You are a minor

Property, assets or patrimony?

All three words mean the same: what you own. The Civil Code of Québec nearly always calls it patrimony. Your wealth may come from various sources, for example, an inheritance (e.g. money, a house, valuable objects); a gift from your grandparents or someone else; fees you earn ); your salary (if you have a part-time job while you are at primary school or high school); an amount paid to you by an insurer (e.g. la Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, a life insurance company), and so on.

A MINOR, or minor child, is a person aged under 18. A minor is legally incapable of accomplishing the transactions that are part of organized society (e.g. entering into a contract or signing a lease). The status of a minor is MINORITY, as opposed to majority, the status of a person who has reached the age at which they are legally autonomous, fully capable and responsible. In Québec, the age of majority is 18.

So, you are under 18 and have property of your own (for example, money or a house that was left to you).

Are you allowed to do what you want with this property? If the money is your salary, you can use it for small purchases (e.g. CDs, video games, items of clothing) or giving low-value gifts, so you have some freedom to do what you want with it.

But when it comes to spending bigger amounts (e.g. buying a new car), different rules apply. Under the Civil Code of Québec, which is one of the main laws protecting minors and their property, you are not allowed to do whatever you want with the rest of your income.

If your parents or dative tutor think you are overspending, they can ask the court to decide how much of your income you should be allowed to do what you want with. And they can do this whether your income is large or small.

Here are a few questions and answers to help you understand the rules the law imposes. Remember: they are there for your benefit, to protect your property until you are allowed by law to manage it on your own, when you have the full legal capacity to do so; this is not until you reach majority (turn 18) or are emancipated.

Who has to look after your property?

Administration of your property is one aspect of the legal tutorship exercised by your parents. Your mother and father also have to represent you for certain things that you are not allowed to handle on your own. Because organized society involves all sorts of transactions; for example, there may be contracts or other documents to be signed.

It is the duty of your mother and father to look after your property because by law, you yourself are not allowed to take full responsibility for your own property until you reach majority (turn 18). So the law puts your parents in charge of the administration of your property.

But this does not mean your parents can do whatever they want with your property because:

they have to look after it in your best interest and as far as possible keep it safe, and not put it at risk;
they generally have to hand it over to you when you reach the age of majority or, where applicable, upon your emancipation.

The kind of protection your parents exercise over your property is what the Civil Code of Québec calls legal tutorship. Your parents have to perform this duty free of charge.

You have a tutor other than your parents

Maybe you are an orphan or the court has decided that your parents are unable to perform the function of legal tutors. In this case, someone else is exercising the tutorship, which is called a dative tutorship. You have a dative tutor to the property.

Are your parents allowed to use your money…

Expenses directly associated with the tutorship function

Your parents are allowed to use your money to pay certain expenses (e.g. fees for appointment of the tutorship council; lawyer's fees; banking fees).

Also, in some very rare situations (if your property is so extensive and complex that managing it is a full-time or almost full-time job for your parents), your parents may receive pay from your assets. But the decision is not up to them: it is something the court has to decide, and the court also decides how much they are paid.

… for your upbringing or education?

Not usually. Under the Civil Code of Québec, parents are legally obliged to look after, supervise, feed, maintain and educate their child, and pay for all this out of their own salary or other income. This is called the obligation of support, and although the French term for it (obligation alimentaire) refers to food, your parents actually have to do a lot more than just making sure you have enough to eat.

However, depending on the source of the assets being administered on your behalf, these funds could be used by your parent to replace the missing income of your other parent who is deceased. For example, if your patrimony comes from an allowance or a benefit, it may be used to cover your needs.

Otherwise, only under exceptional circumstances or with the court's permission are your father or mother allowed to use your money to raise and care for you.

...or for their own needs?

This is not allowed either, except in very unusual circumstances; for instance, if your parents have very little money but you have a lot. Under the Civil Code of Québec, the obligation of support between parents and children works both ways. So what could happen is that you help to pay for your mother's and father's essential needs. But only the court can decide this, and the court also decides exactly how much you have to contribute. However, children have no obligation of support towards family members other than their parents.