The same proceeding may be used to open the successions of more than one deceased person regardless of the dates of death of the deceased persons, provided that the court has jurisdiction over each succession pursuant to Article 2811.
Art. 2813.Multiple Successions In the Same Proceeding
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title I. General Dispositions · Chapter 1. Jurisdiction · Enacted 2026 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2813 allows a single proceeding to open the successions of more than one deceased person at once, no matter how far apart their dates of death fall, as long as the court has jurisdiction over each succession under Article 2811.
Full Text of Art. 2813
Amendment History
Added by Acts 2026, No. 246, §1, eff. 8/1/2026.
Plain-English Summary
Family members often die within a short span of each other, a married couple in a common accident, or a parent and child in years-apart deaths where neither succession was ever opened. Article 2813 lets a single proceeding open the successions of more than one deceased person, sparing the family and the court the expense of running separate, near-identical proceedings side by side.
The article places no limit on how far apart the deaths occurred. Two people who died decades apart can have their successions consolidated into the same proceeding just as easily as two who died in the same accident, so long as the jurisdictional requirement is met for each one individually.
That requirement points back to Article 2811: the court has to have jurisdiction over each succession being joined, whether through the deceased's domicile or, for a non-domiciliary, through property located in the parish. Consolidating the proceedings does not relax that standard for any of the successions folded in; it only lets them share one court file rather than several.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one succession proceeding cover more than one deceased person in Louisiana?
Yes. Article 2813 allows multiple successions to be opened in the same proceeding, regardless of how far apart the deaths occurred, provided the court has jurisdiction over each one.
Does it matter if the two deceased persons died years apart?
No. Article 2813 places no time limit between the dates of death for successions joined in a single proceeding.
Does combining successions change the jurisdiction requirement for each one?
No. Article 2813 still requires the court to have jurisdiction over each succession under Article 2811, whether based on domicile or, for a non-domiciliary decedent, on property located in the parish.
Why would a family want to combine two successions into one proceeding?
It avoids duplicating filings, hearings, and costs across separate court files when the same heirs, property, or circumstances are involved in more than one succession.
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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