When a decedent dies partially testate and partially intestate, all of the successors whose concurrence is required in Articles 3396.3, 3396.4, and 3396.5 must concur in the request for independent administration of the estate, and in the designation of the person to serve as independent administrator.
Art. 3396.6.Independent Administration When Estate Is Part Testate, Part Intestate
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title III. Administration of Successions · Chapter 13. Independent Administration of Estates · Enacted 2001 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3396.6 requires, when a decedent dies partly testate and partly intestate, every successor whose concurrence Articles 3396.3, 3396.4, or 3396.5 would otherwise require to join in both the request for independent administration and the choice of who serves as independent administrator.
Full Text of Art. 3396.6
Amendment History
Acts 2001, No. 974, §1.
Plain-English Summary
A decedent's testament does not always dispose of the whole estate. When property falls outside the testament's coverage, the succession is part testate and part intestate at once, meaning it has both legatees taking under the will and intestate successors taking whatever the will did not address. Article 3396.6 addresses how independent administration works in that mixed situation.
Rather than setting a new standard, this article ties together the concurrence requirements the three preceding articles already establish. Everyone whose agreement Article 3396.3, 3396.4, or 3396.5 would separately require, depending on which of those provisions would apply to the testate or intestate portion involved, must concur here as well, both in requesting independent administration and in choosing the person to serve as independent administrator.
The result broadens unanimity to cover both sides of a mixed estate. Testate legatees cannot select independent administration without the intestate successors joining in, and neither group can act unilaterally, since both have a stake in how the whole estate, testate and intestate portions together, is ultimately administered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when a person dies with a will that does not dispose of the whole estate?
The succession is part testate and part intestate, with some property passing under the will and the rest passing to the intestate successors.
Who needs to agree to independent administration for a part-testate, part-intestate estate?
Everyone whose concurrence Articles 3396.3, 3396.4, or 3396.5 would require, covering both the testate legatees and the intestate successors as applicable.
Does this article set a new concurrence standard of its own?
No. It combines the existing concurrence requirements from the three preceding articles rather than creating a separate rule.
Can testate legatees choose independent administration without the intestate heirs agreeing?
No. Article 3396.6 requires both groups to concur before independent administration can be requested for a mixed estate.
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: Article 3396.6 Louisianapart testate part intestate independent administrationmixed succession independent administrator Louisianacombined concurrence independent administrationtestate and intestate successors agree Louisiana