Orleans Parish Succession Records and Probate Filings

Orleans Parish probate court records are maintained by the Clerk of the Civil District Court and cover all succession cases, estate filings, wills, tutorships, interdictions, and related proceedings for residents of New Orleans. The office holds records going back to 1783, including notarial archives from as far back as 1731, and provides remote access through the Orleans Parish Civil District Court online system. All successions are handled at Docket 1, the Successions Department, located on the 4th floor of 421 Loyola Avenue in New Orleans.

Orleans Parish Clerk of Court

Hon. Chelsey Richard Napoleon serves as the Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Recorder for Orleans Parish. The Civil Division, where succession cases are filed and maintained, is located at 421 Loyola Avenue, 4th Floor, New Orleans, LA 70112. The Land Records Division is at a separate address: 1340 Poydras Street, 4th Floor, New Orleans, LA 70112. In Orleans Parish, the Civil District Court and the Criminal District Court are legally distinct courts. For succession matters, you always go to the Civil District Court.

The Civil Division is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. After-hours filing is available for urgent matters from 5:00 PM to midnight by calling the main number. To access an active succession file, go to the Record Room on the 4th floor and fill out a request form at the counter. Staff will pull the file for you. Completed cases from 1918 to 2003 are stored in the Annex Record Room. Cases completed before 1918 or in a different date range may require additional retrieval time. Call ahead if you need an older file.

How Successions Work in Orleans Parish

All succession cases in Orleans Parish are filed at Docket 1, also called the Successions Department, reached by phone at (504) 407-0047. This is the dedicated docket for probate matters including estates, wills, tutorships, interdictions, and emancipations. Do not file at another docket. If you are not sure whether an existing case is active or closed, call the Record Room at (504) 407-0036 first to confirm the status.

For active cases, go to the Record Room at 421 Loyola Avenue, 4th Floor, and fill out a request form at the counter. Staff will locate the file and bring it to you. For completed cases from 1918 to 2003, files are stored in the Annex Record Room — staff can access these during regular business hours but may need a short amount of time to retrieve them. Cases outside those date ranges may be in off-site storage and could take longer to produce.

One important thing to know: wills are NOT filed with the court on their own in Orleans Parish. A will becomes a court record only when a succession is opened. If you are looking for someone's will but no succession has been filed, the will may be held by the testator's attorney or notary, not the court. Once a succession is opened, the will is part of the case file and accessible as a public record under Louisiana R.S. 44:1.

Online Access to Orleans Parish Probate Court Records

Orleans Parish offers remote access through the Civil District Court Remote Access System available at orleanscivilclerk.com. Subscriptions are available on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis. Once you have an account, you can search case indexes by party name, case number, and date range. Document images may be available for cases that have been scanned, though not all historical records are fully digitized.

This remote access system is useful for attorneys, researchers, title companies, and family members who need to review case information before requesting certified copies. Contact the office at (504) 407-0000 to ask about subscription options and what record types are currently available online. For technical questions about the system, email cdcclerk@orleanscivilclerk.com.

What Orleans Parish Probate Court Records Contain

An Orleans Parish succession file contains the petition to open the succession, which identifies the deceased, the heirs, and the assets to be distributed. The file grows as the case proceeds: you may find property inventories, accountings of debts and assets, court orders, and a judgment of possession that formally transfers property to the heirs. Tutorships, which establish legal guardianship for minor children, and interdictions, which address incapacity, are also handled by Docket 1 and follow a similar filing structure.

Wills become part of the public record when a succession is opened. Louisiana recognizes olographic wills, which are entirely handwritten and signed by the testator, and notarial wills, executed before a notary and two witnesses. Both types are probated through the Civil District Court and filed with Docket 1. The Notarial Archives Research Center at the clerk's office holds notarial documents from the 1700s, with records dating from 1731 to 1970. This is one of the richest collections of historical legal documents in the United States.

Certified copies of succession documents cost $3 per page. Uncertified copies cost $1 per page. Three free copies of a dispositive judgment are available to the parties if requested at the time the judgment is entered. Contact the office to confirm current fees before submitting payment.

Louisiana Succession Law in Orleans Parish

Orleans Parish is fully governed by Louisiana's civil law succession system, which draws from French and Spanish legal traditions. Under Civil Code Art. 871, a succession opens at the moment of death. The estate must be administered in the parish where the deceased was domiciled, as confirmed by Civil Code Art. 873. Orleans Parish handles successions for people who lived in New Orleans at the time of death.

Louisiana's forced heirship rule is set out in Civil Code Art. 1493. Children under 24 years old, or children of any age with a permanent disability, are forced heirs. They are entitled to a protected share of the estate, the legitime, regardless of what a will says. Wills that disinherit forced heirs can be challenged. This kind of dispute shows up frequently in Orleans Parish succession files and adds contested motions and hearings to the case record.

Community property rules under Civil Code Art. 876 affect how marital estates pass through succession. Louisiana treats most assets gained during a marriage as community property, owned equally by both spouses. When one spouse dies, only their half of the community passes through the court. The surviving spouse retains their own half without a succession proceeding. Separate property follows different rules and does go through the court process.

Smaller estates may qualify for a simplified process under R.S. 9:1555. If the net estate value is $125,000 or less and at least 90 days have passed since death, heirs who qualify may file a small succession affidavit instead of opening a full court case. This saves time and filing costs. Not all estates qualify, and the specific requirements must be met. Speak with a Louisiana notary or attorney before choosing this route, since the clerk's office staff in Orleans Parish cannot give legal advice.

Historical Records and the Notarial Archives

Orleans Parish holds some of the most extensive historical legal archives in the country. The Notarial Archives Research Center contains notarial documents dating from 1731 to 1970, covering a period that spans colonial French rule, Spanish colonial rule, and the early American period. These records can be essential for tracing property ownership, family lineage, and estate history in New Orleans.

The Annex Record Room holds succession and domestic cases from 1918 to 2003. For older records predating the Annex holdings, contact the Record Room at (504) 407-0036 to ask about storage location and retrieval time. The Louisiana State Archives in Baton Rouge also holds historical records from Orleans Parish and is a useful secondary source for materials not available at the courthouse.

Additional Resources for Orleans Parish Succession Cases

The Louisiana Supreme Court website provides general guidance on the Louisiana court system and self-help resources for people who want to understand the probate process. The Orleans Parish Civil District Court also publishes information about its departments and services at orleanscivilclerk.com.

Legal aid organizations serving the New Orleans area may be able to assist people who cannot afford an attorney with succession filings, heir rights, and will questions. Ask the clerk's office for referrals to local legal aid resources. For electronic filing and recording services statewide, the eClerks LA platform provides information about e-filing options across Louisiana parishes.

Nearby Parishes

These parishes border Orleans and maintain probate court records through their own clerks of court.