Baton Rouge Senior AdvisorBy Baton Rouge Senior Advisor Care Team · November 10, 2026
In Louisiana a power of attorney is a mandate. Signed while a parent can still decide, it usually survives later incapacity and avoids interdiction, a court case in which a judge appoints a curator. Health care and nursing home decisions must be granted expressly, and a parent can name in writing who should be curator if court ever becomes necessary.
What is a power of attorney called in Louisiana, and what can it do for a Baton Rouge family?
In Louisiana a power of attorney is a mandate: a contract in which your parent, the principal, gives another person, the mandatary, authority to handle one or more of their affairs. Signed while your parent can still decide, it lets a trusted person pay bills, deal with banks and sign for care without going to court.
Article 2989 of the Civil Code defines the mandate, and article 2993 says it does not have to be in any particular form. There is one important exception: when the law requires a certain form for an act, the mandate that authorizes that act must be in the same form. That is why a mandate that will be used to sell a parent's house in Baton Rouge, Zachary or Central is prepared as a formal document, and why most families sign theirs before a notary with an attorney's help rather than writing it at the kitchen table.
A mandate generally keeps working when it matters most. Under article 3026, unless the document says otherwise, the mandate is not ended by the principal's incapacity, disability or other condition that makes it impossible or impractical to revoke it. Under article 3024 it ends at the principal's death, at the mandatary's interdiction, or when a curator qualifies after the principal is interdicted. Your parent can also end it at any time while able to, under article 3025.
For families coping with a new diagnosis, our dementia diagnosis guide lists the other documents to gather at the same time, including a living will and HIPAA releases.
What must a Louisiana power of attorney say to cover care decisions?
It must say so expressly. Louisiana Civil Code article 2997 lists acts a mandatary can do only if the mandate grants that authority in so many words, and health care decisions such as surgery, medical expenses, nursing home residency and medication are on the list.
General language like "to handle all my affairs" is not enough for these acts. Article 2997 requires express authority to make a donation (outright or into a trust), to accept or renounce a succession, to borrow money, forgive a debt or act as a surety, to draw or endorse promissory notes and negotiable instruments, to settle a dispute or send it to arbitration, and to make health care decisions.
For senior care planning, the last item carries the most weight. Admission to a Baton Rouge-area nursing home, consent to surgery after a fall, and decisions about medication all fall under it. If your parent's mandate was written years ago for a single real estate sale or a bank account, read it again before you rely on it at a hospital discharge or an admissions desk. Our pages on nursing home admission in Louisiana and leaving the hospital show where those signatures come up.
If gifts of money to grandchildren or transfers to a trust are part of the family's plan, the mandate must authorize them expressly too. Ask the attorney who drafts it to walk through each article 2997 item with your parent.
Mandate vs. interdiction: how do the two paths differ in Louisiana?
A mandate is private and chosen by your parent; interdiction is a court proceeding in which a judge decides your parent cannot manage some or all of their own affairs and appoints a curator. A mandate costs a family a visit to an attorney or notary; interdiction means a lawsuit, personal service on the parent and court oversight that continues afterward.
| Mandate (power of attorney) | Limited interdiction | Full interdiction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides | Your parent, while able to | A judge | A judge |
| Legal source | Civil Code arts. 2989–3032 | Civil Code art. 390 | Civil Code art. 389 |
| Who acts | The mandatary your parent chose | A curator with only the powers the judgment gives | A curator for person and property |
| Your parent's own capacity | Unchanged; can revoke while able | Keeps capacity outside the judgment | Generally lacks capacity to make juridical acts |
| Process | Signed document, usually with a notary | Lawsuit with personal service on your parent | Lawsuit with personal service on your parent |
What interdiction is not: it is not a quick form for a hospital, and it is not the same as being named in a mandate. Full interdiction, under article 389, is for an adult who, because of an infirmity, cannot consistently make reasoned decisions about the care of both person and property, or communicate them. Limited interdiction, under article 390, covers someone who has that difficulty with person or property, or any part of either, so a judge can tailor it to, say, finances only.
When does a Baton Rouge family end up filing for interdiction?
Usually when a parent can no longer make or communicate reasoned decisions and nothing less restrictive is in place to protect them. Louisiana law allows interdiction only when a person's interests cannot be protected by less restrictive means, and a valid mandate is the most common of those means.
The typical Baton Rouge case starts with a parent whose Alzheimer's disease or stroke has advanced, who never signed a mandate, or whose mandate does not reach health care or the bank that is refusing to cooperate. Sometimes it starts because family members disagree, or because there are signs someone is exploiting the parent.
Louisiana's Elder Law Task Force interdiction checklist, published through the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs, describes the steps: any person may file a petition; the petition must be personally served on the parent, not left with a relative; each person named in it is notified by certified mail; and the facts must be proved by clear and convincing evidence. The checklist itself notes that it may be outdated, so treat it as an outline and let an attorney confirm the current rules. For urgent situations the court can order temporary or preliminary interdiction, which expire after 10 and 30 days unless extended.
If you are not yet at that point, the free options in our local help guide can connect you with legal aid and the parish council on aging.
Who becomes curator in a Louisiana interdiction, and can a parent choose ahead of time?
The court appoints the qualified person best able to do the job, and the first preference goes to someone your parent named in a signed writing. After that, Louisiana's order of preference runs to a spouse, an adult child, a parent, then someone who lived with the defendant for more than six months before the petition.
That first preference is why the mandate and the interdiction questions belong together. Code of Civil Procedure article 4561 puts "a person designated by the defendant in a writing signed by him" ahead of every relative, as long as the writing was made while your parent could communicate a reasoned preference. Many Louisiana attorneys add this designation to the mandate itself, so that if a court ever becomes necessary, your parent's choice is already on paper.
The article also disqualifies some people unless there is good cause, including felons, people who owe the parent money, people with interests adverse to the parent and employees of a long-term care facility caring for the parent who are not relatives. A court can name separate curators for the person and for the property. Once appointed, a curator under Civil Code article 392 must act with reasonable care, diligence and prudence in the parent's best interest, and a limited curator has only the powers needed to protect the parent.
For families comparing care settings at the same time, our memory care questions and long-distance caregiving guide cover what a mandatary will be asked to sign.
Related questions: Can a mandate cover nursing home admission? Does interdiction end a mandate? Can a limited interdict still make a will? Ask a Louisiana elder law attorney about your parent's situation; this guide is general information, not legal advice. Last verified: November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is a power of attorney called in Louisiana, and what can it do for a Baton Rouge family?
In Louisiana a power of attorney is a mandate: a contract in which your parent, the principal, gives another person, the mandatary, authority to handle one or more of their affairs. Signed while your parent can still decide, it lets a trusted person pay bills, deal with banks and sign for care without going to court.
What must a Louisiana power of attorney say to cover care decisions?
It must say so expressly. Louisiana Civil Code article 2997 lists acts a mandatary can do only if the mandate grants that authority in so many words, and health care decisions such as surgery, medical expenses, nursing home residency and medication are on the list.
Mandate vs. interdiction: how do the two paths differ in Louisiana?
A mandate is private and chosen by your parent; interdiction is a court proceeding in which a judge decides your parent cannot manage some or all of their own affairs and appoints a curator. A mandate costs a family a visit to an attorney or notary; interdiction means a lawsuit, personal service on the parent and court oversight that continues afterward.
When does a Baton Rouge family end up filing for interdiction?
Usually when a parent can no longer make or communicate reasoned decisions and nothing less restrictive is in place to protect them. Louisiana law allows interdiction only when a person's interests cannot be protected by less restrictive means, and a valid mandate is the most common of those means.
Who becomes curator in a Louisiana interdiction, and can a parent choose ahead of time?
The court appoints the qualified person best able to do the job, and the first preference goes to someone your parent named in a signed writing. After that, Louisiana's order of preference runs to a spouse, an adult child, a parent, then someone who lived with the defendant for more than six months before the petition.
