Parental Authority: Rights, Duties, and Termination
Parental Authority
Parental authority is a protective institution for the benefit of children and is exercised by parents, encompassing both rights and obligations.
Characters of Parental Authority
Intransmissibility: Parental authority is non-transferable. While a parent can delegate specific rights, they cannot transfer the authority itself.
No Waiver: Parental authority cannot be waived, as it exists for the benefit of the child.
Imprescriptible: Lack of exercise may have consequences, but it does not extinguish parental authority.
Person Subject to Parental Authority
Marital Filiation: Children born within marriage are subject to parental authority unless emancipated or disabled. Disabled children may be subject to extended or rehabilitated authority.
Nonmarital Parentage: Children born outside of marriage are under the custody of the parent(s) who recognized them.
Adoption: Non-emancipated adopted children are subject to the custody of their adoptive parents.
Exercise of Parental Authority
Parental authority is a dual function, with each parent having authority over the child. In cases of disagreement, either parent can appeal to a judge. If the child is over 12 and has sufficient understanding, their opinion will be considered. If parents separate, the court decides custody arrangements in the best interests of the child, aiming to keep siblings together.
Powers and Duties of Parents
Parents have a duty to care for their children, providing support, companionship, nourishment, education, and comprehensive training. They also represent and manage their children’s property.
Legal Representation
Parents have legal representation of their unemancipated minor children. This representation includes legal and extrajudicial acts the child cannot perform themselves. Exceptions include acts involving personal rights, conflicts of interest between parent and child, and assets excluded from parental management.
Management of Children’s Assets
Both parents have equal responsibility for managing their children’s assets and must maintain an inventory and account for their management. This responsibility ends with the extinction of parental rights or for specific causes related to the administration. The right to demand accountability lapses after three years.
Exceptions to Parental Management
Exceptions to parental management include assets acquired gratuitously with explicit instructions regarding their administration, assets acquired by inheritance where the child’s parent(s) were disinherited or deemed unworthy, and assets acquired by a child over sixteen through their own work or industry (requiring parental consent for amounts exceeding their needs).
Deprivation, Recovery, and Termination of Parental Authority
Modes of Termination:
Absolute: Death of parent or child, emancipation, or reaching the age of majority.
Relative: Deprivation due to breach of duties, court ruling, adoption, or other legal causes.
Deprivation: Can be total or partial. Courts may grant recovery of parental authority if the cause for deprivation ceases.
Suspension: Temporary deprivation due to repeated disagreements, marriage annulment or separation, actions harming the child, or absence or disability.
Exclusion: Prevents the establishment of parental rights.
Extension and Rehabilitation of Parental Authority
Parental authority extends by law to incapacitated adult children. If an unmarried adult child living with their parents becomes incapacitated, parental authority is restored. Extended parental authority is subject to the provisions of the disability ruling.