The legal mortgage provided in Article 4134 may be subordinated to a conventional mortgage or other security to be given on the property of the tutor, provided such subordination is authorized by the court after proof that such would be to the best interest of the minor and provided the concurrence of the undertutor is first obtained.
Art. 4137.Subordination of Legal Mortgage to Conventional Mortgage
Book VII. Special Proceedings · Title VI. Tutorship · Chapter 4. Security of Tutor · Enacted 1980 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 4137 lets the legal mortgage described in Article 4134 be subordinated to a conventional mortgage or other security on the tutor's property, but only if the court authorizes it after proof that doing so serves the minor's best interest and the undertutor concurs in the subordination.
Full Text of Art. 4137
Amendment History
Added by Acts 1980, No. 389, §1.
Plain-English Summary
A natural tutor's legal mortgage under Article 4134 attaches automatically to all of the tutor's immovable property in the parishes where the certificate is recorded, which can complicate the tutor's own ability to borrow against that property, such as refinancing a home. Article 4137 gives a way through that obstacle without stripping the minor of protection.
Subordination means the minor's legal mortgage steps back behind a new conventional mortgage or other security in priority, rather than being released outright. The tutor's property remains encumbered in the minor's favor, but the new lender's claim would come first if both were ever enforced.
Two safeguards keep this from becoming a way to quietly weaken the minor's protection. The court has to authorize the subordination, and only after proof that doing so serves the minor's best interest, not merely the tutor's convenience. And the undertutor, the official whose entire role is to watch over how the tutor handles the minor's interests, has to concur before the subordination can happen. Between the court's best-interest finding and the undertutor's independent sign-off, the minor's legal mortgage cannot be pushed aside on the tutor's say-so alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a natural tutor's property be freed up for a new mortgage while the legal mortgage is in place?
Not freed up outright, but Article 4137 lets the legal mortgage be subordinated to a new conventional mortgage or other security, so the tutor can borrow against the property while the minor's mortgage remains in place at a lower priority.
What does subordinating the legal mortgage mean for the minor's protection?
The minor's legal mortgage stays in effect but ranks behind the new conventional mortgage in priority; it is not eliminated.
Who has to approve a subordination of the legal mortgage under Article 4134?
The court, after proof that the subordination would serve the minor's best interest, and the undertutor, who must concur before it can happen.
Why does the undertutor have to concur in the subordination?
Because the undertutor exists specifically to watch over the tutor's handling of the minor's interests, providing an independent check before the minor's automatic protection is placed behind another lender's claim.
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
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