Ten-year prescription on mineral servitudes
This is the most consequential difference between Louisiana and every other state. Elsewhere, a mineral severance can persist indefinitely. In Louisiana, a mineral servitude prescribes after ten years without use — meaning without drilling or production — and the minerals revert to the surface owner.
For a buyer this cuts favourably. A severance recorded decades ago with no intervening activity may already have prescribed, making the current surface owner the mineral owner as well. Establishing this requires a title examination by someone who knows Louisiana mineral law, because interruptions and suspensions of prescription have their own rules.
It also means that any active production restarts the clock, so the analysis is specific rather than a simple date calculation. Our mineral rights guide covers the general concepts; Louisiana requires local counsel.
Servitudes rather than easements
Access rights in Louisiana are servitudes, and the civil law framework differs from common law easements in how they are created, transferred and extinguished. A predial servitude runs with the land; a personal servitude may not.
The practical instruction is the same as anywhere — verify access in the recorded records — but the analysis should be done by someone practising in Louisiana. See easements explained for the general principles.
Coastal land loss and flood exposure
Louisiana's coastal parishes have experienced significant land loss, and the trajectory matters for a long-term purchase. Beyond current FEMA mapping, consider subsidence rates, coastal restoration project areas, and how insurability may change over a holding period.
Inland parcels face different but real flood questions tied to river systems and drainage.
What to verify
Mineral servitude status and prescription analysis by Louisiana counsel. Servitude of passage for access. Flood zone, subsidence and coastal exposure. Timber deed status on wooded ground. The risk scorecard for the fundamentals.