A Civil Law Tradition
C.E. Art. 603. Oath or affirmation. Before testifying, every witness shall be required to declare that he will testify truthfully, by oath or affirmation administered in a form calculated to awaken his conscience and impress his mind with his duty to do so.
R.S. 9:5554. No requirement of registry of transfer, assignment, pledge, or security interest in or of the written obligation, collateral mortgage, or vendor’s privilege. There is no requirement that there be registry of:
(1) Any evidence of pledge of the written obligation secured by a collateral mortÂgage or a vendor’s privilege;
(2) Any transfer or assignment of the written obligation secured by a collateral mortgage or a vendor:’s privilege, or of the collateral mortgage or vendor’s privilege;
(3) Any security interest in a collateral mortgage or vendor’s privilege or written obligation secured by either.
C.C. art. 2463: The expenses of the act and other expenses incidental to the sale must be borne by the buyer.
C.C. art. 2342: A. A declaration in an act of acquisition that things are acquired with separate funds as the separate property of a spouse may be controverted by the other spouse unless he concurred in the act. It may also be controverted by the forced heirs and the creditors of the spouses, despite the concurrence by the other spouse.
C.C. art. 1582. Effect of witness or notary as legatee. The fact that a witness or the notary is a legatee does not invalidate the testament. A legacy to a witness or the notary is invalid, but if the witness would be an heir in intestacy, the witness may receive the lesser of his intestate share or the legacy in the testament.
Art. 1582.1. Persons prohibited from witnessing; effect. A person may not be a witness to a testament if that person is a spouse of a legatee at the time of the execution of the testament. The fact that a witness is the spouse of a legatee does not invalidate the testament; however, a legacy to a witness’ spouse is invalid, if the witness is the spouse of the legatee at the time of the execution of the testament. If the legacy is invalid under the provisions of this Article, and if the legatee would be an heir in intestacy, the legatee may receive the lesser of his intestate share or legacy in the testament. Any testamentary terms or restrictions placed on the legacy shall remain in effect.
CE Art. 601. General rule of competency. Every person of proper understanding is competent to be a witness except as otherwise provided by legislation.
R.S. 13:3665. Competency of witnesses. The competent witness in any civil proceeding in court or before a person having authority to receive evidence shall be a person of proper understanding.
§2611 Notarization and ac!acknowledgment. If a law requires a signature or record to be notarized, acknowledged, verified, or made under oath, the requirement is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized to perform those acts, together with all other information required to be included by other applicable law, is attached to or logically associated with the signature or record.
C.C. art. 24. Kinds of persons. There are two kinds of persons: natural persons and juridical persons. A natural person is a human being. A juridical person is an entity to which the law attributes personality, such as a corporation or a partnership. The personality of a juridical person is distinct from that of its members.
Art. 25. Commencement and end of natural personality. Natural personality commences from the moment of birth and terminates at death.
Art. 27. General legal capacity. All natural persons enjoy general legal capacity to have rights and duties.
Art. 28. Capacity to make juridical acts. A natural person who has reached majority has capacity to make all sorts of juridical acts, unless otherwise provided by legislation.
Art. 29. Age of majority. Majority is attained upon reaching the age of eighteen years.
Art. 1918. General statement of capacity. All persons have capacity to contract, except unemancipated minors, interdicts, and persons deprived of reason at the time of contracting.
Art. 1833. Authentic Act. A. An authentic act is a writing executed before a notary public or other officer authorized to perform that function, in the presence of two witnesses, and signed by each party who executed it, by each witness, and by each notary public before whom it was executed. The typed or hand-printed name of each person shall be placed in a legible form immediately beneath the signature of each person signing the act.
B. To be an authentic act, the writing need not be executed at one time or place, or before the same notary public or in the presence of the same witnesses, provided that each party who executes it does so before a notary public or other officer authorized to perform that function, and in the presence of two witnesses and each party, each witness, and each notary public signs it. The failure to. include the typed or hand-printed name of each person signing the act shall not affect the validity or authenticity of the act.
C. If a party is unable or does not know how to sign his name, the notary public must cause him to affix his mark to the writing.
Art. 1835. Authentic act constitutes full proof between parties and heirs An authentic act constitutes full proof of the agreement it contains, as against the parties, their heirs, and successors by universal or particular title. The presumption of its validity is, however, rebuttable, ‘through credible and competent evidence that the act is not what it appears to be on its face. An act that fails to be authentic because of the lack of competence or capacity of the notary public, or because of a defect of form, may still be valid as an act under private signature. C.C. art. 1834. See also discussion in Chapter 7 under The de-facto notary doctrine. For example, if a purported authentic act is challenged on the basis that the purported notary lacks the qualifications to execute the act as a notary, the act is not necessarily invalid. It may be valid as a private act that can be proven by acknowledgment. In such a case, the purported notary to the original invalid authentic act could still be a witness to the instrument as a private act. Nevertheless, an act under private signature, though acknowledged, cannot substitute for an authentic act when the law prescribes such an act. C.C. art. 1836.
R.S. 35:511. Forms of acknowledgment. Either the forms of acknowledgment now in use in this State, or the following, may be used in the case of conveyances or other written instruments, whenever such acknowledgment is required or authorized by law for any purpose:Â (Begin in all cases by a caption specifying the state and place where the acknowledgment is taken). 1. In the case of natural persons acting in their own right:
(1) In the case of natural persons acting in their own right: On this ___ day of ___, 20__, ____ before me personally appeared AB (or A B and C D), to me known to be the person (or persons) described in and who executed the foregoing instrument, and acknowledged that he (or they) executed it his (or their) free act and deed.
(2) In the case of natural persons acting by attorney. On this ____ day of ___,20__, before me personally appeared A B, to me known to the person who executed the foregoing instrument in behalf of C D, and acknowledged that he executed it as the free act and deed of said C D.
(3) In this case of corporations or joint stock associations: On this ___ day of ___,20__, before me appeared A B, to me personally known, who, being by me duly sworn (or affirmed) did say that he is the president (or other officer or agent of the corporation or association), of (describing the corporation or association), and that the seal affixed to said instrument is the corporate seal of said corporation ( or association) and that the instrument was signed and sealed in behalf of the corporation (or association) by authority of its Board of Directors (or trustees) and that A B acknowledged the instrument to be the free act and deed of the corporation (or association). ( In case of the corporation or association has no corporate seal, omit the words “the seal affixed to said instrument is the corporate seal of the corporation (or association), and that” the corporation (or association) has no corporate seal”).
(In all cases, acknowledgements taken in this state shall be signed in conformity with the provisions of R.S. 35;12 and either Article 1836 of the Louisiana Civil Code or R.S. 13:3720).
