Legal Definitions - curatorship

Curatorship refers to the office or role of a curator or guardian. It is the power and responsibility of an individual to take care of someone who cannot care for themselves.

In civil law, there are different types of curatorship or tutorship:

• Tutorship by nature: This is the tutorship of a minor child that belongs by right to a surviving parent. For example, if one parent dies, the other parent automatically becomes the tutor of their child.
• Tutorship by will: This is tutorship that is created by the will of the parent who dies last or by any declaration of the surviving parent. For example, a parent can name a tutor for their child in their will.
• Tutorship by the effect of the law: This is tutorship that is bestowed by statute and does not require a court's or family's approval. For example, a spouse has the legal tutorship of their incompetent spouse.
• Dative tutorship: This is tutorship that arises from a court's appointment, usually on the advice of the family. It is also called dative curatorship or tutorship by judicial appointment.

These different types of curatorship or tutorship illustrate the different ways in which someone can become responsible for taking care of another person. For example, a surviving parent automatically becomes the tutor of their child, while a spouse may need to be appointed as a tutor by a court if their partner becomes incompetent.