If a trust is created in the testament or a trustee is a legatee, and if concurrence in having an independent administration is required, the trustee shall be deemed to be the legatee authorized to consent to independent administration on behalf of the trust.
Art. 3396.7.Trusteeships
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 3396.7 provides that when a testament creates a trust, or a trustee is named as a legatee, the trustee stands in as the legatee whose concurrence is needed to consent to independent administration on the trust's behalf.
Full Text of Art. 3396.7
Amendment History
Acts 2001, No. 974, §1.
Plain-English Summary
The concurrence requirements built into Articles 3396.3 through 3396.6 assume a living legatee or heir can personally agree to independent administration. A testamentary trust complicates that assumption, since the trust itself, and its beneficiaries, cannot sign an agreement the way an individual legatee can.
Article 3396.7 resolves the problem directly. If a testament creates a trust, or a trustee is named as a legatee, the trustee is deemed the legatee authorized to consent to independent administration on the trust's behalf, wherever concurrence is otherwise required.
The practical benefit is efficiency the whole Chapter is built around: rather than tracking down and securing agreement from every individual trust beneficiary, one person, the trustee, can give the consent the trust's interest requires. That keeps a testamentary trust from becoming an obstacle to the streamlined administration the rest of Chapter 13 makes available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who consents to independent administration when a testament creates a trust?
The trustee, who Article 3396.7 deems the legatee authorized to consent on the trust's behalf.
Does every trust beneficiary have to individually agree to independent administration?
No. The trustee's consent stands in for the trust's interest, avoiding the need to secure agreement from each beneficiary separately.
What if the trustee is also named as a legatee in their own right?
Article 3396.7 covers that situation as well, treating the trustee as the consenting party whether the trust arises through a trust legatee designation or a separately created trust.
Why does Louisiana let a trustee stand in for the trust's beneficiaries here?
Because requiring separate consent from every beneficiary of a testamentary trust would undercut the efficiency independent administration is designed to provide.
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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