A. When an heir, legatee, or creditor is unwilling or unable to accept and receipt for the amount due him, on contradictory motion against the heir, legatee, or creditor the court may order that the succession representative deposit in a state or national bank or in the registry of the court to the credit of the person entitled thereto the amount due him. B. A receipt showing the deposit shall be sufficient in the discharge of the succession representative to the same extent as though distribution to the person entitled thereto had been made.
Art. 3394.Refusal Or Inability to Accept Funds; Deposit In Bank
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title III. Administration of Successions · Chapter 12. Discharge of Succession Representative · Enacted 1997 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3394 lets a succession representative, on contradictory motion against an heir, legatee, or creditor who is unwilling or unable to accept and receipt for money owed, obtain a court order depositing that amount in a bank or the court registry, with the resulting receipt discharging the representative as if distribution had occurred.
Full Text of Art. 3394
Amendment History
Acts 1997, No. 1421, §3, eff. 7/1/1999.
Plain-English Summary
Closing a succession requires distributing what is left, but a representative cannot always find, or persuade, everyone who is owed money to come forward and accept payment. Article 3394 addresses that obstacle for cash amounts: when an heir, legatee, or creditor is unwilling or unable to accept and receipt for the amount due, the succession representative can bring a contradictory motion against that person and ask the court to order the funds deposited rather than held indefinitely.
The deposit can go to a state or national bank, or into the registry of the court itself, always to the credit of the person entitled to it, so the money remains available whenever that person or a successor eventually claims it.
The receipt showing the deposit was made does real work for the representative: it discharges the representative to the same extent as if the distribution had been made directly to the person entitled. That lets the representative close the succession and seek discharge under Article 3391 without waiting indefinitely on a recipient who will not, or cannot, come forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can a succession representative do if an heir refuses to accept a distribution?
File a contradictory motion against that heir and ask the court to order the amount deposited in a bank or the court registry under Article 3394.
Where does the money go if deposited under this article?
Into a state or national bank, or the registry of the court, held to the credit of the person entitled to it.
Does depositing the funds protect the succession representative?
Yes. The receipt showing the deposit discharges the representative to the same extent as an actual distribution to the person entitled would.
Is court approval required before making this kind of deposit?
Yes. The representative must bring a contradictory motion and obtain a court order before depositing the funds under Article 3394.
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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