Art. 4432.Possession Or Removal of Property From State

Appearing in a Louisiana court to look after a minor's Louisiana property, as Article 4431 allows, is one thing; physically taking possession of that property or moving it out of the state is another, with its own risks for anyone in Louisiana who might have a claim against the minor. Article 4432 sets the conditions for that further step.

The foreign tutor or guardian must file a petition for authority to take possession of, or remove, the minor's property in the court of the parish where the property, or any part of it, is situated. The court can only grant that authority if two things appear in the petition. First, the petition has to allege either that there are no Louisiana creditors of the minor, or that every known Louisiana creditor has already been paid, protecting local creditors from having the minor's assets pulled out of reach before their claims are addressed. Second, the petition has to attach an irrevocable power of attorney appointing a Louisiana resident to receive service of process for any future action brought in Louisiana against the minor or against the minor's Louisiana property.

Together, those two requirements let the property leave Louisiana's courts' immediate reach while still leaving a functioning way for Louisiana creditors and claimants to bring an action and get the minor properly served, even after the property itself is gone.