A certified copy of the succession representative's petition for authority to exchange succession property shall be served, as provided in Article 1314, on all heirs and legatees of the deceased who have not joined in this petition. The petition need not be served on a legatee who has received all of his legacies as provided in the testament.
Art. 3293.Copy of Petition For Authority to Be Served On Heirs and Legatees; Exception
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title III. Administration of Successions · Chapter 6. Alienation of Succession Property · Last amended 1988 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3293 requires the succession representative to serve a certified copy of the exchange petition on every heir and legatee who has not joined in it, following Article 1314's service rules, while excusing service on a legatee who has already received the entirety of the legacies left under the testament.
Full Text of Art. 3293
Amendment History
Added by Acts 1962, No. 92, §3; Amended by Acts 1988, No. 578, §1.
Plain-English Summary
An exchange gets an extra layer of individual notice that a private sale under Section 3 does not require. Article 3293 requires the succession representative to serve a certified copy of the exchange petition directly on every heir and legatee of the deceased, using the service method set out in Article 1314, rather than relying on publication alone to reach them.
That requirement has one exception. Someone does not need to be served if they already joined in the petition themselves -- their agreement is already on record -- or if they are a legatee who has already received every legacy the testament left them. A legatee whose interest in the succession is already fully satisfied has nothing further at stake in how the remaining property gets disposed of, so the notice requirement does not reach them.
Direct service on heirs and legatees, layered on top of the publication that Article 3294 goes on to require, reflects how much an exchange can affect what heirs and legatees ultimately receive: trading one asset for another changes the composition of the estate they stand to inherit, not just its total value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every heir have to be personally served with the exchange petition?
Every heir and legatee who has not already joined in the petition must be served a certified copy of it, under Article 1314's service rules, with one exception described in Article 3293.
Which legatees are excused from being served with the exchange petition?
A legatee who has already received all of the legacies provided under the testament does not need to be served, since that legatee's interest in the succession is already satisfied.
How does service under Article 3293 differ from the publication required for a private sale?
It is individual and direct, reaching each heir and legatee personally, rather than the public notice by publication that Article 3282 uses for a private sale.
What happens if an heir already joined in the exchange petition?
No separate service is needed for that heir, since Article 3293 only requires service on heirs and legatees who have not joined in the petition.
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: serving heirs and legatees exchange petition LouisianaArticle 3293 Louisianacertified copy petition heirs legateeslegatee exception service exchange petitionArticle 1314 service exchange succession