Legal Definitions - legal usufruct

Legal usufruct refers to a legal right, established by law rather than by a private agreement or will, that allows a person (known as the usufructuary) to use, enjoy, and derive income or benefits from property that belongs to another person (the naked owner).

Crucially, the usufructuary must preserve the substance of the property. This means they cannot destroy, sell, or fundamentally alter the property itself. The right to a legal usufruct is typically temporary, often lasting for the lifetime of the usufructuary or for a specified period, after which full ownership reverts to the naked owner.

Here are some examples illustrating legal usufruct:

• Example 1: Surviving Spouse's Rights

  In some civil law jurisdictions, when a person passes away, the surviving spouse might automatically receive a legal usufruct over certain assets of the deceased's estate, such as the family home or a portion of the inheritance. For instance, if a husband dies, the law might grant his widow the right to live in their shared home and collect rent from an inherited apartment building for the rest of her life. Their children would be the naked owners, meaning they legally own the properties, but they cannot sell them or take possession until their mother's usufruct ends (typically upon her death). The widow, as the usufructuary, must maintain the properties but cannot sell them or make significant structural changes without the children's consent.

• Example 2: Parental Usufruct Over Minor's Property

  Imagine a minor child inherits a substantial sum of money and a small commercial property from a grandparent. In many legal systems, the child's parents, by virtue of their parental authority, might have a legal usufruct over this inherited property. This means the law grants the parents the right to manage the commercial property, collect rental income, and use the profits to support the child's upbringing, education, and general welfare. The child remains the naked owner of the property, but the parents control its use and income until the child reaches legal adulthood. The parents cannot sell the property or deplete the inherited funds for their own personal benefit beyond what is necessary for the child's support and maintenance.