VOCABULARY FOR LOUISIANA NOTARIAL LAW AND PRACTICE STUDY GUIDE 2026

Efficacy

effective

Escheat

power of the government to take the title to property left by a person who has died without leaving a will or qualified heirs or has abandoned the property

Estate

the property, obligations, and rights that a person leaves after his death when used with reference to servitudes an estate is a distinct corporeal immovable

ex parte

from or on one side of a dispute; without notice to or the presence of the other party

Executory Process

proceeding in court where holder of mortgage containing

confession of judgment may obtain an ex parte seizure and sale of mortgaged property without ordinary delays required by law

Executrix

the female gender of the word executor-person named in will to execute the wishes of the testator

Expressly

clearly and distinctly stated in precise terms

Expropriated

private property taken by the state for public use

Family

signifies father, mother, and children; depending on the subject can include all individuals who live under the authority of another, including servants; the term is also used to include relations that descend from a common root

Fortuitous event

an event that at the time the contract was made could not have been reasonably foreseen

Good Faith

if a party has no knowledge of or has no reasonable basis for questioning the validity of a transaction

Gratuitous Contract

one party obligates himself towards another for the benefit of the latter without obtaining any advantage in return

Heirs

successors of a decedent when there is no will

Heritable

capable of being transferred by voluntary action or succession; not strictly personal

Heritable Obligation

when the performance of a contract may be enforced by a

successor of the obligee or against the successor of the obligor

Holder in Due Course

holds a promissory note; the lender

Homestead Exemption

exemption from liability that prevents creditors from

obtaining satisfaction from immovable property which the debtor resides in as his primary domicile; also lowers the property tax on the property

Immovable

Land and its improvements thereon

in vitro

human embryo

in indivision

a state of undivided wholeness: state of being owned by two or more co-owners each having an undivided interest in the property as a whole

Incorporeal

things that do not have a body and cannot be touched or felt

Injunctive

a judicial process or order requiring the person or persons to whom itis directed to do a particular act or to refrain from doing a particular act

Innominate Contract

no special designation or name

Interdicted

when a person has been declared by a court of law to be incapable of either caring for himself or administering his estate even though at times he appears to be perfectly normal

Interdiction

judicial proceeding whereby a curator is appointed for an adult or emancipated minor who, due to infirmity, is unable to make reasoned decisions regarding his person or property or both

Interdicts

person above age of majority who is declared by a court to be incapable of either caring for his own person or administering his estate, or both, although he may at times appear to have possession of his reason

Judgment

the determination of rights of the parties in an action before a court

Judicial Mortgage

arises from a judgment

Juridical Act

a lawful volitional act intended to have legal consequences;

unilateral or bilateral; onerous or gratuitous

Juridical Person

a legal entity, such as a corporation; an entity to which the

law attributes legal personality; can be sued separate from its owners - has legal personality

Jurisdiction

power to adjudicate or handle a particular kind of case

Jurisprudence:

not law; helps to interpret our law; persuasive interpretation;

highest standing as source of legal authority

Legal capacity

The ability to contract; not to be a minor and of sound mind and body

Legal Mortgage

arises by operation of law

Legatee

one named in a will to take personal property; one who has received a legacy or bequest; a testate successor; successor of a decedent when there is a will

Legitime

that portion of a descendant's estate that the law reserves to him by right, ex. forced heir portion

Lesion

lesion beyond moiety; sale of an immovable may be rescinded for lesion when price is less than ½ of fair market value; can be claimed only by seller in voluntary sales of corporeal immovables

Malfeasance

wrongful or unlawful conduct by a public official

Mandatary

person to whom a power of attorney has been given to act as attorney in fact for another

Mandate

Transaction in which a person confers authority on another i.e. power of attorney

Manifested

to show or illustrate clearly and plainly; revealed

Ministerial

Refers to acts performed by the notary as a service for a fee and not as a governmental function

Misfeasance

improper performance of a lawfully authorized official act

Mortgage

non-possessory real right created over property to secure the performance of an obligation

Mortgagee

person in whose favor the mortgage operates

Mortgagor

person granting the mortgage