Creating a Life Annuity
La constitution d'une rente viagère
Kreye yon rant vyajè
Lesson Content
Chapter II: Of the Life Annuity Contract
Section I: Conditions Required for Validity (Articles 1315–1320)
The life annuity (rente viagère) was the only aleatory contract that the Code Henry's civil law embraced. These articles establish the rules for creating one.
Article 1315 declares that life annuities can be constituted in two ways. First, for valuable consideration (à titre onéreux) — in exchange for an immovable, a valuable movable thing, or a sum of money. Second, as a pure gift (à titre purement gratuit) — by donation between living persons or by will. In the latter cases, the annuity must comply with the formal requirements that the law establishes for donations and testaments.
This dual nature made the life annuity remarkably versatile. An elderly landowner could convey their plantation to a younger person in exchange for a lifetime income stream. Or a wealthy testator could provide for an aging servant through a testamentary annuity.
Article 1316 applies the rules of forced heirship: if a life annuity created by gift or legacy exceeds what the law allows the donor to dispose of freely, it will be reduced to the permissible portion. If the recipient is among those legally incapable of receiving, the annuity can be annulled entirely.
Article 1317 allows flexibility in whose life the annuity is measured on. It can be constituted on the life of the person who provides the capital, on a third party who will not benefit from the annuity, or even on multiple lives. This meant, for example, that a merchant could create an annuity payable to their spouse, measured on the merchant's own life — the payments continue as long as the merchant lives.
Article 1318 permits the annuity to benefit a third party even when someone else provided the capital. This arrangement is not considered a donation (for purposes of formal requirements), though it may still be subject to the reduction rules of Article 1316.
Article 1319 addresses a fundamental validity issue: if the person on whose life the annuity is created was already dead at the date of the contract, the contract produces no effect whatsoever. The uncertain event — the duration of the designated person's life — must actually be uncertain. A contract measured on a dead person's life is no contract at all.
Article 1320 grants the contracting parties freedom to set the interest rate for life annuities. Unlike ordinary loans, which were capped at six percent (as we saw in Titre XXIV on Loans), life annuities can carry any agreed-upon rate. This freedom reflected the inherent risk: the annuity provider might pay for decades, or for just months, depending on how long the designated person lives.
Chapitre II : Du Contrat de Rente viagère
Section I : Conditions requises pour la validité (Articles 1315–1320)
Article 1315 : les rentes viagères peuvent être constituées soit à titre onéreux (pour un immeuble, une chose mobilière appréciable, ou une somme d'argent), soit à titre purement gratuit (par donation entre vifs ou par testament).
Article 1316 : en cas de dons ou legs, la rente sera réduite si elle excède ce dont la loi permet de disposer ; elle pourra être annulée si le donataire est incapable.
Article 1317 : la rente peut être constituée sur la tête de celui qui en donne le prix, sur celle d'un tiers, ou même sur une ou plusieurs têtes.
Article 1318 : la rente peut bénéficier à un tiers sans être considérée comme donation quant aux formes.
Article 1319 : si la personne sur la tête de laquelle la rente est créée était morte avant la date de l'acte, le contrat ne produit aucun effet.
Article 1320 : les parties ont la liberté de fixer le taux d'intérêt pour les rentes viagères, contrairement au plafond de six pour cent applicable aux prêts ordinaires.
Chapit II : Sou Kontra Rant Vyajè
Seksyon I : Kondisyon ki nesesè pou validite (Atik 1315–1320)
Atik 1315 : rant vyajè yo ka konstitye swa pou yon bagay ki gen valè (pou yon imèb, yon byen mobilye ki gen valè, oswa yon sòm lajan), swa kòm yon kado gratis (pa donasyon ant moun vivan oswa pa testaman).
Atik 1316 : nan ka don oswa lè, rant lan ap redui si li depase sa lalwa pèmèt ; li ka anile si moun ki resevwa a pa kapab.
Atik 1317 : rant lan ka konstitye sou tèt moun ki bay pri a, sou tèt yon twazyèm moun, oswa menm sou plizyè tèt.
Atik 1318 : rant lan ka benefisye yon twazyèm moun san li pa konsidere kòm donasyon pou fòm yo.
Atik 1319 : si moun sou tèt ki rant lan kreye a te deja mouri anvan dat ak la, kontra a pa pwodui okenn efè.
Atik 1320 : pati yo gen libète fikse to enterè pou rant vyajè yo, kontrèman ak plafon sis pousan ki aplikab pou prè òdinè.