When the testament creates a usufruct and concurrence in having an independent administration is required, or when the usufruct arises by operation of law, the concurrence of the usufructuary and the naked owner is required.
Art. 3396.8.Usufruct
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 3396.8 requires both the usufructuary and the naked owner to concur in independent administration whenever the testament creates a usufruct, or a usufruct arises by operation of law, and concurrence is otherwise required.
Full Text of Art. 3396.8
Amendment History
Acts 2001, No. 974, §1.
Plain-English Summary
A usufruct is a distinctly civil-law arrangement: the right to use and enjoy property that belongs to someone else, without owning it outright. The person holding that right is the usufructuary; the person who retains the underlying title, without the current right to use the property, is the naked owner. In Louisiana successions, a usufruct commonly arises in favor of a surviving spouse over property the couple's children inherit, splitting the inherited property into two distinct interests held by two different people.
Because a usufruct divides ownership this way, Article 3396.8 requires both interest-holders to agree before independent administration can proceed on that property. Wherever concurrence would otherwise be needed, both the usufructuary and the naked owner must consent, since neither interest alone represents the full ownership the concurrence requirement is meant to capture.
The rule applies whether the usufruct comes from the testament itself or arises by operation of law, as it often does for a surviving spouse's usufruct over community property inherited by descendants who are forced heirs. Either source of the usufruct triggers the same dual-concurrence requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a usufruct in Louisiana succession law?
The civil-law right to use and enjoy property belonging to someone else, commonly held by a surviving spouse over property the decedent's children inherit.
Who has to consent to independent administration when a usufruct exists?
Both the usufructuary, who holds the right to use the property, and the naked owner, who holds the underlying title, under Article 3396.8.
Does this rule apply only to usufructs created in a will?
No. Article 3396.8 applies the same dual-concurrence requirement whether the usufruct was created by the testament or arises by operation of law.
Who typically holds a legal usufruct in a Louisiana succession?
A surviving spouse commonly holds a usufruct by operation of law over community property inherited by the couple's descendants.
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 3396.8 Louisianausufruct independent administration Louisianausufructuary and naked owner consentsurviving spouse usufruct independent administrationlegal usufruct succession Louisiana