A succession representative shall preserve, repair, maintain, and protect the property of the succession.
Art. 3221.Preservation of Succession Property
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title III. Administration of Successions · Chapter 4. General Functions, Powers, and Duties of Succession Representative · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3221 requires a succession representative to preserve, repair, maintain, and protect succession property throughout the administration.
Full Text of Art. 3221
Plain-English Summary
Section 3 shifts from collecting succession property to keeping it intact while administration is pending, and Article 3221 states that obligation at its most basic. Once property belongs to the succession, the representative has to preserve, repair, maintain, and protect it, whatever form the property takes.
The four duties cover a range of custodial acts, from active repair of a building that needs fixing to protection against loss, damage, or a third person's interference. None of it is optional or contingent on a court order; the duty runs from the moment property comes under the representative's deemed possession under Article 3211, and it continues for as long as administration remains open.
The rest of Section 3 fills in what this general duty looks like for particular kinds of property and particular situations: depositing succession funds under Article 3222, continuing a business under Article 3224, leasing property under Article 3226. Article 3221 supplies the baseline obligation those more specific articles put into practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a succession representative required to do with estate property while administration is pending?
Preserve, repair, maintain, and protect it, under the general duty Article 3221 imposes throughout the administration.
Does the representative need court approval just to maintain succession property?
No. Ordinary preservation and maintenance under Article 3221 do not require a separate court order, though more significant actions like leasing or continuing a business do carry their own court-approval requirements.
When does the duty to preserve succession property begin?
At appointment, tied to the deemed possession of succession property Article 3211 establishes.
How does Article 3221 relate to more specific articles like leasing or investing succession property?
Those provisions apply the general preservation duty to specific situations, each with its own court-oversight requirements layered on top of the baseline duty Article 3221 sets.
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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