Louisiana Notary

A Civil Law Tradition

Civil Law Basics

Conveyance and Mortgage of Immovables – Vendor’s privilege

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Conveyance and Mortgage of Immovables – Vendor’s privilege

Art. 3249. Special privileges on immovables. Creditors who have a privilege on immovables, are: 1. The vendor on the estate by him sold, for the payment of the price or so much of it as is unpaid, whether it was sold on or without a credit.

Art. 3250. Extent of vendor’s privilege. The privilege granted to the vendor on the immovable sold by him, extends to the beasts and agricultural implements attached to the estate, and which made part of the sale.

Art. 3251. Successive sales, preference among vendors. If there are several successive sales, on which the price is due wholly or in part, the first vendor is preferred to the second, the second to the third, and so throughout and as provided by Article 3186, and assuming timely recordation as provided in Article 3274, each such vendor is preferred to the previously recorded mortgages of his vendees and their successors.

Art. 3271. Vendor’s privilege on immovables, recordation. The vendor of an immovable only preserves his privilege on the object, when he has caused to be duly recorded at the office for recording mortgages, his act of sale, in the manner directed hereafter, whatever may be the amount due to him on the sale.

Art. 3273. Recordation, effect against third persons. Privileges are valid against third persons, from the date of the recording of the act or evidence of indebtedness as provided by law.

Art. 3274. Time and place of recordation; effectiveness. No privilege shall have effect against third persons, unless recorded in the manner required by law in the parish where the property to be affected is situated. It shall confer no preference on the creditor who holds it, over creditors who have acquired a mortgage, unless the act or other evidence of the debt is recorded within seven days from the date of the act or obligation of indebtedness when the registry is required to be made in the parish where the act was passed or the indebtedness originated and within fifteen days, if the registry is required to be made in any other parish of this State. It shall, however, have effect against all parties from date of registry.

Oaths – Oath of office

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Oaths – Oath of office

Constitution §30. Oath of Office. Every official shall take the following oath or affirmation: “I, . . ., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution and laws of the United States and the constitution and laws of this state and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as. . ., according to the best of my ability and understanding, so help me God.”

R.S. 42:161. Public officers to take constitutional oath. All public officers shall take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation required by Article X, Section 30 of the constitution before acting in their respective offices.

R.S. 42:162. Administration and recordation of oath or affirmation. A .The oath or affirmation of all officers of the state may be administered by the governor, any judge, justice of the peace, notary public, or clerk of court. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection B of this Section, the oath or affirmation shall be subscribed to by the party taking it, and certified in his commission by the person administering it and shall be deposited in the office of the secretary of state and recorded by him. The oath or affirmation of all parish officers shall also be recorded in the clerk of court’s office of the parish where the same may have been administered, to be recorded by the clerk of court in a book kept for that purpose.

B. For members of each house of the legislature who take the oath or affirmation at the organizational session of the legislature as provided in Article III, Section 2(D) of the Constitution of Louisiana, the clerical officer of each house of the legislature shall deposit in the office of the secretary of state a certified journal entry of the proceedings of that house which reflects the taking of the oath of office as provided in the constitution. The secretary of state shall record each certified journal entry in the same manner the oaths or affirmations received pursuant to Subsection A of this Section are recorded. For the members of the legislature who took the oath of office at the organizational session of the legislature, the certified journal entry shall fulfill the requirements of this Part to take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation.

C. The oath or affirmation shall be deposited for recordation within one month after the same shall have been administered. A certified journal entry submitted pursuant to Subsection B of this Section shall be deposited for recordation no later than one month following the organizational session of the legislature.

Juridical Acts – Exemptions from requirements for registry

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Juridical Acts – Exemptions from requirements for registry

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 mort­gage 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.

Juridical Acts – Spouse as witness may be barred from contravening certain acts

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Juridical Acts – Spouse as witness may be barred from contravening certain acts

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.

Juridical Acts – Legatees and spouses of legatees

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Juridical Acts – Legatees and spouses of legatees

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.

Juridical Acts – Witnesses

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Juridical Acts – Witnesses

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.

Juridical Acts – Electronic signatures

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Juridical Acts – Electronic signatures

§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.

Juridical Acts – Capacity

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Juridical Acts – Capacity

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.