Art. 3335.Notice to Heirs and Residuary Legatees

Because an heir's or residuary legatee's eventual share depends directly on what an account shows was spent, preserved, or disposed of, Article 3335 does not leave them to rely on published notice the way some other filings in this Title do. A copy of any account the succession representative files has to be served on each heir and residuary legatee, together with notice that the account may be homologated once ten days have passed from service, and that any opposition has to be filed before that homologation.

The article sets a two-tier system for how that service happens. For any account other than the final one, ordinary mail is enough, whether the heir or legatee lives in Louisiana or elsewhere. A final account gets more formal treatment, since it permanently affects distribution and winds down the representative's fiduciary role: service can proceed under the Code's standard rules for serving parties, or by certified mail or a commercial courier requiring a signed receipt, with the attorney for the succession representative filing a certificate that the notice and final account were sent, along with the signed receipt, before homologation of the final account.

The ten-day homologation window mirrors the structure Article 3307 sets up for the tableau of distribution: notice goes out, a waiting period runs, and homologation follows if nobody opposes in time.