A. Upon the expiration of three months from the death of the decedent, the succession representative shall proceed to pay the estate debts as provided in this Chapter. B. At any time and without publication the court may authorize the payment of estate debts the payment of which should not be delayed.
Art. 3302.Time of Payment of Estate Debts; Urgent Estate Debts
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title III. Administration of Successions · Chapter 7. Payment of Estate Debts · Enacted 1997 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3302 gives a succession representative three months from the decedent's death before the ordinary debt-payment process must begin, while letting the court authorize urgent estate debts, such as funeral or last-illness expenses, to be paid immediately and without publication.
Full Text of Art. 3302
Amendment History
Acts 1997, No. 1421, §3, eff. 7/1/1999.
Plain-English Summary
Article 3302 sets the clock running on Chapter 7. Once three months have passed from the date of death, the succession representative has to move forward with paying estate debts under the process the rest of this chapter lays out. That window gives the representative time to gather the estate's assets, take stock of what is owed, and prepare a tableau of distribution before creditors start pressing for payment.
Some debts cannot wait three months, or even three days. Article 3302 lets the court step outside the ordinary schedule and authorize payment of an urgent estate debt at any time, without the publication that the rest of the chapter requires. A funeral bill or a last-illness expense is the classic example: obligations that arise the moment the succession opens and that creditors reasonably expect to be paid promptly, not months later once a full tableau has cleared notice and opposition.
This urgent-debt track exists alongside, not instead of, the fuller process in Articles 3303 through 3307, which governs the tableau of distribution, its publication, and its homologation. Urgent debts skip that machinery; everything else runs through it once the three-month period ends.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an estate have before it must start paying its debts?
Three months from the decedent's death, under Article 3302, before the succession representative must proceed with the ordinary debt-payment process this chapter describes.
What counts as an urgent estate debt?
The Code does not define the term with a fixed list, but funeral expenses and expenses of the decedent's last illness are the debts most often treated as too pressing to wait for the ordinary process.
Does an urgent debt still need court approval?
Yes. Article 3302 lets the court authorize an urgent debt at any time, but the court's authorization is still required; the debt skips publication and the usual waiting period.
Why does Louisiana let urgent debts skip publication?
Because publication and the delay it requires exist to give creditors and interested persons notice and a chance to object, protections that make less sense for an obligation everyone expects to be paid without delay.
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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