A. When a succession representative desires to pay estate debts, he shall file a petition for authority and shall include in or annex to the petition a tableau of distribution listing those estate debts to be paid. A court order shall not be required for the publication of the notice of filing of a tableau of distribution. B. If the funds in his hands are insufficient to pay all the estate debts in full, the tableau of distribution shall show the total funds available and shall list the proposed payments according to the rank of the privileges and mortgages of the creditors.
Art. 3303.Petition For Authority; Tableau of Distribution
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title III. Administration of Successions · Chapter 7. Payment of Estate Debts · Last amended 1999 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3303 requires a succession representative who wants to pay estate debts through the standard process to file a petition for authority together with a tableau of distribution, a filed list of the debts to be paid that must rank creditors by privilege and mortgage priority whenever the estate's funds fall short.
Full Text of Art. 3303
Amendment History
Acts 1986, No. 204, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1421, §3, eff. 7/1/1999.
Plain-English Summary
The tableau of distribution is the central document of Chapter 7. When a succession representative is ready to pay estate debts outside the urgent-debt track, Article 3303 requires filing a petition for authority with a tableau attached or included in it, an itemized list naming each debt the representative proposes to pay. No separate court order is needed just to publish notice that the tableau has been filed; that publication follows automatically once the petition is on file.
Paragraph B addresses what happens when the succession cannot pay every debt in full. In that situation the tableau has to show the total funds available and rank the proposed payments according to the priority of the creditors' privileges and mortgages, the civil-law ordering that determines which secured or privileged claims get paid first when assets do not stretch to cover everyone. A representative cannot pay debts in whatever order is convenient; the tableau has to reflect the legal ranking.
Filing the tableau sets the rest of the chapter in motion. It triggers the published notice required by Article 3304, opens the door to a request for personal notice under Articles 3305 and 3306, and sets up the opposition and homologation process in Article 3307 that ultimately approves, or rejects, the proposed payments.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a tableau of distribution in a Louisiana succession?
It is the itemized list a succession representative files with a petition for authority, naming the estate debts proposed for payment and, when funds are short, ranking them by privilege and mortgage priority.
Does every debt payment require a new tableau?
Every payment made through the ordinary process under this chapter runs through a tableau of distribution, apart from urgent debts handled separately under Article 3302.
What happens if the estate doesn't have enough money to pay every debt?
The tableau must show the total funds available and rank the proposed payments by the priority of the creditors' privileges and mortgages, rather than paying debts in an arbitrary order.
Do I need a separate court order to publish notice of a tableau?
No. Article 3303 states that a court order is not required for publication of the notice of filing a tableau of distribution.
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: tableau of distribution LouisianaArticle 3303 Louisianapetition for authority to pay estate debtsranking creditors succession Louisianaprivilege and mortgage priority succession