The clerk of court shall retain in perpetuity the original of a testament that is probated or ordered to be filed and executed. Until the order probating the testament or ordering the testament to be filed and executed becomes final and definitive, the clerk of court shall also retain the originals of all other testaments filed in accordance with Article 2853.
Art. 2911.Retention of Testaments
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title I. General Dispositions · Chapter 3. Probate and Registry of Testaments · Enacted 2024 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2911 requires the clerk of court to retain in perpetuity the original of any testament probated or ordered filed and executed, and to retain the originals of every other testament filed under Article 2853 until the court's order on it becomes final.
Full Text of Art. 2911
Amendment History
Added by Acts 2024, No. 501, §1, eff. 8/1/2024.
Plain-English Summary
Once a testament clears probate, or is ordered filed and executed under Article 2891's streamlined process, the original document needs a permanent home. Article 2911 puts it in the clerk of court's custody, and it stays there in perpetuity, the clerk retains the original for good, not just until the succession closes.
That permanent retention duty extends to testaments that succeeded through probate. Article 2911 also covers the interim period for testaments still working their way through the process. Anyone who files a purported testament under Article 2853, even one whose validity is doubted or contested, has its original held by the clerk as well, at least until the order probating it, or ordering it filed and executed, becomes final and definitive.
Once that order becomes final, the retention rule for a document that turned out not to be the deceased's operative testament is no longer dictated by this article; but for as long as the matter remains open, the clerk keeps every filed original on hand rather than returning it to whoever produced it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who keeps the original testament after it's been probated in Louisiana?
The clerk of court, who retains the original of a probated testament, or one ordered filed and executed, in perpetuity under Article 2911.
Does the clerk keep testaments that were filed but not yet probated?
Yes. The clerk retains the originals of all testaments filed under Article 2853 until the order on that testament becomes final and definitive.
Can I get my original testament back from the clerk after it's filed?
Article 2911 keeps the clerk holding the original at least until the probate order becomes final, and permanently once the testament is probated or ordered filed and executed.
Why does Louisiana require permanent retention of probated testaments?
To preserve the original document as the definitive record of the testator's wishes, available for reference in any later dispute or annulment action.
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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