CHAPTER 4. GENERAL FUNCTIONS, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF

SUCCESSION REPRESENTATIVE

SECTION 1. GENERAL DISPOSITIONS

Art. 3191. General duties; appointment of agent

            A. A succession representative is a fiduciary with respect to the succession, and shall have the duty of collecting, preserving, and managing the property of the succession in accordance with law. He shall act at all times as a prudent administrator, and shall be personally responsible for all damages resulting from his failure so to act.

            B. A nonresident succession representative may execute a procuration or mandate appointing a resident of the state to represent him in all acts of his administration. A resident succession representative who will be absent from the state temporarily similarly may appoint an agent to act for him during his absence. Additionally, a succession representative may appoint an agent to alienate, acquire, lease, or encumber specifically described property on specific terms. A procuration or mandate granted for this purpose may either recite the specific terms of the transaction or state that the succession representative has approved the terms of the transaction. The procuration or mandate appointing the agent shall be filed in the record of the succession proceeding and shall not need court approval.

            C. Subject to any restrictions provided in a valid testament of a decedent or an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, a succession representative shall have the power and authority to take control of, handle, conduct, continue, distribute, or terminate any digital account of the decedent.

            D.(1) Except as provided in Subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph and to the extent permitted by federal law, any person that electronically stores, maintains, manages, controls, operates, or administers the digital accounts of a decedent shall transfer, deliver, or provide a succession representative access or possession of any digital account of a decedent within thirty days after receipt of letters testamentary, letters of administration, or letters of independent administration evidencing the appointment of the succession representative.

            (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, R.S. 6:325 or 767 shall control how federally insured financial institutions provide Internet or other electronic access to an authorized succession representative for the administration of a decedent's estate.

            E. This Article supersedes any contrary provision in the terms and conditions of any service agreement and a succession representative shall be considered an authorized user with lawful consent of the decedent for purposes of accessing or possessing the decedent's digital accounts.

            F. The authority provided in this Article shall be specifically subject to copyright law and shall not increase the scope of the license granted in the terms of service of any digital account. The agent, representative or fiduciary shall be personally responsible for any infringement of third party copyrights that occurs in the transfer or distribution of any digital account or its contents.

            G. No cause of action shall lie in any court under the law of this state against any provider of digital account service, including its officers, directors, employees, agents, members, or other specified persons, for any actions taken to disclose or otherwise provide access to the contents of a digital account pursuant to this Article.

            H. For purposes of this Article, the term "digital account" shall include any account of the decedent on any social networking Internet website, web log Internet website, microblog service Internet website, short message service Internet website, electronic mail service Internet website, financial account Internet website, or any similar electronic services or records, together with any words, characters, codes, or contractual rights necessary to access such digital assets and any text, images, multimedia information, or other personal property stored by or through such digital account.

            Amended by Acts 1964, No. 4, §1; Acts 2014, No. 758, §1; Acts 2023, No. 38, §1, eff. July 1, 2023.