Power of attorney in Louisiana: rules, signing, who to name

Updated 2026-10-18

The short answer

Louisiana calls a power of attorney a mandate, and the person you name is your mandatary. It keeps working if you lose capacity unless it says otherwise. Selling property, making gifts and health care decisions must be granted expressly. Banks may rely on a valid mandate, but no law forces them to accept it.

A financial power of attorney lets someone you trust pay your bills, talk to the bank and look after your money if you can't. Louisiana does this a little differently from the rest of the country, starting with the name.

Louisiana's law grew out of the French and Spanish civil law, so it has its own words for familiar things. This page translates them as it goes. It is one of our estate planning guides for each state. If the idea is new, start with what a power of attorney does, then come back here.

What is a mandate in Louisiana?

In Louisiana, a power of attorney is called a mandate (sometimes a procuration). You are the principal. The person you name to act for you is your mandatary, which simply means your agent (Civil Code art. 2989).

Louisiana has not adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act that many states use. Its rules live in the Civil Code, articles 2989 to 3032. So guides written for other states may not match what happens here.

Your mandatary is a fiduciary: legally required to act in your interest and follow what you wrote.

Is a Louisiana mandate durable?

Yes, by default. Unless you and your mandatary agree otherwise, the mandate does not end because you become incapacitated or disabled (Civil Code arts. 3024 to 3027). That is the whole point for most people: the document works at the moment your family needs it.

A mandate does end in a few situations:

When you die. After that, your succession representative (Louisiana's word for an executor) takes over.
If your mandatary is placed under interdiction, Louisiana's term for adult guardianship.
If you are interdicted and a court-appointed curator (guardian) qualifies.

Our post on durable power of attorney explains why durability matters in every state.

How do I sign one in Louisiana?

The Civil Code says a mandate needs no particular form (Civil Code art. 2993). The Code itself sets no witness or notary requirement for the mandate.

There is one important catch. When the law requires a certain form for an act, the mandate that authorizes that act must be in the same form. Selling or mortgaging a house is the common example. In practice, a mandate that may be used for real estate is put in writing, often in the formal style Louisiana calls an "authentic act."

Because of that rule, most people sign one written mandate that can be used for everything, rather than a light one that falls short when the house needs attention. Ask whoever drafts it to make sure the form fits the biggest job your mandatary might face.

One more Louisiana detail: if your mandate is recorded in the public records, a revocation doesn't protect against people relying on those records until the revocation is recorded too (Civil Code arts. 3025 to 3027).

What powers must be spelled out?

This is where Louisiana is strict. A general grant of authority covers ordinary acts of administration. But some powers exist only if the mandate gives them expressly (Civil Code art. 2997).

Power	Covered by general wording?	What Louisiana requires
Selling, buying, mortgaging or leasing property	No	Express authority in the mandate
Making gifts (Louisiana says "donations"), including to a trust	No	Express authority
Accepting or turning down an inheritance	No	Express authority
Borrowing, forgiving a debt, or guaranteeing someone else's debt	No	Express authority
Signing or endorsing promissory notes and checks	No	Express authority
Settling a dispute or agreeing to arbitration	No	Express authority
Health care decisions	No	Express authority
Limiting your contact or visits with relatives or close friends	No	Express authority

The health care row surprises people. In Louisiana, the same kind of document can carry medical authority, but only if it says so. Our Louisiana medical power of attorney guide covers that side.

Will my bank accept it?

Louisiana has no rule forcing a bank to accept your mandate. What it has is protection for the bank. A bank or credit union with federal deposit protection, shown an original or certified copy of a sufficient mandate "may rely" on it until it gets written notice of revocation (R.S. 6:311.1).

That protection gives a bank a reason to say yes, but no duty to. A few small steps help:

Ask your bank and investment firm now whether they want their own form signed too.
Give them a copy while you are well, so it is on file before anyone needs it.
Keep the original where your mandatary can reach it, with a note saying where.

Who should I name as my mandatary?

The practical questions matter most. Is this person good with money and paperwork? Can they get to your bank, your mail and your house if a pipe bursts? Will they keep records and answer questions from your family?

A short checklist when you choose:

Trust: would you hand them your checkbook today?
Distance: can they get to your home in Baton Rouge, Shreveport or wherever you live?
Time: do they have room in their life for this, maybe for years?
Backup: who steps in if your first choice can't? Our post on having a backup in every role explains why.

Many people choose a sister, a niece or a longtime friend. Our post on naming a friend as power of attorney covers what to talk through first.

Here is a typical case, a composite. Denise is 69 and lives in Lafayette. Her daughter is in Atlanta. Denise names her friend Claudette, who already has a key and walks the dog when Denise travels, as her mandatary, with her daughter as backup. The mandate expressly covers selling her house and handling her retirement accounts.

Some people would like a professional standing by, either first or behind a friend. A Kinly membership includes a financial power of attorney written for your state, and Trella Trust Company can be named in the role or as the backup. You set the order.

A signing checklist

Step	Why it matters in Louisiana
Put the mandate in writing	The Code needs no form, but banks and real estate deals do in practice
Match the form to the biggest act	A mandate to sell a house must meet the form rules for that sale
List every express power you want	Selling, gifts, borrowing and health care aren't covered by general wording
Decide whether it should keep working if you lose capacity	It does by default; say so only if you want it to end
Name a backup mandatary	So the job doesn't fall to a court-appointed curator
Give copies to your bank now	Banks may rely on it but aren't required to accept it
Record any revocation if the mandate was recorded	Otherwise people relying on public records are protected

When you're ready for what happens after death, our Louisiana succession and small estates guide picks up where the mandate ends.

Common questions

Does a Louisiana power of attorney need to be notarized?

The Civil Code sets no notary or witness rule for the mandate itself. But if the mandate authorizes an act that has its own form rules, like selling a house, the mandate must meet those rules. In practice, mandates used for real estate are usually formal written documents.

Does a Louisiana mandate end if I get dementia?

No, not by default. Unless the mandate says otherwise, it keeps working if you become incapacitated. It ends at your death, or if a curator is appointed and qualifies for you.

Can my mandatary sell my house?

Only if the mandate gives that power expressly. Louisiana requires express authority to sell, mortgage or lease property, and the mandate must also be in the form the sale requires.

Can my financial mandatary make medical decisions?

Only if the mandate expressly grants health care authority. General financial wording isn't enough in Louisiana.

Does my bank have to accept my mandate?

No law forces it to. A bank with federal deposit protection may rely on a valid mandate and is protected when it does. Ask your bank now whether it wants its own form too.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws vary by state.

Keep reading

State guidesMedical power of attorney in Louisiana: how to sign oneMedical power of attorney in Louisiana is a mandate that expressly grants health care authority. The living will rules, and who decides if nobody is named.State guidesProbate in Louisiana: small estates, no will, and skipping courtSmall estate affidavit Louisiana rules: successions up to $200,000 can skip court, who inherits with no testament, the usufruct, and the 2.5% executor fee.State guidesEstate planning by state: guides for all 50 statesEstate planning by state: what stays the same everywhere, what changes, and power of attorney, medical and probate guides for all 50 states.