A. Notwithstanding Article 4061, the natural tutor of a minor child may file an action for damages based on a delictual obligation without the necessity of qualifying as tutor pursuant to Article 4061 and without the necessity of filing a petition pursuant to Article 4031, if the natural tutor is any of the following:
Art. 4061.1.Natural Tutor; Action For Damages On Behalf of Child
Book VII. Special Proceedings · Title VI. Tutorship · Chapter 2. Appointment of Particular Tutors · Last amended 2004 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 4061.1 lets certain natural tutors — a surviving parent, a parent with sole custody, or an unwed mother whose child's father has not jointly acknowledged the child — file a tort damages suit on the minor's behalf without first formally qualifying as tutor or filing a separate tutorship petition.
Full Text of Art. 4061.1
(1) The surviving parent of the minor child.
(2) The parent under whose sole care the minor child has been placed when the parents are divorced or judicially separated from bed and board.
(3) The mother of her child born outside of marriage not acknowledged by the father, or acknowledged by him alone without her concurrence. B. The petitioner in an action for damages based on a delictual obligation shall allege in the petition that he qualifies under Paragraph A of this Article to act of right as tutor, and the petitioner shall set forth the facts, including the relationship to the minor child, entitling the petitioner to act as tutor. C. This Article shall not apply to parents who share joint custody of the minor child or to parents who have both acknowledged their child born outside of marriage pursuant to the Civil Code.
Amendment History
Acts 2003, No. 155, §1; Acts 2004, No. 26, §2.
Plain-English Summary
Qualifying as tutor under Article 4061 takes time: an oath, an inventory or descriptive list, and security or a legal mortgage. A parent who needs to file suit quickly on a child's behalf, before a prescriptive period runs out on a personal injury claim, should not have to complete every one of those formalities first. Article 4061.1 supplies the shortcut.
Three categories of natural tutor qualify: the surviving parent of the child; the parent under whose sole care the child has been placed when the parents are divorced or judicially separated from bed and board; and the mother of a child born outside marriage, when the father has not acknowledged the child, or has acknowledged the child without the mother's concurrence. Any of these three may file a delictual damages action for the child without qualifying under Article 4061 and without filing the petition Article 4031 would otherwise require.
The petition still has to do some work. It must allege that the parent qualifies under one of the three categories and set out the facts, including the parent's relationship to the child, supporting that claim. And the shortcut has real limits: it does not apply where the parents share joint custody, or where both parents have acknowledged a child born outside marriage, situations where more than one parent may have a stake in how the child's claim is pursued.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a parent sue on a child's behalf without first qualifying as tutor?
What has to be in the petition to use this shortcut?
An allegation that the parent qualifies under one of Article 4061.1's three categories, along with the facts, including the parent's relationship to the child, that support it.
Does this shortcut apply when parents share joint custody?
No. Article 4061.1 does not apply to parents who share joint custody of the minor child.
Does it apply if both parents acknowledged a child born outside marriage?
No. The shortcut is also unavailable where both parents have acknowledged their child born outside of marriage under the Civil Code.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: natural tutor lawsuit without qualifyingArticle 4061.1 Louisianaparent sue on behalf of child Louisianadelictual action minor child Louisianaunwed mother sue for child Louisiana