Art. 3174.Compensation

Article 3171's appointment does not come free of charge for someone. Article 3174 answers who pays the attorney representing an absent heir or legatee, and how much.

The default source is the absent person's own share of the succession. Once the attorney's duties are complete, the court may allow reasonable compensation for the services rendered, payable out of whatever the absent heir or legatee stands to receive. That arrangement fits the attorney's role under Article 3172: the work was done to protect that person's interest, so their share bears the cost.

That default can fail in two ways: the absent person might not be entitled to any share of the succession at all, or their share might be too small to cover reasonable compensation. Article 3174 accounts for both. When either happens, the compensation is taxed as costs of court against the mass of the succession instead, spreading the cost across the estate rather than leaving the attorney unpaid for work the law required.

The amount is not fixed by the court alone. Article 3174 requires it to be set judicially, by contradictory motion, against the absent heir or legatee if they have since appeared through counsel or an attorney in fact, or otherwise against the succession representative, so the party positioned to weigh in on a reasonable fee has notice and a chance to be heard.