A house left to several people is owned together until a succession puts each share in a name a title company can use. Until then, the deed is often still in the name of the person who died. One sibling's signature does not sell everyone else's share.
This page is general information from a company that buys houses. It is not legal advice. Rules depend on the will, the parish, and who the heirs are. Talk with a succession attorney before you sign anything, including an offer from us. The longer walk-through of a Louisiana succession is on our inherited house page and in selling a house in a succession.
Want a cash offer, or to have us take over the payments? Call or text Charlie at (318) 714-4321, or Get My Cash Offer. Cash is not promised on every house. No fee, no obligation.
Succession, in plain words
Louisiana calls the court process a succession. Other states say probate. A succession is how a parish court identifies the heirs and moves property into their names. For most families we meet, that court is in Caddo, Bossier, DeSoto, or Webster Parish, the parish where the person lived.
A judgment of possession is the order that names the heirs and what they own. A title company usually wants that order, or a small-succession affidavit it will accept, before it will insure a sale. The dollar limit and the rules for a small succession change, and they are easy to misread. Do not guess. The current notes are on the inherited house page. A succession lawyer can say which path fits in one conversation.
When the heirs do not agree
Disagreement is common, and it is not a character flaw. One heir lives in the house. One wants to keep it. One wants the money. One has been paying the taxes and wants to be paid back. Those are practical fights. They still have to be settled before a title company will close a sale of the whole house.
What usually has to be true:
- Every heir who owns a share signs, or a court order says who is allowed to sign for the others.
- The title company sees the succession paperwork it asked for.
- Liens, taxes, and any mortgage are accounted for at closing. They are paid from the sale if the numbers work.
We cannot make an heir sign, and we will not pressure anyone. What we can do is put one as-is price in writing so every heir is looking at the same page. People can share that page with a brother who has questions, or with the lawyer. Anyone can say no.
If the group still cannot agree, Louisiana law lets a co-owner ask a court to partition property that is owned together. In plain words, a judge can divide the property or order it sold when the owners cannot work it out. That is a lawsuit. It takes time and a lawyer to file it. We do not file it, and we do not tell you whether you should.
When an heir is hard to reach
An heir who moved away, stopped answering, or cannot be found still owns a share until a court says otherwise. Skipping that person on a deed is not a shortcut a title company will insure.
A succession attorney can explain how the court notifies someone, and when the court appoints a person to stand in for an heir who cannot be found. Which step fits is a legal question. We do not serve papers, and we do not track people down.
What helps the heirs who are in touch: a written number, a plain list of what is owed, and a closing that can wait until the lawyer says the signatures are in order. We can often sign an agreement now and close after the judgment of possession, if the title company will insure that order. We do not promise that every title company will.
Heirs do not all have to stand in the same room. A title company can often send papers to an heir in another city. Ask the closer what they can do. We do not control that.
How a cash sale can help every heir
A listing asks the family to agree on repairs, a price, showings, and who empties the house, and then to wait. A cash sale to us is smaller:
- One written price for the house as it sits. No repair list to argue over.
- No showings while people are still deciding.
- Take what the family wants. Leave the rest. We buy houses with belongings still inside.
- The same paper goes to every heir. Nobody has a private version of the numbers.
- At closing, the title company pays any loan, taxes, and costs the statement shows, then can split what remains by the shares in the judgment or in the agreement the heirs sign.
- You pick a closing date the paperwork can actually meet. We do not promise a number of days.
If the price does not work for the whole group, we say so. Cash is not promised on every house. Sometimes the written choice is taking over the payments instead of cash. You see both only after we look, and only if the title can close.
Call or text Charlie at (318) 714-4321. Tell us the parish, how many heirs you know about, and whether a succession is already open. If a loan is behind, read behind on payments for the order of calls to make. Start with the servicer, in writing. Selling is one option after that. It is not the first call, and it does not replace a lawyer.
Updated November 11, 2026