A creditor of a succession under administration may submit his claim to the succession representative for acknowledgment and payment in due course of administration. Except for the purposes of Article 3245, no particular form is required for the submission of a claim by a creditor of the succession other than that it be in writing.
Art. 3241.Presenting Claim Against Succession
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title III. Administration of Successions · Chapter 5. Enforcement of Claims Against Successions · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3241 lets a creditor of a succession under administration present a claim to the succession representative for acknowledgment and payment in due course of administration, requiring nothing more than a writing unless the creditor separately invokes Article 3245's formal-proof procedure.
Full Text of Art. 3241
Plain-English Summary
Presenting a claim is the first, informal step a creditor takes to collect a debt the deceased owed. Rather than filing suit against the succession representative, the executor or administrator managing the estate, a creditor hands over a written claim asking the representative to acknowledge the debt and pay it out of succession assets as administration proceeds. It is a request routed through the estate's own process, not a lawsuit.
Article 3241 keeps the formality low. Outside of Article 3245's separate formal-proof-of-claim procedure, the only requirement is that the claim be in writing. A creditor does not need a particular affidavit, a notarized statement, or any special wording; a letter or invoice describing the debt and asking for payment is enough to put the representative on notice.
What happens next belongs to the following articles. Article 3242 gives the representative thirty days to acknowledge or reject the claim, and Article 3243 spells out what acknowledgment accomplishes. Presenting the claim under Article 3241 is what starts that clock running.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to present a claim against a Louisiana succession?
It means sending the succession representative a written claim asking for acknowledgment and payment of a debt the deceased owed, as the first step toward collecting from the estate rather than filing suit.
Does a creditor have to sue the estate to collect a debt?
Not at first. Article 3241 lets a creditor present the claim directly to the succession representative for payment in due course of administration; a lawsuit only becomes available later, and only after the claim is rejected.
What form must a claim against a succession take?
Article 3241 requires only a writing. No particular form is needed unless the creditor is instead using Article 3245's formal proof of claim, which has its own detailed requirements.
Does presenting a claim under Article 3241 stop prescription from running?
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: presenting a claim against a Louisiana successionArticle 3241 Louisianahow to submit a creditor claim against an estateclaim against succession representative Louisianacreditor claim succession administration