Baton Rouge family law and estate firm founded in 2022 by Deanna C. Johnson, serving East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston and ten other nearby parishes. It handles successions from the petition and appointment of the representative through inventory, debts and division of property, and drafts wills, trusts and powers of attorney. Estate planning case evaluations are complimentary.
What to Do When Someone Dies in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
How probate works in West Baton Rouge Parish: the District Court record, what the process costs, and how to file there.
Probate Court Record
West Baton Rouge Parish District Court
West Baton Rouge Parish · 18th Judicial District
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
850 8th Street, Port Allen, LA 70767
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
E-filing
OptionalCivil pleadings, successions included, are e-filed through ClerkConnect, which also carries the civil records search.
Self-represented filing
AllowedSelf-representation information and the 18th JDC hearing officer forms are on the court's website, and the Louisiana Supreme Court posts further civil forms. The clerk has no succession forms packet of its own.
P.O. Box 107
Port Allen, LA 70767
Fax
1-225-383-3694
About the court
- Louisiana uses "succession" instead of "probate" (civil law tradition). 18th JDC also includes Iberville and Pointe Coupee Parishes.
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
How Probate Works in West Baton Rouge Parish
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling someone's estate after they die — validating the will, paying debts and taxes, and transferring what's left to the heirs. In West Baton Rouge Parish, probate runs through the District Court at 850 8th Street, Port Allen. The court sits in the 18th Judicial District. West Baton Rouge Parish shares the 18th Judicial District with Iberville and Pointe Coupee.
The personal representative opens the case, gives notice to heirs and creditors, files an inventory of the estate's assets, settles outstanding debts and taxes, and then distributes the remainder under the will — or under Louisiana intestacy law when there is no will.
Most Louisiana estates take 6 months to 12 months to move through this process. Creditors have 3 monthsLa. C.C.P. arts. 3241-3249, 3301-3308; La. C.C. art. 3276Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present a claim, counted from the date of death.
What Probate Costs in West Baton Rouge Parish
What probate costs in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana comes down to a handful of line items — the court filing fee, attorney and executor compensation, publication, and sometimes a bond — scaled by the estate's size and whether the will is contested. The case itself runs through the District Court at 850 8th Street, Port Allen. The court is part of the 18th Judicial District.
Louisiana has no statewide succession filing fee: each parish clerk sets its own advance deposit, and the figure shown is a representative tier drawn from the posted parish schedules. A small succession pays half of regular court costs by statute. Publication of the tableau notice is bought from the parish journal on top of the depositLa. R.S. 13:841; La. CCP Art. 3421-3422; Acts 2026, No. 293, §1 (HB 215); Acts 2024, No. 90, §1 (SB 32)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. Additional filings during administration — inventory, accounting, the final petition — add to the total.
Estimate the costs for this estate:
Attorney fees in Louisiana are negotiated, typically 1.9%Modeled estimate under La. C.C.P. arts. 3301, 3303 (attorney fees are an administration expense — La. Civ. Code art. 1415 — payable only on court authorization); art. 3351.1 (dual-role limit): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3%Modeled estimate under La. C.C.P. arts. 3301, 3303 (attorney fees are an administration expense — La. Civ. Code art. 1415 — payable only on court authorization); art. 3351.1 (dual-role limit): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of estate value. Flat-fee arrangements are common for straightforward estates.
Louisiana sets executor compensation at 2.5% of the estate by statuteLa. C.C.P. art. 3351 (2.5% of inventory default; court may increase if inadequate)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Family members who are also beneficiaries often waive the fee — executor pay is taxable income while inheritances are not.
A surety bond may be required unless the will waives it or all beneficiaries consent. Premiums run roughly 0.5%Industry surety premium estimate; the bond itself under La. C.C.P. arts. 3151 (administrator security, 1.25x inventory), 3153 (testator-named executor), 3154-3155 (forced heirs, spouse or creditor may compel), 3396.14 (independent administrator)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of estate value annually.
Probate in Louisiana typically runs 6 months to 12 months, and costs accrue throughout that period.
How to File Probate at the District Court
Probate documents in West Baton Rouge Parish can be filed in person at the District Court, by mail, or electronically. Most families handling probate themselves prefer paper filing, though e-filing is available. The court sits in the 18th Judicial District.
Can You File Without an Attorney?
Louisiana has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is not available.
For a full cost comparison and filing checklist, see the West Baton Rouge Parish Self-Filing Assessment.
What to Bring
Filed with the opening petition at the District Court: Proof of the decedent’s death and of the heirs’ relationship — EITHER an official certificate issued by the proper public officer (a certified death certificate) OR an affidavit executed by two persons having knowledge of the facts, filed in the record of the succession proceeding (CCP arts. 2821-2822). The affidavit route — the customary "Affidavit of Death, Domicile and Heirship" — is what Louisiana practice actually files; no article requires a death certificateLa. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 2811, 3001-3198 (succession opening, appointment, letters); arts. 3396-3396.20 (independent administration)Verified Aug 24, 2026View source.
Death Certificates and the Coroner in West Baton Rouge Parish
In Louisiana a death is registered locally, and in West Baton Rouge Parish certified copies of the death certificate are issued by West Baton Rouge Parish Health Unit as well as by Louisiana Department of Health - Vital Records Registry.
Vital Records Office Record
Local Health Department
West Baton Rouge Parish · West Baton Rouge Parish Health Unit
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM
Office
685 Louisiana Street, Port Allen, LA 70767
Website
Also issued by
The county recorder
Fax
1-225-383-3552
Local rule
- By law the health unit's local registrar can issue a death certificate only in the ten days after it is filed, and the unit lists vital records on Wednesday and Thursday. After that a copy comes from the state's Vital Records Central Office.
Certified copy fees
| First certified copy | $7 |
Verified November 2, 2026 · Source
Coroner or Medical Examiner Record
Coroner
West Baton Rouge Parish · West Baton Rouge Parish Coroner
Phone
Verified November 2, 2026 · Source
Transferring Property in West Baton Rouge Parish
Clearing title to real estate after a death, whether by a personal representative’s deed, an affidavit of survivorship, or a court order, happens at the Clerk of Court.
Deeds and other real property documents for West Baton Rouge Parish are recorded with the Clerk of Court at 850 8th Street, Port Allen, LA 70767. Phone: 1-225-383-0378. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM.
Documents submitted by mail go to P.O. Box 107, Port Allen, LA 70767.
The Clerk of Court charges $100 for 1-5 pages, $200 for 6-25 pages, $300 for 26-50 pages, $300 plus $5 for each page beyond 50.
West Baton Rouge Parish accepts electronic recording through eSearch.
Recording Office Record
Clerk of Court
West Baton Rouge Parish
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
850 8th Street, Port Allen, LA 70767
Website
E-recording
P.O. Box 107
Port Allen, LA 70767
Fax
1-225-383-3694
Recording fees
| 1-5 pages | $100 |
| 6-25 pages | $200 |
| 26-50 pages | $300 |
| 51+ pages | $300 |
| Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority (LCRAA) portal feeRequired with most deeds | $5 |
La. R.S. 13:844(A)(1)
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Probate Attorneys Serving West Baton Rouge Parish
Louisiana allows independent administrationLa. C.C.P. art. 3396.2Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, so the personal representative manages, pays and distributes the estate without returning to the court for approval at each step. A probate attorney earns the fee when the estate is contested, includes a business or out-of-state real estate, has unclear or insolvent debts, or when beneficiaries disagree.
Probate attorney fees in Louisiana are based on reasonable compensation, billed hourly or as a flat fee. Ask a West Baton Rouge Parish firm to quote a structure up front.
A probate attorney files the petition with the District Court, publishes the required creditor notices, prepares the inventory and accounting, handles creditor claims and tax filings, and guides the final distribution. They represent the personal representative — not the beneficiaries — a distinction that matters if a dispute develops.
Represents families in Baton Rouge, where East Baton Rouge Parish successions are filed in the 19th Judicial District Court, and in West Baton Rouge, Livingston, Jefferson, Orleans, Caddo and Ouachita parishes. Opens and administers successions, including small succession affidavits, and handles probate litigation. Attorneys on staff hold LLM degrees in tax law.
Practices from Metairie, New Orleans and Hammond, serving Jefferson, Orleans and Tangipahoa parishes, and has handled successions since its founding in 1989. Handles succession and estate administration, trust administration, and estate and trust litigation over will validity, trust management and the distribution of estate assets, with estate, gift and income tax planning.
New Orleans firm founded in 1937, with offices in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles. Its Estate Planning & Administration attorneys administer domiciliary and ancillary estates, prepare estate and gift tax returns, and handle contested successions and trust disputes. Partners David F. Edwards and Miriam Wogan Henry are board-certified Estate Planning and Administration Specialists.
Slidell solo practice of D. Bruce Cameron, with more than 20 years of succession and estate administration work in St. Tammany Parish and along the Northshore. Represents heirs, beneficiaries and executors from identifying assets and paying creditors to distribution, and in estate disputes over undue influence, incapacity and fraud. Evening and weekend appointments are available.
Shreveport attorney Carl H. Franklin has handled successions and probate for over 39 years, for clients in Caddo, Bossier, Webster, De Soto, Lincoln, Rapides and other parishes. Handles testate and intestate successions, from inventorying property and creditor notices to transferring titles, and works with out-of-state executors remotely. He offers a free phone consultation.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to verify their current practice areas and availability.
Legal Sources
(9)·
- La. C.C.P. art. 3351 (2.5% of inventory default; court may increase if inadequate)
- La. C.C.P. art. 3396.2
- La. C.C.P. arts. 3241-3249, 3301-3308; La. C.C. art. 3276
- La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 2811, 3001-3198 (succession opening, appointment, letters); arts. 3396-3396.20 (independent administration)
- La. R.S. 13:841; La. CCP Art. 3421-3422; Acts 2026, No. 293, §1 (HB 215); Acts 2024, No. 90, §1 (SB 32)
- La. R.S. 13:844(A)(1)
- West Baton Rouge Parish District Court, official page
- West Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court, official page
- West Baton Rouge Parish vital records and death investigation offices, official page
Data sourced from Louisiana statutes and official state code. Fee percentages are modeled estimates; each figure's note says how. How we research.
Tools for Settling an Estate in Louisiana
Free tools for settling an estate in Louisiana: whether probate is needed, executor and trustee pay, creditor deadlines and taxes. Run each tool for Louisiana.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Louisiana: creditors have 3 monthsLa. C.C.P. arts. 3241-3249, 3301-3308; La. C.C. art. 3276Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 3 months to 6 months.
See the Steps
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in Louisiana happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's trust statuteLa. R.S. 9:1721 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
See the Steps
Can I Self-File Probate?
Louisiana has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is not available.
Get the Answer
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