Art. 3191.General Duties; Appointment of Agent
Book VI. Probate Procedure · Title III. Administration of Successions · Chapter 4. General Functions, Powers, and Duties of Succession Representative · Last amended 2023 · Last verified July 30, 2026
Full Text of Art. 3191
Amendment History
Amended by Acts 2023, No. 38, §1, eff. 7/1/2023. Amended by Acts 2014, No. 758, §1, eff. 8/1/2014. Amended by Acts 1964, No. 4, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Article 3191 opens Chapter 4 with the baseline against which every other provision in the chapter has to be read: a succession representative is a fiduciary. Paragraph A does not just label the role; it fixes the standard of care that governs it. The representative has to meet a prudent-administrator standard on every decision involved in collecting, preserving, and managing succession property, and bears personal responsibility for damages caused by falling short of it. Everything in the rest of Section 1, the ban on self-dealing in Article 3194, the duty to close the succession in Article 3197, builds on this fiduciary foundation.
Paragraph B addresses a practical problem: a succession representative who is not available in person to handle every act of administration. A nonresident representative may appoint an agent, through a procuration or mandate, to represent them in all acts of administration; a resident representative who will be absent temporarily may do the same for the period of the absence. The article also allows a narrower kind of agency, appointing someone to alienate, acquire, lease, or encumber specifically described property on stated terms, whether the procuration spells out those terms or states that the representative has approved them. Either kind of procuration goes into the succession record, and none of it needs separate court approval to take effect.
Paragraphs C through H, added later, extend the representative's authority into an area the Code's older provisions never anticipated: a decedent's digital accounts, such as social media, email, and similar online services. Subject to any restriction in a valid testament or court order, the representative may take control of, manage, or terminate these accounts, and anyone who stores or administers them must provide access within thirty days after receiving the representative's letters, subject to federal law and to the specific rules governing federally insured financial institutions. The article overrides any contrary term of service and treats the representative as an authorized user with the decedent's lawful consent, though it does not expand what copyright law otherwise permits, and it shields a compliant service provider from liability for granting access under its terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What standard of care does a Louisiana succession representative owe?
A prudent-administrator standard, applied to every decision in collecting, preserving, and managing succession property. The representative is personally responsible for damages caused by falling short of it.
Can a succession representative who lives out of state appoint someone else to handle the administration?
Yes. A nonresident, or a resident temporarily absent from the state, may appoint an agent by procuration or mandate, filed in the succession record without needing separate court approval.
Does a succession representative have authority over the decedent's social media and email accounts?
Yes, subject to any restriction in a valid testament or court order, and the entity holding the account must provide the representative access within thirty days after receiving the letters of appointment.
Is a succession representative personally liable for something that happens with a decedent's digital accounts?
Yes, for any infringement of third-party copyrights occurring in the transfer or distribution of a digital account or its contents; the article does not expand the license granted under a service's terms.