Louisiana Notary

A Civil Law Tradition

Civil Law Basics

Caveat Notarius – Authenticating documents for your family or business

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Caveat Notarius – Authenticating documents for your family or business

R.S. 35:4. Notaries connected with banks and other corporations; powers It is lawful for any notary public who is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee of a bank or other corporation to take the acknowledgment of any party to any written instrument executed to or by such corporation, or to administer an oath to any other stockholder, director, officer, employee, or agent of such corporation, or to protest for non acceptance or nonpayment bills of exchange, drafts, checks, notes, and other negotiable instruments which may be owned or held for collection by such corporation. It is unlawful for any notary public to take the acknowledgment of an instrument by or to a bank or other corporation of which he is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee, where the notary is a party to such instrument, either individually or as a representative of such corporation, or to protest any negotiable instrument owned or held for collection by the corporation, where the notary is individually a party to the instrument. (Emphasis added.)

Caveat Notarius – Waiver of warranty – as is language

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Caveat Notarius – Waiver of warranty – as is language

Art. 2548. Exclusion or limitation of warranty; subrogation. The parties may agree to an exclusion or limitation of the warranty against , redhibitory defects. The terms of the exclusion or limitation must be clear and unambiguous ,and must be brought to the attention of the buyer. A buyer is not bound by an otherwise effective exclusion or limitation of the warranty when the seller has declared that the thing has a quality that he knew it did not have. The buyer is subrogated to the rights in warranty of the seller against other persons, even when the warranty is excluded

Caveat Notarius – Concepts: Consideration and cause

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Caveat Notarius – Concepts: Consideration and cause

Art. 2439. Definition [of sale]. Sale is a contract whereby a person transfers ownership of a thing to another for a price in money. The thing, the price, and the consent of the parties are requirements for the perfection of a sale.

Art. 1906. Definition of contract. A contract is an agreement by two or more parties whereby obligations are created, modified, or extinguished.

Art. 1966. No obligation without cause. An obligation cannot exist without a lawful cause.

Art. 1967. Cause defined; detrimental reliance. Cause is the reason why a party obligates himself.

Caveat Notarius – Confirmation of donation

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Caveat Notarius – Confirmation of donation

Art. 1845. Confirmation of donation. A donation inter vivos that is null for lack of proper form may be confirmed by the donor but the confirmation must be made in the form required for a donation. The universal successor of the donor may, after his death, expressly or tacitly confirm such a donation.

Art. 1842. Confirmation. Confirmation is a declaration whereby a person cures the relative nullity of an obligation. An express act of confirmation must contain or identify the substance of the obligation and evidence the intention to cure its relative nullity. Tacit confirmation may result from voluntary performance of the obligation.

Art. 1843. Ratification. Ratification is a declaration whereby a person gives his consent to an obligation incurred on his behalf by another without authority. An express act of ratification must evidence the intention to be bound by the ratified obligation. Tacit ratification results when a person, with knowledge of an obligation incurred on his behalf by another, accepts the benefit of that obligation.

Art. 1844. Effects of confirmation and ratification. The effects of confirmation and ratification are retroactive to the date of the confirmed or ratified obligation. Neither confirmation nor ratification may impair the rights of third persons.

Caveat Notarius – Concepts

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Caveat Notarius – Concepts

Art. 9. Clear and unambiguous law. When a law is clear and unambiguous and its application does not lead to absurd consequences, the law shall be applied as written and no further interpretation may be made in search of the intent of the legislature.

Art. 1. Sources of law. The sources of law are legislation and custom.

Art. 2. Legislation. Legislation is a solemn expression of legislative will.

Art. 3. Custom. Custom results from practice repeated for a long time and generally accepted as having acquired the force of law. Custom may not abrogate legislation.

Art. 4. Absence of legislation or custom. When no rule for a particular situation can be derived from legislation or custom, the court is bound to proceed according to equity. To decide equitably, resort is made to justice, reason, and prevailing usages.

Miscellaneous Acts – Provisional custody by mandate

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Miscellaneous Acts – Provisional custody by mandate

§951. Provisional custody by mandate of persons having parental authority; delegation. A person having parental authority over a child may delegate the provisional custody of that child by written mandate to any natural person.

§961. Provisional custody by mandate of a natural tutor or cotutors with custody, but not yet judicially qualified, or a grandparent awarded custody of a child; delegation. A natural tutor or cotutors with custody, but not yet judicially qualified, or a grandparent awarded custody of a child after parental authority terminates, may delegate the provisional custody of that child by written mandate to any natural person subject to the same rules governing duration of the mandate and the authority and obligations of the mandatary as those governing the provisional custody of mandate of persons having parental authority.

§952. Duration of provisional custody; termination. A. The mandate of provisional custody shall be effective for the term stipulated, but the stated term shall not exceed one year from date of execution.

B. Regardless of the term stipulated, the mandate of provisional custody shall terminate:

(1) When revoked by any person having parental authority.

(2) When the mandatary resigns or otherwise renounces the mandate.

(3) Fifteen days after the death of any person having parental authority.

(4) Upon the qualification of a court appointed tutor or provisional tutor.

§953. Functions, power.s, and duties of agent. In addition to the general functions, powers, and duties accorded to tutors pursuant to Chapter 8 of Title VI of Book VII of the Code of Civil Procedure, except those that require.court approval, a mandate of child custody may provide for the health, education, and welfare of the child, which, if so indicated, may include the following:

(1) Consenting to and authorizing such medical care, treatment, or surgery as may be deemed necessary for the health, safety, and welfare of the child.

(2) Enrolling the child in such schools or educational institutions as may be deemed necessary for his due and proper education.

(3) Disciplining the child in such reasonable manner as may be necessary for his proper rearing, supervision, and training.

(4) Doing and performing all other such acts as may be necessary for the shelter, support, and general welfare of the child.

§954. Statutory form. The following is a suggested form that may be used by a person having parental authority to delegate the provisional custody of a named child.

Miscellaneous Acts – Protest

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Miscellaneous Acts – Protest

R.S. 35:287. Deputies. Every notary public in the Parish of Orleans may appoint one or more deputies to assist him in the making of protests and delivery of notices of protests of bills of exchange and promissory notes. Each notary shall be personally responsible for the acts of each deputy employed by him. Each deputy shall take an oath faithfully to perform his duties as such. The certificate of notice of protest shall state by whom made or served.

Miscellaneous Acts – Partition

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Miscellaneous Acts – Partition

Art. 807. Right to partition; exclusion by agreement. No one may be compelled to hold a thing in indivision with another unless the contrary has been provided by law or juridical act. Any co-owner has a right to demand partition of a thing held in indivision. Partition may be excluded by agreement for up to fifteen years, or for such other period as provided in R.S. 9:1702 or other specific law.

Art. 808. Partition excluded. Partition of a thing held in indivision is excluded when its use is indispensable for the enjoyment of another thing owned by one or more of the co-owners.

Miscellaneous Acts – Non-legal custodian’s affidavit

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Miscellaneous Acts – Non-legal custodian’s affidavit

RS. 9:975. Non-legal custodian; consent for certain services; affidavit, form A.(1) A non-legal custodian, who is not a foster parent caring for a child in the custody of the Office of Community Services, shall be authorized to give legal consent for a child in his custody to receive any medical or educational services for which parental consent is usually required by executing the affidavit described in Paragraph (B)(4) of this Section. The affidavit shall not be valid for more than one year after the date on which it is executed.

(2) The decision of a non-legal custodian to consent to or to refuse medical or educational services for a child in his custody shall be superseded by any contravening decision of a parent or a person having legal custody of the child, provided the decision of the legal custodian does not jeopardize the life, health, safety, or welfare of the child.

(3) Nothing in this Section shall apply to, or give authority for, an abortion as provided in R.S. 40:1299.35.5.

B.(1) No person who acts in good faith reliance on a non-legal custodian properly executed affidavit, having no actual knowledge of any facts contrary to those stated in the affidavit, shall be subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution, or to professional disciplinary procedure, for any action which would have been proper if the facts had been as he believed them to be. This Paragraph shall apply even if medical or educational services are rendered to a child in contravention of the wishes of the parent or legal custodian of that child. However, the person rendering the services must not have actual knowledge of the wishes of the parent or legal custodian.

(2) A person who relies on a properly executed affidavit has no obligation to make further inquiry or investigation. Nothing herein shall relieve any person of responsibility for violations of other provisions of law, rules, or regulations.

(3) If the child ceases to live with the non-legal custodian, the non-legal custodian shall notify all parties to whom he has transmitted the affidavit or to whom he has caused the affidavit to be transmitted.

(4) A non-legal custodian’s affidavit shall be invalid unless it substantially contains, in not less than ten-point boldface type, or a reasonable equivalent thereof, the warning· statement beginning with the word “warning” specified in this Paragraph. The warning statement shall be enclosed in a box with three-point rule lines. The non-legal custodian’s affidavit shall be in substantially the following form:

Miscellaneous Acts – Limited emancipation by authentic act

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Miscellaneous Acts – Limited emancipation by authentic act

Art. 368. Limited emancipation by authentic act. An authentic act of limited emancipation confers upon a minor age sixteen or older the capacity to make the kinds of juridical acts specified therein unless otherwise provided by law. The act shall be executed by the minor, and by the parents of the minor, if parental authority exists, or by the tutor of the minor, if parental authority does not exist. All other effects of minority shall continue.

Art. 2318. Acts of a minor. The father and the mother are responsible for the damage occasioned by their minor child who resides with them or who has been placed by them under the care of other persons, reserving to them recourse against those persons. However, the father and mother are not responsible for the damage. occasioned by their minor child who has been emancipated by marriage, by judgment of full emancipation, or by judgment of limited emancipation that expressly relieves the parents of liability for damages occasioned by their minor child. The same responsibility attaches to the tutors of minors.