Louisiana Civil Code

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TITLE VIII - OF MINORS, OF THEIR TUTORSHIP AND EMANCIPATION

 

CHAPTER 1 - OF TUTORSHIP

SECTION 1 - GENERAL DISPOSITIONS

Art. 246. The minor not emancipated is placed under the authority of a tutor after the dissolution of the marriage of his father and mother or the separation from bed and board of either one of them from the other. [Amended by Acts 1924, No. 72]

Art. 247. There are four sorts of tutorships:

Tutorship by nature;

Tutorship by will;

Tutorship by the effect of the law;

Tutorship by the appointment of the judge.

Art. 248. Tutorship by nature takes place of right, but the natural tutor must qualify for the office as provided by law. In every other kind of tutorship the tutor must be confirmed or appointed by the court, and must qualify for the office as provided by law. [Amended by Acts 1960, No. 30, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1961]

Art. 249. For every sort of tutorship, the tutor is accountable.

SECTION 2 - OF TUTORSHIP BY NATURE

Art. 250. Upon the death of either parent, the tutorship of minor children belongs of right to the other.  Upon divorce or judicial separation from bed and board of parents, the tutorship of each minor child belongs of right to the parent under whose care he or she has been placed or to whose care he or she has been entrusted; however, if the parents are awarded joint custody of a minor child, then the cotutorship of the minor child shall belong to both parents, with equal authority to act alone, on behalf of the child, and with equal privileges and responsibilities, unless modified by order of the court or by an agreement of the parents, approved by the court awarding joint custody. In the event of the death of a parent to whom joint custody had been awarded, the tutorship of the minor children of the deceased belongs of right to the surviving parent.

All those cases are called tutorship by nature. [Amended by Acts 1924, No. 196; Acts 1981, No. 283, §1; Acts 1982, No. 307, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1983; Acts 1983, No. 695, §1; Acts 2022, No. 121, §1, eff. May 25, 2022]

Art. 251. [Repealed by Acts 1960, No. 30, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 1961]

Art. 252. If a wife happens to be pregnant at the time of the death of her husband, no tutor shall be appointed to the child till after his birth; but, if it should be necessary, the judge may appoint a curator for the preservation of the rights of the unborn child, and for the administration of the estate which may belong to such child. At the birth of the posthumous child, such curator shall be of right the undertutor.

Art. 253. [Repealed by Acts 1974, No. 163, §2]

Arts. 254-255. [Repealed by Acts 1960, No. 30, §2]

Art. 256. A. The mother is of right the tutrix of her child born outside of marriage not acknowledged by the father, or acknowledged by him without her concurrence.

B. After the death of the mother, if the father had not acknowledged the child prior to the mother’s death, the court shall give first consideration to appointment as tutor either of her parents or siblings who survive her and accept the appointment, and secondly, the father, always taking into consideration the best interests of the child.

C. If both parents have acknowledged their child born outside of marriage, the judge shall appoint as tutor the one by whose care the best interests of the child will be served. However, if the parents are awarded joint custody of such acknowledged child born outside of marriage, then the cotutorship of such child shall belong of right to both parents, with equal authority to act alone, on behalf of the child, and with equal privileges and responsibilities, unless modified by order of the court or by an agreement of the parents, approved by the court awarding joint custody. [Acts 1983, No. 215, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 2016, No. 210, §1, eff. Aug. 1, 2016; Acts 2022, No. 121, §1, eff. May 25, 2022]

SECTION 3 - OF THE TUTORSHIP BY WILL

Art. 257. The right of appointing a tutor, whether a relation or a stranger, belongs exclusively to the father or mother dying last.

The right of appointing a tutor, whether a relation or a stranger, also belongs to a parent who has been named the curator for the other living spouse, when that other living spouse has been interdicted, subject only to the right of the interdicted parent to claim the tutorship should his incapacity be removed by a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

This is called tutorship by will, because generally it is given by testament; but it may likewise be given by any declaration of the surviving father or mother, or the parent who is the curator of the other spouse, executed before a notary and two witnesses. [Amended by Acts 1974, No. 142, §1]

Art. 258. If the parents are divorced or judicially separated, only the one to whom the court has entrusted the care and custody of the children has a right to appoint a tutor for them as provided in Article 257. However, if the parents have been awarded joint custody of the children, then the right to appoint a tutor for them belongs to the parent dying last, but either parent may appoint a tutor of the property of the children as provided in Article 257. In the event that both parents appoint a tutor of the property of the children, the tutors shall separately administer that portion of the children's property which is attributable to the respective parent's estate. The court shall decide which tutor shall administer that portion of the children's property which is not attributable to either parent's estate. [Acts 1992, No. 680, §1]

Art. 259. The tutor by will is not compelled to accept the tutorship to which he is appointed by the father or mother.

But if he refuses the tutorship, he loses in that case all the legacies and other advantages, which the person who appointed him may have made in his favor under a persuasion that he would accept this trust.

Art. 260. [Repealed by Acts 1960, No. 30, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 1961]

Art. 261. The father or mother who is entitled to the tutorship of the child born outside of marriage, according to the provisions of Article 256, can choose a tutor for him, whose appointment, to be valid, must be approved by the judge. [Amended by Acts 1979, No. 607, §1; Acts 2016, No. 210, §1, eff. Aug. 1, 2016]

Art. 262. If the parent who died last has appointed several tutors to the children, the person first mentioned shall be alone charged with the tutorship, and the second shall not be called to it, except in case of the death, absence, refusal, incapacity or displacing of the first, and in like manner as to the others in succession.




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