A creditor of a succession may not sue a succession representative to enforce a claim against the succession until the succession representative has rejected the claim. If the claim is rejected in whole or in part by the succession representative, the creditor to the extent of the rejection may enforce his claim judicially.
Art. 3246.Rejection of Claim; Prerequisite to Judicial Enforcement
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 3246 bars a succession creditor from suing the succession representative to enforce a claim until the representative has rejected it, after which the creditor may pursue judicial enforcement to the extent of the rejection.
Full Text of Art. 3246
Plain-English Summary
Rejection is not just a possible outcome of the acknowledgment process in Article 3242; it is a required gatekeeping step before a creditor can go to court. Article 3246 keeps a creditor from filing suit against the succession representative to enforce a claim until the representative has rejected it.
The reason is practical. Many claims get acknowledged and paid without a fight, so routing every claim through the presentation-and-response process first screens out disputes that never need a courtroom. A lawsuit only becomes available once the administrative process has run its course and produced a rejection, whether that rejection is express under Article 3242 or arises automatically from the representative's thirty days of silence.
The enforcement right that follows a rejection is not unlimited. Article 3246 lets the creditor enforce the claim judicially only to the extent of the rejection. If the representative acknowledges part of the claim and rejects the rest, the acknowledged portion stays on track for payment through administration under Articles 3243 and 3244, and only the rejected portion becomes the subject of a lawsuit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a creditor sue a Louisiana succession before presenting a claim?
No. Article 3246 requires the succession representative to have rejected the claim before the creditor can pursue judicial enforcement.
Does the representative's silence count as a rejection for purposes of suing?
Yes. Article 3242 treats thirty days of silence as a rejection, which satisfies Article 3246's prerequisite and clears the way for a lawsuit.
What happens to the part of a claim the representative did acknowledge?
It is not subject to suit under Article 3246. That portion proceeds toward payment through the succession's administration, while only the rejected portion can be enforced judicially.
Why does Louisiana require rejection before allowing a lawsuit against a succession?
It channels claims through the representative's own acknowledgment-or-rejection process first, resolving claims that do not need litigation before a court gets involved.
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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