When the legatees of a testator, or the legatees and the surviving spouse in community thereof, have been sent into possession of his property under Article 3031, any creditor having a claim against the succession may compel the parties sent into possession to furnish security for the payment of his claim, and may require an administration of the succession in default of such security, as provided by Articles 3007 and 3008.
Art. 3034.Creditor May Demand Security When Legatees Sent Into Possession; Administration In Default of Security
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title II. Acceptance of Successions Without Administration · Chapter 2. Testate Successions · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3034 lets a creditor of the succession compel legatees, or legatees and a surviving spouse in community, sent into possession under Article 3031 to furnish security for payment of the creditor's claim, and to require an administration if that security is not furnished, applying the same procedures as Articles 3007 and 3008.
Full Text of Art. 3034
Plain-English Summary
Article 3034 extends the intestate track's creditor protection to legatees. When legatees, or legatees together with a surviving spouse in community, have been sent into possession under Article 3031, a creditor with a claim against the succession is not left without recourse just because the succession followed the testate rather than the intestate streamlined path.
Rather than restate the mechanics, Article 3034 borrows them wholesale: the creditor can compel the parties sent into possession to furnish security for the claim, and can require an administration of the succession if that security is not furnished, following the same procedures Articles 3007 and 3008 set out for the intestate track. That means the same three-month window, the same contradictory motion process, and the same consequences for a failure to post security.
Keeping the testate and intestate creditor protections identical avoids giving legatees an advantage over heirs, or the other way around, just because of which path a decedent's estate happened to follow. A creditor's claim gets the same shield either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a creditor demand security from legatees the way a creditor can from intestate heirs?
What happens if legatees do not furnish the security a creditor demands?
An administration of the succession can be required, following the same process Article 3008 sets out.
Does this protection cover a surviving spouse sent into possession alongside the legatees?
Yes, Article 3034 reaches legatees and a surviving spouse in community together when both have been sent into possession under Article 3031.
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: creditor security legatees LouisianaArticle 3034 Louisianaadministration in default of security testate successioncreditor claim testate succession Louisianalegatee possession creditor protection