Art. 3263.Terms of Sale

Cash is the default term for a succession sale. Article 3263 requires it unless the succession representative asks for, and the court grants, permission to sell on credit instead. That default protects the estate from the risk of a buyer who does not pay, since a cash sale settles the transaction immediately rather than leaving the succession owed money by an outside buyer on top of whatever it was already owed by its own debtors.

A credit sale is available, but it takes an extra step. The representative has to petition the court specifically for authority to sell on credit, and the resulting order has to spell out the terms of the sale and the security the buyer must provide. That security requirement matters: it protects the succession if the buyer fails to pay as agreed, giving the estate something to fall back on beyond an unsecured promise.

This article works together with Article 3264, which points back to it, and Article 3271, which governs how a public-sale petition is filed, so a representative preparing a public sale needs to decide upfront whether cash or credit terms fit the situation before seeking the court's order.