A mortgage or privilege evidenced by authentic act importing a confession of judgment, affecting property sold by the original debtor or his legal successor to a third person, may be enforced against the property without reference to any sale or alienation to the third person. The executory proceeding may be brought against the original debtor, his surviving spouse in community, heirs, legatees, or legal representative, as the case may be. The third person who then owns and is in possession of the property need not be made a party to the proceeding.
Art. 2701.Alienation of Property to Third Person Disregarded
Book V. Summary and Executory Proceedings · Title II. Executory Proceedings · Chapter 3. Proceedings When Property in Possession of Third Person · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2701 lets a creditor holding a mortgage or privilege backed by a confession of judgment seize and sell the mortgaged property under executory process even after the debtor sells it to someone else, naming only the original debtor or successor as defendant and leaving the new owner outside the proceeding.
Full Text of Art. 2701
Plain-English Summary
Louisiana mortgages and privileges attach to the property itself, not to whoever happens to own it at a given moment. When a debtor sells mortgaged property to someone else, the sale does not erase the security the creditor holds. Article 2701 confirms that a mortgage or privilege backed by an authentic act containing a confession of judgment -- a notarized document in which the debtor consented in advance to executory process -- can be enforced against the property in the third person's hands, exactly as if the sale never happened.
That means the creditor does not have to track down the new owner and sue that person by name to reach the collateral. Article 2701 lets the executory proceeding name the original debtor, that debtor's surviving spouse in community, heirs, legatees, or legal representative as the defendant, depending on who stands in the debtor's shoes at the time. The person who currently owns and possesses the property -- the third person the article addresses -- does not have to be made a party at all for the creditor to seize and sell it.
Article 2701 only clears the creditor's path to the property; it does not strip the third person of every right. Articles 2702 and 2703 give that person options once the property is seized, tailored to whether the buyer assumed the underlying debt or merely took the property subject to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does buying property that already has a mortgage on it protect the buyer from that mortgage?
No. Article 2701 lets the creditor enforce the mortgage or privilege against the property in the new owner's hands, without regard to the sale, so long as it is backed by an authentic act containing a confession of judgment.
Who is named as defendant when the debtor already sold the mortgaged property before the seizure?
The original debtor, or whoever stands in that debtor's place -- a surviving spouse in community, heirs, legatees, or a legal representative -- not the current owner of the property.
Does the new owner have to be sued personally before the creditor can seize the property?
No. Article 2701 says the third person who currently owns and possesses the property need not be made a party to the executory proceeding.
What is an authentic act importing a confession of judgment?
It is a notarized document in which the debtor, at the time the mortgage or privilege was created, consented in advance to enforcement through executory process, which is what allows the streamlined seizure procedure to be used later.
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
Also known as: third person buys mortgaged property Louisianaexecutory process against property sold to third partyArticle 2701 Louisianaconfession of judgment mortgage Louisianadoes a mortgage follow property after it is sold