Art. 4570.Cause of Action For Visitation With the Interdict

Interdiction is meant to protect a person's affairs, not to sever the relationships in that person's life. Article 4566(J) already requires a curator to allow beneficial contact between the interdict and the people close to them, but that duty is only as good as the enforcement behind it. Article 4570 supplies that enforcement directly: a distinctive, humane provision giving the people denied contact their own cause of action, rather than leaving them to wait on someone else to move for the curator's removal.

The class of people who can bring this action is deliberately broad. It reaches any relative of the interdict by blood, adoption, or affinity within the third degree, and anyone else whose relationship with the interdict is based on or productive of strong affection -- language built to reach a stepparent, a longtime partner, or a close friend, not just those who fit a formal family label. The right applies for any interdict over the age of eighteen.

Procedurally, the action proceeds by rule to show cause, the same summary-proceeding format used elsewhere in interdiction practice, and the person bringing it can request an expedited hearing. Article 4570 requires that request to be granted upon a showing of good cause, and it specifically identifies one circumstance that qualifies: a showing that the interdict suffers from an illness or condition making it unlikely the interdict will survive beyond six months, reflecting how urgent a visitation dispute becomes when time is short.