Art. 427 Action against obligor's heirs or legatees

If someone owes a debt or obligation and they pass away, you don't have to give up on collecting it. You can bring a lawsuit against the people who inherited from them, as long as those heirs or legatees actually accepted the inheritance. This applies to heirs, universal legatees, and general legatees under Louisiana law.

Keep in mind that just because someone inherited property doesn't mean they automatically owe the full debt themselves. How much they're responsible for paying depends on rules set out in the Louisiana Civil Code, not this rule. Those rules look at things like how much they inherited and what type of heir or legatee they are.

There are also some exceptions written into other parts of the law. So while this rule generally allows lawsuits against heirs and legatees who accepted an inheritance, other legal provisions might change how that plays out in specific situations.