Louisiana Civil Code - Persons, Things, Obligations, and Regimes
Louisiana Civil Code tests civilian concepts: persons, things, ownership, conventional obligations, successions, and matrimonial regimes. Answer with Code vocabulary rather than common-law labels.
Persons, things, and ownership
- Capacity and domicile determine personal status; minors and interdicted persons need representation.
- Ownership is direct and immediate; possession may lead to acquisitive prescription.
- Usufruct grants use and enjoyment while preserving the substance; predial servitudes burden one estate for another.
Obligations, successions, regimes
- A contract requires consent, capacity, cause, and object; error, fraud, and duress vitiate consent.
- Forced heirship protects certain descendants; legitime limits testamentary disposition.
- The default matrimonial regime is community property; separate property is acquired before marriage or by inheritance or donation. Matrimonial agreements require a writing.
Worked example
H and W marry without a matrimonial agreement. During marriage, H inherits land. The land remains H's separate property. If community labor increases its value, the community may be entitled to reimbursement for the enhanced value. On termination, the community is divided equally, but the inherited land is not part of it.
Traps
Do not apply common-law tenancy by the entirety. Do not assume all property acquired during marriage is community. Do not ignore writing requirements for matrimonial agreements and testaments.