property

Usufruct (Louisiana)

A personal servitude: a real right of limited duration on property owned by another (Civil Code art. 535). The usufructuary may use the property and take its fruits such as rents or crops, while the naked owner keeps the underlying ownership. When the usufruct ends, usually at the usufructuary's death or the end of a term, full ownership reunites in the naked owner. It is the closest Louisiana analog to a common-law life estate and often arises when a surviving spouse receives usufruct and children take naked ownership.