Art. 4073.Functions, Duties, and Authority of Provisional Tutor

Being temporary does not mean a provisional tutor's authority is vague. Article 4073 draws clear boundaries around what a provisional tutor can and cannot do, and holds the office to the same standard of conduct as a permanent tutor within those boundaries.

The core function is protective rather than active: caring for the person of the minor and preserving the minor's rights and property. Within that scope, the provisional tutor carries the same authority, duties, and obligations as a tutor generally, so the accountability built into the rest of this Title applies with equal force to a provisional appointment.

Two more active powers require the appointing court's specific authorization rather than following automatically from the appointment: instituting and prosecuting an action to enforce a right belonging to the minor judicially, and operating a business that belongs to the minor. Requiring court sign-off before either step keeps a temporary tutor from taking on litigation or business risk beyond what the appointing court has approved.

When the provisional tutor's authority ends, the office does not close out quietly on its own. Article 4073 requires the provisional tutor to file an account, giving the court and, eventually, the permanent tutor a record of what was done and what became of the minor's property during the provisional period.