Art. 3997.Modification Or Termination of Emancipation

Article 3997 recognizes that an emancipation, once granted, is not permanent or beyond revisiting. It reaches two distinct sources of emancipated status: a judgment of emancipation obtained through the court proceeding this Title otherwise governs, and, separately, an act of limited emancipation made by authentic act. That second category acknowledges that Louisiana civil law also allows a form of limited emancipation to arise outside the courtroom, through a notarized authentic act, and Article 3997 makes clear that this Title's modification and termination procedure reaches that non-judicial form as well.

Standing to seek a change is broad. Article 3997 lets the court act on its own motion, without anyone filing a request, and it also lets any person move for modification or termination, not only the minor or the original petitioners. That breadth reflects an interest in the minor's status that extends beyond the parties who originally brought the emancipation case.

The standard for granting relief is good cause, the same threshold Article 3992 requires the original petition to establish. A court asked to modify or terminate an emancipation is measuring the request against a similar showing to what justified granting the emancipation in the first place.