Power of attorney, health care directive and guardianship in Louisiana

Financial power of attorney in Louisiana

Law and official form

Law

Representation and Mandate

Uniform Power of Attorney Act

No

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 2985-3032

Signing rules

How to sign

Louisiana law does not require a mandate to be in any particular form. But when the act the mandatary will perform must be in a certain form (for example, a sale or mortgage of immovable property, which must be in writing), the mandate authorizing it must be in that same form. Some powers must be given expressly.

Who signs

No particular form is required for a mandate itself. If the law requires a certain form for the act your mandatary will do, the mandate must be in that same form.

Notary

Not required

Witnesses

None required

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2993

Durable and springing

Is it durable?

Unless the parties agreed otherwise, a mandate and the mandatary's authority are not ended by the principal's incapacity, disability or other condition that makes an express revocation impossible or impractical.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 3026

Durable unless it says otherwise?

Yes: it continues if you lose capacity unless it says otherwise.

What an agent can and cannot do

Needs express permission

• Alienate (sell or give away), acquire, encumber (mortgage) or lease a thing
• Make an inter vivos donation (gift), outright or to a trust or other custodial arrangement
• Accept or renounce a succession (inheritance)
• Contract a loan, acknowledge or forgive a debt, or become a surety
• Draw or endorse promissory notes and negotiable instruments
• Enter into a compromise or refer a matter to arbitration
• Make health care decisions, such as surgery, medical expenses, nursing home residency and medication
• Prevent or limit reasonable communication, visitation or interaction between the principal and close relatives or others with strong affection

No power of attorney can

A mandatary may not prevent or limit reasonable communication, visitation or interaction between a principal over 18 and another person without prior court approval for good cause, unless the mandate expressly allows it. A mandatary may not contract with himself or herself on the principal's behalf unless authorized or merely fulfilling a duty to the principal.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2995; art. 2998

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 2996, 2997

Agent duties, pay and court review

Agent duties

• Fulfill the mandate with prudence and diligence
• Provide information and render an account when asked or when circumstances require, and notify the principal when the mandate is fulfilled
• Deliver to the principal everything received under the mandate
• Pay interest on the principal's money used for the mandatary's own purposes
• Perform the mandate personally unless a substitute is allowed
• Account for performance when the mandate ends, unless expressly excused

Agent pay

A mandate is gratuitous (unpaid) unless the parties agree otherwise. The principal must reimburse the mandatary's expenses and pay any remuneration the mandatary is entitled to.

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 2992, 3012

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 3001, 3003-3006, 3032

When it ends and how to revoke it

It ends when

• The principal or the mandatary dies
• The mandatary is interdicted
• A curator qualifies after the principal is interdicted
• The principal terminates the mandate
• The mandatary resigns or renounces (if the mandatary believes the principal lacks capacity, only after notifying another or successor mandatary, or a person with sufficient interest in the principal's welfare)
• Other causes that end contracts under the general rules of obligations

How to revoke

You can terminate the mandate and your mandatary's authority at any time. (A mandate that also serves the mandatary's or a third person's interest can be made irrevocable if the parties agree.)

Telling others

You must notify third persons with whom the mandatary was authorized to deal; if you do not, you are bound by obligations the mandatary takes on with them. A contract the mandatary makes without knowing the mandate ended, with a third person in good faith, is enforceable.

If it was recorded

If the mandate was recorded in the public records, a revocation or change is not effective against people entitled to rely on the public records until the revocation is filed for recordation.

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 3024, 3025, 3029; La. Civ. Code arts. 3025, 3027, 3028, 3031

Banks, other states and real estate

Real estate

Authority to sell, buy, mortgage or lease a thing must be given expressly, though the property need not be specifically described. Because the act itself must be in a certain form, the mandate must be in that same form. Revoking a recorded mandate is effective against third parties relying on the public records only once the revocation is recorded.

Law: art. 2996; art. 2993; art. 3027

Health care directive in Louisiana

The document and its form

Document

Mandate (power of attorney) expressly authorizing health care decisions; living will declaration

Living will

Declaration (living will) - Louisiana Natural Death Act

The living will is a separate document.

An adult can make a written declaration directing that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn if they have a terminal and irreversible condition. It must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, who must be competent adults not related to you by blood or marriage and not entitled to any part of your estate. After a terminal diagnosis you can also make an oral or nonverbal declaration before two witnesses. The statute contains an illustrative form, which may name another person to make the treatment decision.

Living will

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.1, 40:1151.2

Signing rules

How to sign

To give someone authority over your health care, your mandate must expressly say so. The Civil Code sets no particular form for the mandate itself. If you want the person to be able to make a declaration about life-sustaining procedures for you, the designation must be a written instrument signed by you in the presence of at least two witnesses.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2997(6); art. 2993; La. R.S. 40:1151.4(A)(2)(b)

Who signs

A mandate giving health care authority must say so expressly. No particular form is required by the Civil Code.

Notary

Not required

Who cannot witness

A written instrument in which you designate a person to make a life-sustaining-procedures declaration for you, if you become a qualified patient unable to communicate, must be signed in the presence of at least two witnesses. For the living will statute, a witness is a competent adult who is not related to you by blood or marriage and would not inherit any part of your estate.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2997(6); La. R.S. 40:1151.1(15), 40:1151.4(A)(2)(b)

Who can be your agent and what the agent can do

Decisions an agent cannot make

Health care decision authority must be given expressly. A mandatary acting under a mandate specifically authorizing health care decisions ranks third, after the patient and a court-appointed tutor or curator, among those who may consent to medical treatment.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2997(6); La. R.S. 40:1159.4

Revoking and conflicting documents

Revoking your agent

You can terminate a mandate, including health care authority, at any time. The principal must notify third persons with whom the mandatary was authorized to deal.

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 3025, 3028

Revoking your instructions

You can revoke a living will declaration at any time, regardless of your mental state, by destroying it (or having it destroyed in your presence at your direction), by a signed and dated written revocation, or by an oral or nonverbal expression of intent to revoke. It takes effect when communicated to your attending physician. A registered declaration can also be revoked by filing a written notice of revocation with the Secretary of State.

Telling others

The attending physician must record the time and date notice of the revocation was received.

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.3

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.3; La. Civ. Code arts. 3025, 3028

If you have no directive

Who decides without a directive

If you cannot consent for yourself, these people may consent to medical or surgical treatment, in this order of priority, if no one in a higher class is reasonably available, willing and competent. If a class has more than one person, a majority of those available decides. If no one is available, the attending physician may proceed after documenting the need and getting confirmation from another physician. A separate priority list applies to making a life-sustaining-procedures declaration for a qualified patient who never made one.

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.4

1. The judicially appointed tutor or curator, if any
2. A mandatary under a valid mandate specifically authorizing health care decisions
3. Spouse not judicially separated
4. An adult child
5. A parent
6. A sibling
7. Other ascendants or descendants
8. An adult friend who has shown special care and concern, knows the patient's health care views, and signs the facility's acknowledgment form

Law: La. R.S. 40:1159.4

Other states, registry and medical orders

Signed in another state

A living will declaration properly executed in and under the laws of another state is valid in Louisiana.

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.9(D)

Registry

Living Will Declaration Registry (Louisiana Secretary of State)

Fee: $20 to register a declaration (you receive a wallet card and a 'Do Not Resuscitate' bracelet); $20 more for a certified copy; $5 to file a revocation

POLST (medical orders)

Louisiana Physician Order for Scope of Treatment (LaPOST)

Mental health directive

An adult who is not incapable can make an advance directive for behavioral health treatment, which can include instructions and name a representative. It is valid only if signed by you and two competent witnesses and accompanied by a written psychiatric examination by a physician or psychologist attesting to your ability to make reasoned decisions about behavioral health treatment. The treating physician or provider (or their relative), an owner or operator of the treatment facility where you are a patient (or their relative), and anyone related to you by blood, marriage or adoption cannot be witnesses. It lasts five years unless revoked.

Law: La. R.S. 28:221-28:224, 28:234

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.2, 40:1151.3; La. R.S. 40:1155.1 and following

Guardianship and conservatorship in Louisiana

What guardianship or conservatorship is

What it is called

Interdiction (full, limited, temporary, preliminary); curator and undercurator; the person is an interdict

When a court may appoint one

A court may order full interdiction of an adult who, due to an infirmity, is unable consistently to make reasoned decisions about the care of their person and property, or to communicate them, and whose interests cannot be protected by less restrictive means. Limited interdiction covers only the person, the property, or an aspect of either. The petition must describe the less restrictive means considered or tried and why they are not enough, and the petitioner must prove the case by clear and convincing evidence.

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 389, 390; La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 4541, 4548

Kinds

• Full interdiction
• Limited interdiction
• Temporary interdiction (ex parte, ends after 10 days unless extended once for up to 10 days)
• Preliminary interdiction (after a hearing, ends after 30 days unless extended for up to 30 days)

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 389-399; La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 4541-4569

Who can ask, which court and your own choice

Who may ask

Any person may petition for the interdiction of an adult or emancipated minor.

Law: La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4541

Court

The court in the parish where the person is domiciled (or resides or is present, if not domiciled in Louisiana).

Law: La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4542

Choosing your own

You can designate your future curator in a writing you sign while able to communicate a reasoned preference; the court considers that person first, then your spouse, an adult child, a parent, someone you lived with for over six months, and then any other person.

Law: La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4561

Effect on a power of attorney

A mandate and the mandatary's authority end when a curator qualifies after your interdiction.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 3024

Cost, fee waiver and forms

Forms

• What is Interdiction? (Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs, PDF)

Steps

Steps

Other options and where to report abuse

Supported decision-making

Supported decisionmaking agreements

Effective 2020 (Acts 2020, No. 258)

An adult with a disability can choose supporters to help them understand options, gather information and communicate their own decisions, without the supporter deciding for them. Louisiana law describes it as an option over interdiction. The agreement ends if the adult signs a valid durable power of attorney, unless the power of attorney continues it.

The agreement must be an authentic act (signed before a notary and two witnesses), dated and signed by the adult, and must include a separate signed declaration from each supporter accepting the duties. Revocation also must be by authentic act.

Source: Official text

Less restrictive options

• Power of attorney (procuration or mandate) or advance directive: A person you choose makes financial and/or medical decisions if you cannot.
• Trust: Money or property is placed in a trust under Louisiana law.
• Social Security representative payee: A payee manages Social Security benefits.
• Community and agency services: Home health, day programs and state or local services may meet needs in the least restrictive way.
• Supported decisionmaking agreement: Supporters help an adult with a disability make their own decisions.

Report abuse or exploitation

Louisiana Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs - Elderly Protective Services (age 60 and older) · 1-833-577-6532

Call or text the Eldercare Locator to find your local adult protective services: 1-800-677-1116 · eldercare.acl.gov

Law: La. R.S. 13:4261.102-4261.207; La. Civ. Code art. 1833

Good to know in Louisiana

• Louisiana does not use the Uniform Power of Attorney Act; powers of attorney are governed by the Civil Code articles on mandate, and the agent is called a mandatary.

  Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 2985-3032

• A mandate continues if you become incapacitated unless it says otherwise, but it ends when a curator qualifies after you are interdicted.

  Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 3024, 3026

• Health care decisions and limiting a person's visits or contact with close relatives are among the powers that must be given expressly.

  Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2997

• Supported decisionmaking agreements must be made by authentic act - before a notary and two witnesses.

  Law: La. R.S. 13:4261.205

Changes in 2024–2026

Acts 2025, No. 488 amended Civil Code art. 3025 with a wording change ('third party' to 'third person'). Acts 2025, No. 342 amended La. R.S. 40:1151.1 (living will definitions). No other 2024-2026 changes were found in the mandate, interdiction or supported decisionmaking provisions read.

Questions about powers of attorney in Louisiana