Louisiana Civil Code

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SECTION 4 - RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE NAKED OWNER

Art. 603. The naked owner may dispose of the naked ownership, but he cannot thereby affect the usufruct [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010] 

Art. 604. The naked owner may establish real rights on the property subject to the usufruct, provided that they may be exercised without impairing the usufructuary’s rights. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 605. The naked owner must not interfere with the rights of the usufructuary. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 606. The naked owner may not make alterations or improvements on the property subject to the usufruct. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

SECTION 5 - TERMINATION OF USUFRUCT

Art. 607. The right of usufruct expires upon the death of the usufructuary. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 608. A usufruct established in favor of a juridical person terminates if the juridical person is dissolved or liquidated, but not if the juridical person is converted, merged or consolidated into a successor juridical person. In any event, a usufruct in favor of a juridical person shall terminate upon the lapse of thirty years from the date of the commencement of the usufruct. This Article shall not apply to a juridical person in its capacity as the trustee of a trust. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 609. A legacy of revenues from specified property is a kind of usufruct and terminates upon death of the legatee unless a shorter period has been expressly stipulated. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 610. A usufruct established for a term or subject to a condition terminates upon the expiration of the term or the happening of the condition. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 611. When the usufructuary is charged to restore or transfer the usufruct to another person, his right terminates when the time for restitution or delivery arrives. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 612. A usufruct granted until a third person reaches a certain age is a usufruct for a term. If the third person dies, the usufruct continues until the date the deceased would have reached the designated age. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 613. The usufruct of nonconsumables terminates by the permanent and total loss, extinction, or destruction through accident, force majeure or decay of the property subject to the usufruct. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 614. When any loss, extinction, or destruction of property subject to usufruct is attributable to the fault of a third person, the usufruct does not terminate but attaches to any claim for damages and the proceeds therefrom. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 615. When property subject to usufruct changes form without an act of the usufructuary, the usufruct does not terminate even though the property may no longer serve the use for which it was originally destined.

When property subject to usufruct is converted into money or other property without an act of the usufructuary, as in a case of expropriation of an immovable or liquidation of a corporation, the usufruct terminates as to the property converted and attaches to the money or other property received by the usufructuary. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 616. When property subject to usufruct is sold or exchanged, whether in an action for partition or by agreement between the usufructuary and the naked owner or by a usufructuary who has the power to dispose of nonconsumable property, the usufruct terminates as to the nonconsumable property sold or exchanged, but as provided in Article 568.1, the usufruct attaches to the money or other property received by the usufructuary, unless the parties agree otherwise. Any tax or expense incurred as the result of the sale or exchange of property subject to usufruct shall be paid from the proceeds of the sale or exchange, and shall be deducted from the amount due by the usufructuary to the naked owner at the termination of the usufruct. [Acts 1983, No. 525, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 617. When proceeds of insurance are due on account of loss, extinction, or destruction of property subject to usufruct, the usufruct attaches to the proceeds. If the usufructuary or the naked owner has separately insured his interest only, the proceeds belong to the insured party. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 618. In cases governed by Articles 614, 615, 616, and the first sentence of Article 617, the naked owner may demand, within one year from receipt of the proceeds by the usufructuary that the usufructuary give security for the proceeds. If such a demand is made, and the parties cannot agree, the nature of the security shall be determined by the court. This Article does not apply to corporeal movables referred to in the second sentence of Article 568, or to property disposed of by the usufructuary pursuant to the power to dispose of nonconsumables if the grantor of the usufruct has dispensed with the security. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 619. A usufruct by donation mortis causa is not considered revoked merely because the testator has made changes in the property after the date of his testament. The effect of the legacy is determined by application of the rules contained in the title: Of donations inter vivos and mortis causa. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 620. Usufruct terminates by the enforcement of an encumbrance established upon the property prior to the creation of the usufruct to secure a debt. The usufructuary may have an action against the grantor of the usufruct or against the naked owner under the provisions established in Section 3 of this Chapter.

The judicial sale of the usufruct by creditors of the usufructuary deprives the usufructuary of his enjoyment of the property but does not terminate the usufruct. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010] 

Art. 621. A usufruct terminates by the prescription of nonuse if neither the usufructuary nor any other person acting in his name exercises the right during a period of ten years. This applies whether the usufruct has been constituted on an entire estate or on a divided or undivided part of an estate. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 622. A usufruct terminates by confusion when the usufruct and the naked ownership are united in the same person.

The usufruct does not terminate if the title by which the usufruct and the naked ownership were united is annulled for some previously existing defect or some vice inherent in the act. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 623. The usufruct may be terminated by the naked owner if the usufructuary commits waste, alienates things without authority, neglects to make ordinary repairs, or abuses his enjoyment in any other manner. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 624. In the cases covered by the preceding Article, the court may decree termination of the usufruct or decree that the property be delivered to the naked owner on the condition that he shall pay to the usufructuary a reasonable annuity until the end of the usufruct. The amount of the annuity shall be based on the value of the usufruct.

The usufructuary may prevent termination of the usufruct or delivery of the property to the naked owner by giving security to insure that he will take appropriate corrective measures within a period fixed by the court. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 625. A creditor of the usufructuary may intervene and may prevent termination of the usufruct and delivery of the property to the naked owner by offering to repair the damages caused by the usufructuary and by giving security for the future. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 2010, No. 881, §1, eff. Jul. 2, 2010]

Art. 626. A usufruct terminates by an express written renunciation.

A creditor of the usufructuary may cause to be annulled a renunciation made to his prejudice. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 627. Upon termination of the usufruct, the usufructuary or his heirs have the right to retain possession of the property until reimbursed for all expenses and advances for which they have recourse against the owner or his heirs. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 628. Upon termination of a usufruct of nonconsumables for a cause other than total and permanent destruction of the property, full ownership is restored. The usufructuary or his heirs are bound to deliver the property to the owner with its accessories and fruits produced since the termination of the usufruct.

If property has been lost or deteriorated through the fault of the usufructuary, the owner is entitled to the value the property otherwise would have had at the termination of the usufruct. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

Art. 629. At the termination of a usufruct of consumables, the usufructuary is bound to deliver to the owner things of the same quantity and quality or the value they had at the commencement of the usufruct. [Acts 1976, No. 103, §1]

 




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