In some indigenous cultures, usufruct means the land is owned in common by the people, but families and individuals have the right to use certain plots of land. Land is considered village or communal land rather than owned by individual people. While people can take fruits of the land, they may not sell or abuse it in ways that stop future use of the land by the community. The term may also refer simply to the right to enjoy or use something. This article focuses on the meaning of the term when it refers to somebody’s right to use another person’s property. Usufruct is only recognized in a few jurisdictions in North America, such as Louisiana.

1. An usufruct is either granted in severalty or held in common ownership, as long as the property is not damaged or destroyed.
2. The usufructuary of woodland may enjoy all the benefits which it may produce according to its nature.
3. Usufruct is the right to use and benefit from a property, while the ownership of which belongs to another person.
4. As an example, if a party has a usufruct in a real estate property, they have the full right to use it or rent it out and collect the rental income without sharing it with the actual owner, as long as the usufruct is in effect.
5. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘usufructuary.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

For example, Bert has been granted usufruct over Helen’s property. Helen’s property is a bed-and-breakfast with a large yard that needs tending. Helen is in ill health and can no longer tend to the property and run the business.

As an example, if a party has a usufruct in a real estate property, they have the full right to use it or rent it out and collect the rental income without sharing it with the actual owner, as long as the usufruct is in effect. The usufructuary never became the full owner of the property. However, they had an interest in the property itself for either some years or a lifetime. If somebody in Louisiana has a usufruct in a property, they have the legal right to use it.

In modern civil law, the usufruct is divided into perfect usufruct and imperfect usufruct or quasi-usufruct, depending on whether the property is subject to depletion. For perfect usufruct, the property is used without changing its nature. In the latter, usufruct meaning the property cannot be used without being consumed, such as money, food, etc., and the usufructuary shall deliver to the owner at the end of the usufruct the same value or the same quantity and quality as at the beginning of the usufruct.

How a Usufruct Works

Usufruct comes from civil law, under which it is a subordinate real right (ius in re aliena) of limited duration, usually for a person’s lifetime. The holder of a usufruct, known as a usufructuary, has the right to use (usus) the property and enjoy its fruits https://1investing.in/ (fructus). In modern terms, fructus more or less corresponds to the profit one may make, as when selling the “fruits” (in both literal and figurative senses) of the land or leasing a house. Modern civil-law systems recognize two types of usufructs.

Usufructuary mortgages align with India’s diverse economic landscape, facilitating financial access for those with immovable assets. The Indian legal system recognizes and regulates these transactions, emphasizing the nuanced role this mortgage type plays in fostering economic activities, especially in rural settings. This simplifies handling household items since the surviving spouse is free to maintain, replace or dispose of them as he/she wishes during his/her lifetime, with the monetary value of the items going to the children.

DUTY TO MAKE ORDINARY REPAIRS

The third civilian property interest is abusus (literally abuse), the right to alienate the thing possessed, either by consuming or destroying it (e.g., for profit), or by transferring it to someone else (e.g., sale, exchange, gift). Whenever a usufruct is constituted on the right to receive a rent or periodical pension, whether in money or in fruits, or in the interest on bonds or securities payable to bearer, each payment due shall be considered as the proceeds or fruits of such right. Whenever it consists in the enjoyment of benefits accruing from a participation in any industrial or commercial enterprise, the date of the distribution of which is not fixed, such benefits shall have the same character. Thomas Jefferson said, “The earth belongs in usufruct to the living.” He apparently understood that when you hold something in usufruct, you gain something of significant value, but only temporarily. The gains granted by usufruct can be clearly seen in the Latin phrase from which the word developed, usus et fructus, which means “use and enjoyment.” Latin speakers condensed that phrase to ususfructus, the term English speakers used as the model for our modern word.

Under French law an indefeasible portion known as the forced estate passes to the deceased’s surviving spouse and issue (with shares apportioned according to the number of children), with the rest of the estate – the free estate – free to dispose of by will. However, the surviving spouse may elect to distribute the forced estate as is, or convert it into a usufruct, or break up the estate into a distributable portion and a usufruct good for the children’s lifetime. If a usufruct is chosen, a value is set for the usufruct interest for inheritance tax purposes and payable by the surviving spouse, on a sliding scale according to his/her age. Fruits refers to any renewable commodity on the property, including (among others) actual fruits, livestock and even rental payments derived from the property.

RIGHTS WITH REFERENCE TO THE THING ITSELF

While the usufructuary has the right to use the property, they cannot damage or destroy it or dispose of the property. A usufructuary does not have full ownership of the property, because they do not enjoy the third property right, abusus, which refers to the right to consume, destroy, or transfer ownership of the property to someone else. A usufruct combines the two property rights of usus and fructus. A usufruct is a legal right accorded to a person or party that confers the temporary right to use and derive income or benefit from someone else’s property. It is a limited real right that can be found in many mixed and civil law jurisdictions. A usufructuary is the person holding the property by usufruct.

OBLIGATION RE: INVENTORY AND THE SECURITY

And see Mulford v. Le Franc, 26 Cal. 102; Cartwright v. Cart- wright, 18 Tex. 62S; Strausse v. Sheriff, 43 La. Usufructuary mortgage in the Indian market denotes a unique property financing arrangement where the mortgagor surrenders possession to the mortgagee, explicitly or implicitly. This distinctive mortgage type intertwines property ownership & loan repayment, granting the mortgagee the right to utilize and derive income from the property. Commonly employed in agricultural sectors, this arrangement aids farmers who may lack liquidity but possess valuable land assets.

Dictionary Entries Near usufruct

Under Roman Law, usufruct was a kind of personal servitude, which people at the time referred to as servitutes personarum. According to Scots Law, a liferent is the right to receive the benefits of a property. However, the person does not have the right to dispose of it.

He also tells us why and how the law in Louisiana is different from the rest of the country. Only a few jurisdictions in the United States recognize usufruct. In this context, jurisdiction refers to the power of a court or legal system over a geographical area. It was one person’s beneficial right in somebody’s else’s property.

The quasi-, or imperfect, usufruct includes property that is consumable or expendable, such as money, agricultural products, and the like, which would be of no advantage to the usufructuary if he could not consume them, expend them, or change their substance. Under Roman law, usufruct was a type of personal servitude (servitutes personarum), a beneficial right in another’s property. The usufructuary never had possession of this property (on the basis that if he possessed at all, he did so through the owner), but he did have an interest in the property itself for a period, either a term of years, or a lifetime. Unlike the owner, the usufructuary did not have a right of alienation (abusus), but he could sell or lease his usufructuary interest. Even though a usufructuary did not have possessory title, he could sue for relief in the form of a modified possessory interdict (prohibiting order). An usufruct is either granted in severalty or held in common ownership, as long as the property is not damaged or destroyed.

In some usufructory property systems, people or groups may only acquire the right to use the property. The ejido system in Mexico, for example, uses this system. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.

These may be divided into civil (fructus civiles), industrial (fructus industriales), and natural fruits (fructus naturales), the latter of which, in Roman law, included slaves and livestock. This article contains general legal information but does not constitute professional legal advice for your particular situation. The Law Dictionary is not a law firm, and this page does not create an attorney-client or legal adviser relationship. If you have specific questions, please consult a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

Bert, as the usufructuary, has the right to use the property and run the business on Helen’s behalf for the time the usufruct is in effect. The usufruct may be in effect until Helen’s death when the estate will be settled and the property will be passed on per act of law or the directions in the estate. A liferent, by which a usufruct is known in Scots law, is the right to receive for life the benefits of a property or other asset, without the right to dispose of the property or asset. An individual who enjoys this right is called a liferenter.

The owner of a property burdened by a usufruct is called the fiar and right of ownership is known as the fee. A usufruct is the right to use and enjoy a property that belongs to someone else. It is the legal right, for example, to derive income from another person’s property. However, the term does not include destroying the property. The person making use of the property must not damage it in any way.