-of-state or jointly owned property, each of which carries its own requirements.

The kindest thing a family can do in the first weeks is resist the pressure to settle everything at once. Secure what matters, gather what you can, and give the legal steps the time and care they deserve.

No checklist replaces advice tailored to your family's particular circumstances, and every estate is at least a little different from the last. If you have lost someone and are unsure what comes next, we are glad to talk it through and help you understand whether — and how — a succession applies.