Art. 3434.Endorsed Copy of Affidavit Authority For Delivery of Property

After Article 3432, 3432.1, or 3433 produces a properly executed affidavit, Article 3434 tells the outside world that it can rely on that document. A multiple original or a certified copy is full and sufficient authority for a federally insured depository institution, a financial institution, a trust company, a warehouseman, a depositary, a corporation, or anyone else holding the decedent's money or property to pay or deliver it according to the percentages the affidavit states, without waiting for a court order.

Paragraph B backs that authority with a release-and-discharge protection. Once the institution pays or delivers property in accordance with the affidavit and receives a receipt from the named heirs, legatees, or surviving spouse, it is fully protected: no creditor, heir, legatee, succession representative, or other person has a right or cause of action against that institution over the payment or delivery. This protection is what makes the whole affidavit shortcut work in practice, since it gives a bank or similar holder confidence to act on a sworn statement rather than insisting on a judgment of possession before releasing anything.

Immovable property carries an added layer of formality under Paragraph C. The affidavit, with any required attachments, must be recorded in the conveyance records of the parish where the immovable is situated. Once recorded, the affidavit becomes admissible evidence and stands as prima facie proof of the facts it states, including everyone's relationship to the deceased, whether as heir, legatee, surviving spouse in community, or usufructuary, and their rights in the immovable property. That recorded document functions much like a judgment of possession would for purposes of establishing title.

Paragraph C also sets a two-year prescriptive period. A person who claims to be a successor of the deceased but was never recognized in the affidavit has two years from the date the affidavit and any required attachments were recorded to bring an action against a third person who acquired an interest in the property by onerous title, or against that person's successors. After two years, a purchaser who relied on the recorded affidavit gains security in the acquired title, even if the affidavit later turns out to have overlooked an heir or legatee.