Table of Contents

SECTION III – OF PARAPHERNALIA OR EXTRA DOTAL EFFECTS

Art. 56. All the effects of the wife which have not been settled on her as a dowry are paraphernal.

Art. 57. If all the effects of the wife are paraphernal, and if there be no convention in the marriage contract, that she shall support a part of the charges of matrimony, the wife shall contribute to the same as far as one third of her income.

Art. 58. The wife has the administration and the enjoyment of her paraphernal effects.
But she can neither alienate the same, nor appear in court of justice concerning said effects, without the authorisation of the husband, or if he should not give it, without the authorisation of the judge.

Art. 59. The wife may give a letter of attorney to her husband as well as to any other person, to administer on its paraphernal effects, and in this her husband shall be bound towards her as any other attorney in fact.

Art. 60. If the husband has enjoyed the paraphernal effects of his wife, without a letter of attorney, but without opposition on her part, he is bound at the time of the dissolution of the marriage, or on the first demand of the wife only to account for the existing profits and he is not accountable for such as have been previously consumed.

Art. 61. If the husband has enjoyed the paraphernal effects, the administration and enjoyment of which the wife has kept to herself, notwithstanding the manifest opposition of the wife, he is answerable to her for the profits both such as are now existing, and such as have been already used.

Art. 62. The husband who enjoys the paraphernal effects is bound by all the obligations of an usufructuary, and his estate is tacitly mortgaged from the day on which he commenced to enjoy, for surety of the performance of his said obligations.

 

SECTION IV – OF THE PARTNERSHIP OR COMMUNITY OF ACQUESTS OR GAINS

Art. 63. Every marriage contracted within this territory, superinduces of right, partnership or community of acquests or gains.
This community or partnership of gains takes place whether there be a marriage contract between the parties or not, and although in case there be one, said contract be entirely silent on this partnership or community.

Art. 64. This partnership or community consists of the profits of all the effects of which the husband has the administration and enjoyment; of the produce of the reciprocal labor and industry of both husband and wife; and of the estates which they may acquire during the marriage either by donations made jointly to them both, or by purchase, or in any other similar way, even although the purchase be only in the name of one of the two and not of both, because in that case the period of time when the purchase was made is alone attended to and not the person who made the purchase.

Art. 65. In the same manner the debts contracted during the marriage enter into the said partnership or community of gains; and must be acquitted out of the common funds, whilst the debts of both husband and wife anterior to the marriage, must be acquitted out of their own personal and individual effects.

Art. 66. The husband is the head and master of the partnership or community of gains; he administers said effects; disposes of the revenues which they produce, and may sell and even give away the same without the consent and permission of his wife, because she has no sort of right in them until her husband be dead.
But if it should be proved that the husband has sold said estate or otherwise disposed of the same by fraud to injure his wife, she may have her action against the heirs of her husband, in support of her claim of one half of said estate, on her satisfactorily proving the fraud.

Art. 67. At the time of the dissolution of the marriage, all effects which both husband and wife reciprocally possess, are presumed common effects or gains, unless they satisfactorily prove which of said effects they brought in marriage or have been given them separately or they have respectively inherited.

Art. 68. The effects which compose the partnership or community of gains are divided into two equal portions between the husband and the wife, or between their heirs, at the dissolution of the marriage, and it is the same with respect to the profits arising from the effects which both husband and wife brought reciprocally in marriage, although what has been thus brought in marriage by either the husband or the wife be more considerable than what has been brought by the other, or even although one of the two did not bring any thing at all.

Art. 69. The fruits hanging by the roots on the hereditary or proper lands of either the husband or the wife at the time of the dissolution of the irmarage, are equally divided between husband and wife or their heirs.
It is the same with respect to the young of cattle yet in gestation; but the fruits of the paraphernal effects of which the wife reserved to herself the enjoyment are excepted from the rule contained in this article.

Art. 70. When the hereditary property of either the husband or the wife has been increased or improved during the marriage, the other spouse or his or her heirs, shall be entitled to the reward of one half of the value of said increase, or meliorations, if it be proved that said increase or melioration be the result of the common labor, expences or industry; but there shall be no reward due, if it be proved that the increase is due only to the ordinary course of things, to the rise in the value of property, or to the chances of trade.

Art. 71. It is understood that in the partition of the effects of the partnership or community of gains, both husband and wife are to be equally liable for their share of the debts contracted during the marriage, and not acquitted at the time of its dissolution.

Art. 72. Both the wife and her heirs or assigns have the privilege of being able to exonerate themselves from the debts contracted during the marriage by renouncing the partnership or community of gains.

Art. 73. The wife who renounces, loses every sort of right to the effects of the partnership or community of gains.
But she takes back all her effects whether dotal, extra dotal, hereditary or proper.

Art. 74. The wife who took an active concern in the effects of the community, cannot renounce the same.
Acts which are simply administrative or conservatory, do not come here under the denomination of active concern.

Art. 75. The surviving wife who wishes to preserve the faculty of renouncing the partnership or community of gains, is bound within three months from the day of the death of her husband, or from the day when his death was known to her, to cause to be made a true and faithful inventory of all the effects of the said partnership or community by a notary duly authorised to that effect by the parish judge and contradictorily with the heirs of the husband or their representatives, or after they have been duly summoned.
This inventory when completed must be sworn by her to be true and faithful, before the public officer who shall have executed the same.

Art. 76. Within three months and forty days from the death of the husband or from the first knowledge of said death, the wife is to make her renunciation before a notary public and two witnesses.

Art. 77. The widow may, according to circumstances, petition the judge of the parish of her domicil for a prolongation of the term prescribed by the preceding article for her renunciation. This prerogation is, if necessary, allowed by the judge after his having heard in opposition the heirs of the husband, or after they have been duly called.

Art. 78. The widow who has made no renunciation within the term above prescribed, has not forfeited the right of renouncing, if she has not taken an active concern, and if she has made an inventory.— Only she may be sued as concerned in common, until she does renounce, and she shall pay the costs of the suit against her until she renounced.
She may likewise be sued after the expiration of the forty days since the inventory was closed, if it was closed before the end of the three months.

Art. 79. The widow who has concealed or made away with any of the effects of the partnership, or community of gains, is declared to be concerned in common, notwithstanding her renunciation — it is the same with respect to her heirs.

Art. 80. If the widow dies before the expiration of the three months, without having made or closed the inventory, the heirs shall be allowed, for the purpose of making or closing the inventory, another term of three months to begin from the day of the death of the widow, and of forty days more to deliberate, after the inventory shall have been closed.
If the widow dies after the inventory was closed, her heirs shall be allowed to deliberate another term of forty days to begin from her death.
They may however renounce the partnership or community of gains, according to the forms above established and the 75 and 76 articles of this title are applicable to them.

Art. 81. The wife separated from bed and board, who has not, within the three months and forty days after the separation finally pronounced, accepted the community, is supposed to have renounced the same, unless being still within the term, she has obtained a prorogation from the judge, after the husband was heard, or after he was duly summoned.
The acceptance of the partnership or community of gains, shall be made in the same form as is above prescribed for the renunciation of the same.

Art. 82. The creditors of the wife may attack the renunciation which may have been made by her or by her heirs, with a view to defraud her creditors, and accept the community of gains in their own names.

Art. 83. The widow, whether she accept or renounce, has a right during the three months and forty days which are granted to her to make an inventory and deliberate, to receive her maintenance and that of her servants out of the provisions in store, and if there be none, she has a right to borrow on account of the common stock, on the condition however of using the privilege with moderation.
She owes no rent for the residence she may have made during the said term, in a house appertaining to the community or belonging to the heirs of the husband, and if the house which both husband and wife did inhabit at the time of the dissolution of the marriage, was rented by them, the wife shall not contribute during the same term, to the payment of the said rent, which shall be taken out of what belongs to the whole.

Art. 84. In case of the dissolution of the marriage by the death of the wife, her heirs may renounce the partnership or community of gains, within the term and according to the forms which the law prescribes to the surviving wife.

Art. 85. The effect of the renunciation made according to the forms above prescribed, is to discharge the wife or her heirs from all contribution to the debts contracted during the marriage, respecting both the husband and the creditors.
She nevertheless remains bound towards these creditors, when she has obligated herself jointly with her husband, or when the debt which became a debt of the community of gains originated with her, saving to her in either case her action against the husband or his heirs.




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