Louisiana Power of Attorney
Is your estate plan complete with a Louisiana power of attorney or two? There are two essential documents that belong in your filing cabinet next to your will and trust forms. One of these forms is called a Louisiana springing durable metical power of attorney. This document gives the power, to someone you have chosen, to make medical decisions for you if at any time you cannot make them yourself. While most powers of attorney take effect immediately, this one sits dormant and does nothing. If an accident or illness ever leaves you mentally incapacitated it springs into action. This simple document gives someone instant control over your health care without having to go to court.
A Louisiana springing durable financial power of attorney does much the same thing as the medical form. It is only used when you are incapable of making decisions, at which point someone can instantly start taking care of all your financial business. This might include making bank deposits, filing taxes, paying bills or even selling property if needed.
These springing powers of attorney are the ones your Louisiana estate planning attorney is probably going to want in your estate plan. Springing powers are put there only for emergency purposes. These are often confused with regular durable powers of attorney, which become effective immediately and are normally used when you know you are becoming incapable of managing your health and finances.
The term durable in a power of attorney means someone has to be mentally unable to make decisions before it can be used. A non-durable power of attorney, or normal power of attorney is just the opposite, They can only be written, signed and used by someone of sound mind. These document have many uses in every day life and can yield a wide range of authority or a very limited amount.
A person might use a Louisiana power of attorney for sale of motor vehicle to allow another person to sell a vehicle for you. A Louisiana power of attorney for the care of children would allow an individual to make decisions regarding your children. A general power of attorney grants a very wide range of powers that would cover about every aspect of you life. This type of power should only be given to someone you completely trust like maybe your spouse.
The person writing the power of attorney is usually called the principal or the grantor. The person being given the powers is called an agent or an attorney-in-fact. In Louisiana, the estate laws are written based on the Napoleonic code, as opposed to the English common law used by the other states. What this means to you is you need to be sure you are using a Louisiana power of attorney form, not a generic form or one from another state. These forms are available at Legal Zoom.
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