At any time in their life, and even more when they get older, a person, due to illness or disability, can see their mental and/or physical faculties deteriorate to the point of not being able to to defend their interests alone or to at least need to be advised or controlled in certain acts of civil life. In the latter situation, a judge can decide to put in place a legal protection measure such as curatorship. This measure consists in having the personal affairs of the person concerned managed by a third person, most often a family member, while leaving them the possibility of managing certain acts of daily life themselves.
Curatorship designates a measure of legal protection intended to help an adult person in their acts of civil life if the latter, due to illness or disability for example, experiences difficulty in managing them alone. A curator is then appointed. This is the person who will assist, or control as the case may be, the person under curatorship in some of these acts.
If her condition required a further measure of protection because she would not be at all able to take charge of these acts alone, guardianship would replace curatorship.
Curatorship is pronounced by a judge and it can be more or less reinforced. There are indeed several degrees of curatorship.
Simple curatorship represents the lightest degree of this measure of legal protection. The person for whom this measure has been pronounced may, despite their state of health, continue to perform day-to-day management acts such as, for example, managing their bank account or taking out insurance. These types of acts are called acts of administration or conservatories.
For acts whose consequences may be more important for his personal interests, and in particular his assets, such as the sale of real estate, the taking out of a loan, a donation, etc., the curator is asked to assist the person under curatorship and act on their behalf, with a bank for example.
In the case of a reinforced curatorship, the curator has a more important role because in this case it is he who collects his resources and takes care of paying his expenses. To do this, the curator has access to the bank account of the person under curatorship.
An arranged curatorship means that the judge, at the time of the implementation of this legal protection measure, specifically lists the acts that the person can do alone and those for which he must be assisted by a curator.
The request for curatorship of a person must be addressed to a judge (the protection litigation judge of the court of the domicile of the person to be protected), the only one qualified to pronounce this measure of legal protection.
This measure can be requested directly by the person concerned, by the person who lives in a couple with him (spouse, PACS or cohabitant), by a direct relative or for example by a brother-in-law or a mother-in-law, by a relative who maintains close and stable ties with it, or by the Public Prosecutor, on his own initiative or at the request of a third party (doctor, social worker, director of health establishment, etc.).
The person at the origin of a request for curatorship must provide the judge, in addition to a specific completed form (Cerfa n°15891), supporting documents such as a full copy of the birth certificate of the person to be protected, a copy of the identity document of the person to be protected and that of the applicant, as well as a detailed medical certificate, i.e. a certificate by which a doctor describes the alteration of the faculties of the person concerned by the measure of curatorship and the need for him to be accompanied and represented by a curator.
The relationship of the applicant for curatorship with the person to be protected must also be proven using documents (copy of the family record book, marriage contract, PACS agreement, etc.). A letter certifying that the family members agree to the appointment of a curator must also be provided to the judge with the request for curatorship.
To examine the application for curatorship, the judge meets with the person to be protected, as well as the person at the origin of the application for this measure of legal protection. He can also, if he wishes, have a social investigation or findings carried out by any person of his choice. Then, the judge must render his decision, after consulting the Public Prosecutor, within the year in which he was seized of the request.
The judge who pronounces a measure of curatorship chooses in priority the curator among the relatives (spouse, civil partnership partner, parent, etc.) of the person to be protected, after having requested the opinion of the latter if possible.
If no relative can play the role of curator, the judge entrusts the curatorship to a professional called "legal agent for the protection of adults" whose list is defined by the prefect. The judge also has the possibility of appointing several curators, for example a relative in charge of the protection of the person under curatorship and a curator in charge of the management of his assets.
Except in the case of a judicial representative, the curator(s) appointed by the judge must agree to fulfill this role.
On the other hand, the relatives of the person under curatorship have the possibility of asking the judge to also appoint a subrogated curator to control the action of the curator. If he finds any faults on the part of the curator in the performance of his duties, the deputy curator must promptly inform the judge.
The curator is required to account for the execution of his mandate both to the protected person and to the judge. In the event of enhanced curatorship, he must submit an annual report on his management to the director of the court's judicial registry services.
The term of office of the curator is set by the judge. It cannot exceed 5 years, and it is renewable for the same duration. The judge can end the curatorship at any time if it is no longer necessary, and if this legal protection measure is replaced by a guardianship measure.
The implementation of a curatorship measure is the subject of an entry called "marginal mention", i.e. written information, entered on the birth certificate of the person placed under curatorship. .
The latter retains the ability to carry out acts of daily life which concern them personally, such as choosing their place of residence, deciding on maintenance work in their accommodation, choosing their family and friendly relations, requesting or renewing a piece of identity, or vote.
A person under curatorship can also marry, enter a civil partnership, recognize a child after informing his curator. If she can write a will alone, she must however be assisted by her curator to sell real estate or make donations. In addition, all decisions concerning his main residence require the authorization of the judge who pronounced the curatorship.
The curator must intervene when the protected person puts himself in danger and immediately notify the judge.
On the other hand, in the case of an enhanced curatorship, the curator manages the expenses of the person under curatorship.
