When the seizing creditor has a security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege on the property seized, for a debt of which all the installments are not due, he may demand that the property be sold for the entire debt, on the same terms for the payment of unmatured installments as provided in the original contract.
Art. 2341.Sale When Installment Not Due
Book IV. Execution of Judgments · Title II. Money Judgments · Chapter 2. Judicial Sale Under Fieri Facias · Enacted 1989 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2341 lets a seizing creditor holding a security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege on the seized property demand that it be sold for the entire secured debt even though some installments are not yet due, with the unmatured installments carried on the same terms the original contract set.
Full Text of Art. 2341
Amendment History
Acts 1989, No. 137, §18, eff. 9/1/1989.
Plain-English Summary
A creditor enforcing a security instrument that secures a debt payable in installments may seize the property under a writ of fieri facias while only part of that debt has come due. Rather than requiring the creditor to wait for each installment to mature before pursuing a sale, or forcing repeated seizures and sales over time as installments come due one after another, Article 2341 lets the creditor demand that the property be sold now for the entire debt in one proceeding.
The installments that have not yet matured are not written off or converted into a lump-sum demand at the sale. Instead, the sale proceeds on the same terms for those unmatured installments that the original contract already set, so the payment schedule the debtor originally agreed to carries forward into how the property is sold rather than being replaced with an immediate cash obligation.
This arrangement serves both sides of the transaction. The creditor avoids having to bring the seized property back to sale again and again as each installment falls due, resolving the entire secured debt in a single sale. A purchaser, in turn, is not forced to come up with cash for amounts that were never due under the original agreement in the first place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a creditor force a sale of the property before all loan installments are due?
Yes, if the creditor holds a security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege on the seized property, Article 2341 lets him demand the property be sold for the entire debt even though some installments have not yet matured.
What happens to the installments that are not yet due when the property is sold?
They are not accelerated into an immediate cash demand. The sale proceeds on the same payment terms for those unmatured installments as the original contract provided.
Does the creditor have to wait for the whole debt to mature before seeking a sale?
No. Article 2341 lets the creditor pursue a sale for the entire debt without waiting for every installment to come due.
Why would a creditor want to sell the property before the entire debt is due?
To resolve the secured debt in a single sale rather than facing repeated seizures and sales as each installment matures over time.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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