There are several different Louisiana statutes concerning the ability to withdraw funds from a bank on the death of a depositor.

Surviving Spouses of Deceased Depositors

In the case of married persons, Louisiana law provides that a bank may pay to the surviving spouse of a depositor a sum not to exceed $10,000. The spouse seeking to make the withdrawal must give the bank an affidavit in which he or she declares that the total funds withdrawn from all banks does not exceed $10,000. This ability to withdraw can be useful for several situations, including when a surviving spouse is unable to open a succession quickly enough to pay pressing bills and all of the funds are deposited in an account that the survivor may not even be listed with the bank as co-owner. The only criteria that must be met are that (1) the person seeking to make the withdrawal is the surviving spouse of the deceased depositor and (2) not more than $10,000 has been withdrawn to that point. There is a very similar rule for funds in the name of a deceased spouse in a credit union.

Surviving Alternative Depositor

Under another statute, when there are deposits in a bank in the name of two or more persons and made payable to any one of them (called an "alternative deposit" in Louisiana’s banking code) and one depositor dies, any one of the surviving depositors may withdraw part or all of the funds in the account. Although this statute does not require that there be a marriage or other familial relationship, only that there be co-ownership, it can be used as a family or personal planning tool. An alternative account can be very useful for those situations in which one of a person's parents has died and the remaining parent wants his or her children to have access to bank funds quickly and without the need to await opening of a succession. There is not any ceiling on the amounts withdrawn under this statute. The single criteria is that the person seeking to withdraw is in the records of the bank as an alternative owner, such as an account in the names of Harry Hawk or John Topper. Note that the mere ability to sign checks (being a co-signer) on an account owned by a deceased depositor does not meet the criteria under this statute – the person seeking to withdraw when another has died must be recorded in the bank as one of the account co-owners.

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Because the power of an agent under a device such as a Power of Attorney becomes instantly canceled with the death of the principal, the statutes described above can be particularly useful in giving certain persons very quick or uninterrupted access to funds as a deceased person may have intended or wished – and thus very useful personal planning tools. Once again, however, just as with Powers of Attorney, the powers granted by these statutes should be used only with people in whom one has complete confidence.