Art. 803.Same; Service Or Publication of Summons

Once a court orders a summons under Article 802 compelling a deceased party's legal successor to appear, Article 803 supplies the mechanics: how the summons gets to the successor, and how much time the successor has to respond.

When the successor's name and address are known and the successor lives in Louisiana, the summons must be served on the successor, who then has thirty days from service to appear and substitute for the deceased party. When the successor's name and address are known but the successor is a nonresident or an absentee, service happens by registered or certified mail, and the successor gets sixty days from receiving that mailing.

When neither the successor's name nor address is known, Article 803 turns to publication: two notices, published at least fifteen days apart, in a newspaper in both the parish where the action is pending and the parish where the deceased was domiciled. That publication gives the successor sixty days from the first notice to appear. The published summons addresses the successor by name if known, or, if not, to “The legal successor of” the deceased's name, “deceased.”