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Medical Power of Attorney in Louisiana: Health Care Mandates and Living Wills
In Louisiana, a medical power of attorney is a mandate that expressly authorizes health care decisions, and the living will is a declaration signed before two witnesses. Here is how both work, and who decides without them.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- A Louisiana medical power of attorney is a mandate that expressly authorizes the agent to make health care decisions; the Civil Code requires that authority to be given expressly (CC 2997).
- A living will, called a declaration, must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, and a witness can't be related to your parent by blood or marriage or entitled to part of their estate (R.S. 40:1151.1, 40:1151.2).
- The Secretary of State keeps an optional living will registry; registering a declaration comes with a wallet card and a "Do Not Resuscitate" bracelet (R.S. 40:1151.2).
- Without a document, Louisiana law sets an order of who can consent to treatment: a court-appointed curator, then a health care agent, then the spouse, an adult child, a parent, a sibling (R.S. 40:1159.4).
- Retirement Checklist puts these documents in order alongside everything else your family needs to settle.
A medical power of attorney in Louisiana is a mandate, the Civil Code's word for a power of attorney, with express authority over health care decisions. Article 2997 lists that authority as: "Make health care decisions, such as surgery, medical expenses, nursing home residency, and medication" (Civil Code art. 2997). Louisiana's consent law then names "An agent acting pursuant to a valid mandate, specifically authorizing the agent to make health care decisions" among the people who can consent to treatment for your parent, ranked ahead of a spouse and adult children.
What is a medical power of attorney in Louisiana?
It's an ordinary mandate or procuration with health care authority spelled out. "The contract of mandate is not required to be in any particular form," but the health care power has to be granted expressly. A financial power of attorney covers health care decisions only if it grants that authority expressly; see our Louisiana power of attorney guide.
Under R.S. 40:1159.4, a health care agent comes third in line to consent, after your parent themselves and any court-appointed tutor or curator. Your parent keeps the final say while able: nothing in the consent law limits the right of an adult "to refuse to consent to medical or surgical treatment as to his own person."
How is it different from a living will?
A health care mandate names someone to make decisions, while a living will declaration directs that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn if your parent has a terminal and irreversible condition.
| Document | What it does | Signing rule |
|---|---|---|
| Health care mandate (medical power of attorney) | Names an agent to make health care decisions | None set in the sections we read; the authority must be express (CC 2997) |
| Declaration (living will) | Directs that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn in a terminal and irreversible condition | Signed in the presence of two qualified witnesses (R.S. 40:1151.2) |
The declaration can also name someone to decide. It "may include other specific directions including but not limited to a designation of another person to make the treatment decision" if your parent has a terminal and irreversible condition and can't communicate. For the general picture, see power of attorney vs. advance directive.
How do you sign a Louisiana living will?
Your parent signs it in front of two witnesses: under R.S. 40:1151.2, "A written declaration shall be signed by the declarant in the presence of two witnesses." The same section says "Any adult person may, at any time, make a written declaration directing the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures in the event such person should have a terminal and irreversible condition." The sections we read don't require a notary.
The witness rule excludes relatives and heirs. A witness must be "a competent adult who is not related to the declarant or qualified patient, whichever is applicable, by blood or marriage and who would not be entitled to any portion of the estate" of your parent (R.S. 40:1151.1).
After a terminal and irreversible diagnosis, a declaration can also be made orally or by other nonverbal means, again in front of two witnesses. The statute prints an illustrative form your parent "may, but need not" use, and the Secretary of State links a blank copy.
When does the living will apply?
Only when your parent is a "qualified patient," meaning "diagnosed and certified in writing as having a terminal and irreversible condition by two physicians who have personally examined the patient, one of whom shall be the attending physician." A terminal and irreversible condition includes "a continual profound comatose state with no reasonable chance of recovery."
On the statutory form, your parent initials one choice about nutrition and hydration: withhold all life-sustaining procedures "including nutrition and hydration," or all "except nutrition and hydration." Under the statute, comfort care isn't a life-sustaining procedure. It's your parent's job to tell their doctor the declaration exists, and a physician who won't follow it "shall make a reasonable effort to transfer the patient to another physician."
What is the Louisiana living will registry?
The Louisiana Secretary of State keeps a registry of declarations. "The fee to register a declaration is $20, and an additional $20 if you would like a certified copy. The fee to file a notice of revocation of a declaration is $5." When a declaration is filed, the office sends "a laminated wallet ID card" and an engraved "Do Not Resuscitate" bracelet, and it provides copies when an attending physician or health care facility asks.
Registering is optional, and the law doesn't require a doctor or facility to search the registry. Under R.S. 40:1151.2, a doctor who is told about a declaration makes it, or a copy, part of your parent's medical record. The Secretary of State says it doesn't provide forms for a "Specific Medical Procedure" living will and suggests contacting an attorney for one.
What happens if your parent has no medical power of attorney?
Louisiana has a default order. Under R.S. 40:1159.4, if no one in a higher class is "reasonably available, willing, and competent to act," consent to treatment can come from, in order:
- your parent, for themselves;
- a court-appointed tutor or curator;
- an agent under a mandate that specifically authorizes health care decisions;
- the spouse, unless judicially separated;
- an adult child;
- a parent;
- a sibling;
- other ascendants or descendants;
- an adult friend who knows your parent's health care views and signs the facility's acknowledgment form.
Within a class, such as several adult children, consent comes from "a majority of those members of the class available for consultation." End-of-life declarations for a patient who never made one follow a similar order under R.S. 40:1151.4, and when a spouse, adult child, parent or sibling makes one, at least two witnesses must be present. If no one is available, the attending physician may proceed after documenting the facts and getting a second physician's confirmation. When decisions can't be made this way, see conservatorship and guardianship.
How do you revoke a Louisiana advance directive?
Your parent can revoke either document at any time.
- Living will declaration. It "may be revoked at any time by the declarant without regard to his or her mental state or competency," by destroying it, by a signed and dated written revocation, or by an oral or nonverbal expression; the revocation is effective once communicated to the attending physician (R.S. 40:1151.3). A registered declaration can be revoked by filing a written notice with the Secretary of State.
- Health care mandate. "The principal may terminate the mandate and the authority of the mandatary at any time" (CC 3025). Telling the doctor and anyone holding a copy keeps the record current.
What about LaPOST?
LaPOST, the Louisiana Physician Order for Scope of Treatment, is a medical order, not a declaration. The statute says the form "documents the wishes of a qualified patient in a physician order," for a patient certified as having a life-limiting and irreversible condition. It "is not a declaration concerning life-sustaining procedures," so it doesn't follow the living will's signing rules, and the law doesn't require anyone to complete one.
Frequently asked questions
Does a medical power of attorney need to be notarized in Louisiana?
The sections we read don't require a notary for a health care mandate or for a living will declaration. The Civil Code says a mandate needs no particular form, but health care authority must be granted expressly. A written living will must be signed in the presence of two witnesses who aren't relatives or heirs.
Who can witness a living will in Louisiana?
A competent adult who isn't related to your parent by blood or marriage and wouldn't be entitled to any part of your parent's estate when they die, under R.S. 40:1151.1. That excludes your parent's children, spouse and in-laws, and anyone who would inherit from them, so it's worth checking each witness before signing.
Where can I get a Louisiana living will form?
The statute prints an illustrative declaration in R.S. 40:1151.2, and the Louisiana Secretary of State links a blank Living Will Declaration Form on its end-of-life registry page. Using it is optional. For a health care mandate, we didn't find a state form; an attorney can draft one with the express authority it needs.
Who makes medical decisions in Louisiana if there's no power of attorney?
Under R.S. 40:1159.4, the order runs from a court-appointed curator to a health care agent, then the spouse, an adult child, a parent, a sibling, other relatives in the direct line, and finally an adult friend. Where a class has several members, a majority of those available decides.
Is a living will from another state valid in Louisiana?
Yes. Under R.S. 40:1151.9, "A declaration properly executed in and under the laws of another state is deemed to be validly executed" for Louisiana's living will law. The sections we read don't address out-of-state health care powers of attorney, so if your parent moved, an attorney can confirm what covers them.
Can my parent change their mind after signing?
Yes. A living will declaration can be revoked at any time, regardless of your parent's mental state, by destroying it, by a signed and dated written revocation, or orally; it takes effect when the doctor is told. A health care mandate can be ended at any time under Civil Code article 3025.
Getting started
A medical power of attorney only helps if it's signed while your parent can sign it, grants health care authority expressly, and reaches the doctor. The plan this site builds asks four questions, including which state your parents live in, and puts the steps that matter most for your family in order. It's free and takes about 90 seconds.
Related guides
Sources
- La. R.S. 40:1151.2, Making of declaration: the two-witness rule, the illustrative form and the registry, with the definitions in R.S. 40:1151.1; published by the Louisiana State Legislature.
- La. R.S. 40:1151.3, Revocation of declaration: how a living will is revoked.
- La. R.S. 40:1159.4, Persons who may consent to surgical or medical treatment: the default order when there's no document.
- Louisiana Civil Code art. 2997, Express authority required: health care decisions in a mandate.
- La. R.S. 40:1155.3, Louisiana Physician Order for Scope of Treatment: LaPOST.
- Louisiana Secretary of State, End of life registry programs: the living will registry, fees and the blank declaration form.
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