What are the duties of the naked ownership to the usufruct after a judment of possession?
Full Question:
Answer:
The meaning of the term "usufruct" is the right of enjoying a thing, the property of which is vested in another, and to draw from the same all the profit, utility, and advantage that it may produce, provided it be without altering the substance of the thing. The person who has the right and enjoyment of a usufruct is known as a "usufructuary." The naked owner still owns the property, but someone else has the right to use the property under whatever terms usufruct provides.
The usufructuary must also take good care of the property involved. The usufructuary must pay all taxes and/or claims that arise during the usufruct, unless otherwise altered by contract. Also, the usufructuary must make any ordinary repairs at his or her own expense.
Whether the consent of other owners is required to sell property depends on the nature of the tenancy, according to the language of the deed. If the tenants are stated to be joint tenants, all joint tenants must sign the deed to transfer the property. However, tenants in common may transfer their interest in the property without the consent of the other owners.
The following are LA statutes:
Art. 535. Usufruct.
Usufruct is a real right of limited duration on the property of another. The features of the right vary with the nature of the things subject to it as consumables or nonconsumables.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 538. Usufruct of consumable things.
If the things subject to the usufruct are consumables, the usufructuary becomes owner of them. He may consume, alienate, or encumber them as he sees fit. At the termination of the usufruct he is bound to pay to the naked owner either the value that the things had at the commencement of the usufruct or deliver to him things of the same quantity and quality.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 539. Usufruct of nonconsumable things.
If the things subject to the usufruct are nonconsumables, the usufructuary has the right to possess them and to derive the utility, profits, and advantages that they may produce, under the obligation of preserving their substance.
He is bound to use them as a prudent administrator and to deliver them to the naked owner at the termination of the usufruct.
Art. 542. Divisibility of naked ownership.
The naked ownership may be partitioned subject to the rights of the usufructuary.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 543. Partition of the property in kind or by licitation
When property is held in indivision, a person having a share in full ownership may demand partition of the property in kind or by licitation, even though there may be other shares in naked ownership and usufruct.
A person having a share in naked ownership only or in usufruct only does not have this right, unless a naked owner of an undivided share and a usufructuary of that share jointly demand partition in kind or by licitation, in which event their combined shares shall be deemed to constitute a share in full ownership.
Acts 1983, No. 535, §1.
Art. 545. Modifications of usufruct.
Usufruct may be established for a term or under a condition, and subject to any modification consistent with the nature of usufruct.
The rights and obligations of the usufructuary and of the naked owner may be modified by agreement unless modification is prohibited by law or by the grantor in the act establishing the usufruct.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 558. Improvements and alterations.
The usufructuary may make improvements and alterations on the property subject to the usufruct at his cost and with the written consent of the naked owner. If the naked owner fails or refuses to give his consent, the usufructuary may, after notice to the naked owner and with the approval of the proper court, make at his cost those improvements and alterations that a prudent administrator would make.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 568. Disposition of nonconsumable things; payment of tax
The usufructuary does not have the right to dispose of nonconsumable things unless the right has been expressly granted to him. Nevertheless, he may dispose of corporeal movables that are gradually and substantially impaired by use, wear, or decay, such as equipment, appliances, and vehicles, provided that he acts as a prudent administrator. Upon disposition, the usufruct is converted into a usufruct of money, and the usufructuary is bound to pay to the naked owner at the end of the usufruct the value that the things had at the time of disposition.
When the usufructuary who has been expressly granted the right to dispose of nonconsumable things sells property subject to usufruct, and there is any tax owed as a result of the sale, the tax shall be paid from the proceeds of the sale.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1; Acts 1986, No. 203, §1.
Art. 569. Restoration of things gradually impaired.
If the usufructuary has not disposed of corporeal movables that are by their nature impaired by use, wear, or decay, he is bound to restore them to the owner in the state in which they may be at the end of the usufruct.
The usufructuary is relieved of this obligation if the things are entirely worn out by normal use, wear, or decay.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 570. Inventory.
The usufructuary shall cause an inventory to be made of the property subject to the usufruct. In the absence of an inventory the naked owner may prevent the usufructuary's entry into possession of the property.
The inventory shall be made in accordance with the rules established in Articles 3131 through 3137 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 577. Liability for repairs.
The usufructuary is responsible for ordinary maintenance and repairs for keeping the property subject to the usufruct in good order, whether the need for these repairs arises from accident, from the normal use of the things, or from his fault or neglect.
The naked owner is responsible for extraordinary repairs, unless they have become necessary as a result of the usufructuary's fault or neglect in which case the usufructuary is bound to make them at his cost.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1. Amended by Acts 1979, No. 157, §1.
Art. 578. Ordinary and extraordinary repairs.
Extraordinary repairs are those for the reconstruction of the whole or of a substantial part of the property subject to the usufruct. All others are ordinary repairs.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 579. Rights of action for repairs.
During the existence of the usufruct, the naked owner may compel the usufructuary to make the repairs for which the usufructuary is responsible.
The usufructuary may not compel the naked owner to make the extraordinary repairs for which the owner is responsible. If the naked owner refuses to make them, the usufructuary may do so, and he shall be reimbursed without interest by the naked owner at the end of the usufruct.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 580. Reimbursement for necessary repairs.
If, after the usufruct commences and before the usufructuary is put in possession, the naked owner incurs necessary expenses or makes repairs for which the usufructuary is responsible, he has the right to claim the cost thereof from the usufructuary and may retain the possession of the things subject to the usufruct until he is paid.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1
Art. 581. Liability for necessary expenses.
The usufructuary is answerable for all expenses that became necessary for the preservation and use of the property after the commencement of the usufruct.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 583. Ruin from accident or decay.
Neither the usufructuary nor the naked owner is bound to restore property that has been totally destroyed through accident or because of age.
If the naked owner elects to restore the property or to make extraordinary repairs, he must do so within reasonable time and in the manner least inconvenient and onerous for the usufructuary.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 584. Annual charges.
The usufructuary is bound to pay the annual charges imposed during his enjoyment on the property subject to the usufruct, such as property taxes.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.
Art. 585. Extraordinary charges.
The usufructuary is bound to pay the extraordinary charges that may be imposed, during the existence of the usufruct, on the property subject to it. If these charges are of a nature to augment the value of the property subject to the usufruct, the naked owner shall reimburse the usufructuary at the end of the usufruct only for the capital expended.
Acts 1976, No. 103, §1.