Louisiana Civil Code

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CHAPTER 2 - OF INTESTATE SUCCESSION

Art. 880. In the absence of valid testamentary disposition, the undisposed property of the deceased devolves by operation of law in favor of his descendants, ascendants, and collaterals, by blood or by adoption, and in favor of his spouse not judicially separated from him, in the order provided in and according to the following articles. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 881. Representation is a fiction of the law, the effect of which is to put the representative in the place, degree, and rights of the person represented. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 882. Representation takes place ad infinitum in the direct line of descendants. It is permitted in all cases, whether the children of the deceased concur with the descendants of the predeceased child, or whether, all the children having died before him, the descendants of the children be in equal or unequal degrees of relationship to the deceased. For purposes of forced heirship, representation takes place only as provided in Article 1493. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982; Acts 1990, No. 147, §1, eff. July 1, 1990; Acts 1995, No. 1180, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996]

Art. 883. Representation does not take place in favor of the ascendants, the nearest relation in any degree always excluding those of a more remote degree. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 884. In the collateral line, representation is permitted in favor of the children and descendants of the brothers and sisters of the deceased, whether they succeed in concurrence with their uncles and aunts, or whether, the brothers and sisters of the deceased having died, their descendants succeed in equal or unequal degrees. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 885. In all cases in which representation is permitted, the partition is made by roots; if one root has produced several branches, the subdivision is also made by roots in each branch, and the members of the same branch take by heads. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 886. Only deceased persons may be represented. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 887. One who has renounced his right to succeed to another may still enjoy the right of representation with respect to that other. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 888. Descendants succeed to the property of their ascendants. They take in equal portions and by heads if they are in the same degree. They take by roots if all or some of them succeed by representation. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 889. If the deceased leaves no descendants, his surviving spouse succeeds to his share of the community property. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 890. If the deceased spouse is survived by descendants, the surviving spouse shall have a usufruct over the decedent's share of the community property to the extent that the decedent has not disposed of it by testament. This usufruct terminates when the surviving spouse dies or remarries, whichever occurs first. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1. Amended by Acts 1982, No. 445, §1; Acts 1990, No. 1075, §1, eff. July 27, 1990; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 77, §1]

Art. 890.1. [Blank]

Art. 891. If the deceased leaves no descendants but is survived by a father, mother, or both, and by a brother or sister, or both, or descendants from them, the brothers and sisters or their descendants succeed to the separate property of the deceased subject to a usufruct in favor of the surviving parent or parents. If both parents survive the deceased, the usufruct shall be joint and successive. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982; Acts 2004, No. 26, §1]

Art. 892. If the deceased leaves neither descendants nor parents, his brothers or sisters or descendants from them succeed to his separate property in full ownership to the exclusion of other ascendants and other collaterals.

If the deceased leaves neither descendants nor brothers or sisters, nor descendants from them, his parent or parents succeed to the separate property to the exclusion of other ascendants and other collaterals. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 893. The property that devolves to the brothers or sisters is divided among them equally, if they are all born of the same parents. If they are born of different unions, it is equally divided between the paternal and maternal lines of the deceased: brothers or sisters fully related by blood take in both lines and those related by half-blood take each in his own line. If there are brothers or sisters on one side only, they take the entirety to the exclusion of all relations in the other line. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 894. If the deceased leaves neither descendants, nor parents, nor brothers, sisters, or descendants from them, his spouse not judicially separated from him shall succeed to his separate property to the exclusion of other ascendants and other collaterals. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 895. If a deceased leaves neither descendants, nor brothers, sisters, or descendants from them, nor parents, nor spouse not judicially separated, his other ascendants succeed to his separate property. If the ascendants in the paternal and maternal lines are in the same degree, the property is divided into two equal shares, one of which goes to the ascendants on the paternal side, and the other to the ascendants on the maternal side, whether the number of ascendants on each side be equal or not. In this case, the ascendants in each line inherit by heads.

If there is in the nearest degree but one ascendant in the two lines, such ascendant excludes ascendants of a more remote degree. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 896. If the deceased leaves neither descendants, nor brothers, sisters, or descendants from them, nor parents, nor spouse not judicially separated, nor other ascendants, his other collaterals succeed to his separate property. Among the collateral relations, the nearest in degree excludes all the others. If there are several in the same degree, they take equally and by heads. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 897. [Repealed by Acts 2022, No. 40, §1]

Art. 898. [Repealed by Acts 2022, No. 40, §1]

Art. 899. Among the successors in each class the nearest relation to the deceased, according to the following articles, is called to succeed. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 900. The propinquity of consanguinity is established by the number of generations, and each generation is called a degree. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]

Art. 901. The series of degrees forms the line. The direct line is the series of degrees between persons who descend one from another. The collateral line is the series of degrees between persons who do not descend one from another, but who descend from a common ancestor.

In the direct line, the number of degrees is equal to the number of generations between the heir and the deceased. In the collateral line, the number of degrees is equal to the number of generations between the heir and the common ancestor, plus the number of generations between the common ancestor and the deceased. [Acts 1981, No. 919, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982]




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