When it appears to the best interest of the succession, and after compliance with Article 3229, the court may authorize a succession representative to borrow money for the purposes of preserving the property or the orderly administration of the estate, of paying estate debts, and for expenditures in the regular course of business conducted in accordance with Article 3224. As security for the loans the court may authorize the succession representative to encumber succession property upon the terms and conditions as it may direct.
Art. 3228.Loans to Succession Representative For Specific Purposes; Authority to Encumber Succession Property As Security Therefor
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title III. Administration of Successions · Chapter 4. General Functions, Powers, and Duties of Succession Representative · Last amended 2010 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3228 lets the court authorize a succession representative, after Article 3229's notice procedure, to borrow money for preserving succession property, administering the estate in an orderly way, paying estate debts, or covering expenses of a continued business, and to secure the loan by encumbering succession property on court-set terms.
Full Text of Art. 3228
Amendment History
Acts 1995, No. 203, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1421, §3, eff. 7/1/1999; Acts 2010, No. 175, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Administration sometimes needs cash the succession does not currently have on hand, to cover an urgent repair, pay a pressing debt, or keep a continued business funded. Article 3228 lets the representative borrow for that purpose, under the same court-authorization structure that governs the chapter's other significant powers.
The purposes for which borrowing is authorized are specific, not open-ended: preserving succession property, administering the estate in an orderly way, paying debts of the estate, and funding expenditures in the regular course of a business the representative is continuing under Article 3224. Borrowing has to appear in the succession's best interest and follow Article 3229's notice procedure before the court will authorize it.
Because a lender typically wants security for a loan of this kind, Article 3228 lets the court authorize the representative to encumber succession property to secure the borrowing, on whatever terms and conditions the court directs. That authority ties borrowing to a real asset of the succession, so the court's oversight of the loan and the collateral runs together rather than being approved piecemeal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a succession representative borrow money on behalf of the estate?
Yes, for specific purposes, with court authorization granted after the notice procedure Article 3229 requires.
What can succession borrowing be used for?
Preserving succession property, orderly administration of the estate, paying estate debts, or funding a continued business's regular expenditures.
Can succession property be pledged as collateral for a loan the representative takes out?
Yes. The court may authorize the representative to encumber succession property as security for the loan, on terms the court directs.
Does the representative need court approval before borrowing against succession property?
Yes. Both the borrowing and the encumbrance require court authorization following the Article 3229 notice procedure.
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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