$200,000, a jump from $125,000 in mid-2026
Gross value, debts not subtracted
The threshold uses gross value at the date of death — debts aren't netted out first. A $250,000 house carrying a $150,000 mortgage still counts as $250,000 toward the cap, not the $100,000 of actual equity.
A will can shut the door on real estate entirely
When the decedent died intestate, the affidavit generally works for Louisiana real estate. When there's a valid will instead, the affidavit requires an affirmation that the deceased owned no immovable property in Louisiana at all — meaning a testate estate with Louisiana real estate typically can't use this shortcut for that property, and needs a Judgment of Possession instead.
45 days, not 30
The affidavit becomes available 45 days after death — a distinctive number compared to the 30-day wait common in many other states — and cannot be used once a formal succession proceeding has already been opened.
A separate, smaller threshold for out-of-state decedents
A $125,000 threshold still applies specifically to ancillary successions: Louisiana property owned by someone who died domiciled outside the state, cleared through its own separate affidavit mechanism.
Old estates get their own exception
Estates where the death occurred more than 20 years ago may qualify for the affidavit regardless of value — a genuinely distinctive carve-out for long-delayed successions.