Louisiana Advance Directive and Living Will

A Louisiana advance directive lets you say, in writing and ahead of time, what medical care you want if you can no longer speak for yourself. The main document for end-of-life wishes is the declaration concerning life-sustaining procedures, often called a living will. You sign it in front of two witnesses, and it tells doctors whether to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment once two physicians certify that you have a terminal and irreversible condition. This sits under Louisiana's advance-directive and life-sustaining-procedures law, commonly called the Natural Death Act, La. R.S. 40:1151.1 through 40:1151.9. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)

Use this Louisiana advance directive guide as a planning map, not as legal advice or a finished form. The wording you need depends on your health, your family, and your wishes. A Louisiana estate-planning attorney can help you sign a directive that says what you mean. This page connects to the Louisiana estate and succession directory and to the Louisiana power of attorney guide for the money side of planning.

What a Louisiana Advance Directive Covers

Louisiana splits this planning into two separate tools, and that surprises people who move from other states. Here is the breakdown.

• The living will (end-of-life care). The declaration concerning life-sustaining procedures is your written choice about life-prolonging treatment near the end of life. It applies only after you reach a terminal and irreversible condition. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)
• The health care power of attorney (everyday medical decisions). Louisiana does not fold a medical agent into the living-will statute. To name someone who can consent to or refuse routine treatment for you, you appoint an agent through a Civil Code mandate (also called a procuration). That is a separate document from the living will. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)

So a complete Louisiana plan usually pairs two papers: a living-will declaration for end-of-life wishes, and a health care mandate that names your decision-maker for all the other medical calls. Many people sign both at the same visit. A Louisiana attorney can confirm the right pairing and the signing formalities for the mandate, since the mandate side runs under the Civil Code rather than the Natural Death Act.

How to Sign a Living Will in Louisiana

A written declaration concerning life-sustaining procedures must be signed by the declarant in the presence of two witnesses. That is the core rule, and any competent adult may make one. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)

A few practical points sit on top of that rule:

• Notarization is not required by statute, but it is worth doing. A notarized signature helps prevent later disputes and can help other states honor your declaration if you travel or move. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)
• Pick clean witnesses. Louisiana defines a qualifying witness narrowly: a competent adult who is not related to you by blood or marriage and who would not inherit any part of your estate at your death. Keep heirs, beneficiaries, and relatives out of the witness role so no one can question the document later. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.1.)
• You can use the suggested form, or not. La. R.S. 40:1151.2 gives an illustrative declaration form. Use of that form is optional. You may adopt it, adapt it, or write your own, as long as you meet the two-witness signing rule. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)

There is one narrow path for people already at the end of life. An adult who has been diagnosed with a terminal and irreversible condition may make an oral or nonverbal declaration by any nonwritten means of communication, again in the presence of two witnesses. That oral option is only for that situation. For everyone planning ahead, the written, two-witness route is the one to use. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)

When the Living Will Takes Effect

A Louisiana living will does not switch on the moment you sign it. It applies only after you become a qualified patient, which means two physicians who have personally examined you certify in writing that you have a terminal and irreversible condition. One of those physicians must be your attending physician. While you can still decide for yourself, you stay in charge, and your own current choices control. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.1.)

The statute defines what counts:

• A terminal and irreversible condition is a continual profound comatose state with no reasonable chance of recovery, or a condition caused by injury, disease, or illness that, in reasonable medical judgment, would produce death. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.1.)
• A life-sustaining procedure is a medical intervention that, in reasonable medical judgment, would serve only to prolong the dying process for a person with a terminal and irreversible condition. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.1.)

You also carry a notice duty. The declarant is responsible for telling the attending physician about the declaration so it can be made part of the medical record. If you cannot communicate, someone else may notify the physician for you. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)

Who Decides If You Have No Living Will

If you never signed a declaration and you reach a terminal and irreversible condition while unable to communicate, Louisiana does not leave the decision open. State law sets a surrogate priority list for a qualified patient who has no prior declaration. Once you are certified as a qualified patient and cannot speak for yourself, the right to make the declaration passes down this order. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.4.)

A few rules shape how this list works:

• A person in a lower class may act only if no one in a higher class is reasonably available, willing, and competent to act. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.4.)
• If people in the same class disagree, the decision is made by a majority of that class who are available, after a good-faith effort to consult everyone in the class. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.4.)

The takeaway for planning: the surrogate list works, but it may put the decision with someone you would not have picked, or split it among several relatives who do not agree. Signing your own living will, and naming a health care agent by mandate, keeps the choice in your hands.

Changing or Revoking Your Declaration

A Louisiana declaration concerning life-sustaining procedures does not state an expiration date. It stays in force until you revoke it. You can revoke at any time, even after you reach a terminal condition, and your capacity to revoke does not depend on your physical or mental condition. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.3.)

You can revoke in several ways:

• Destroy it. You, or another person acting in your presence and at your direction, can cancel, deface, tear, burn, or otherwise destroy the declaration.
• Sign a dated written revocation. A signed, dated writing that says you revoke ends the declaration.
• Say you revoke it. An oral or nonverbal expression of intent to revoke takes effect when you communicate it to the attending physician, who records the time and date in your medical record.
• Notify the registry. If you registered the declaration with the Secretary of State, file a written notice of revocation with that office. Until the office notes the revocation, a physician or facility acting in good faith may still rely on the declaration.

After any change, tell your physician, your health care agent, and the registry if you stored a copy there. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.3.)

The Louisiana Living Will Registry

The Louisiana Secretary of State runs a Living Will Registry where you can file your declaration concerning life-sustaining procedures. Registering is optional, and it does not change whether your declaration is valid. A declaration that meets the two-witness signing rule is valid whether or not you register it. The registry is about access, so providers and your family can find the document when it matters. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)

Two more registry points are worth knowing:

• The DNR bracelet. The Secretary of State issues a do-not-resuscitate identification bracelet to qualified patients listed in the registry. The bracelet shows the patient's name, date of birth, and the phrase "DO NOT RESUSCITATE." (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)
• Doctors are not required to check it. Nothing in the statute forces a physician or facility to confirm a registry entry before withholding or withdrawing treatment, so do not rely on the registry alone. Keep your own signed copies, and give one to your agent and your doctor. (Source: La. R.S. 40:1151.2.)

A Simple Planning Sequence

Use this order as a planning checklist, then confirm the details with a Louisiana attorney or your provider:

1. Write your end-of-life wishes in a declaration concerning life-sustaining procedures.
2. Sign it in front of two witnesses who are not relatives, heirs, or beneficiaries. Consider notarizing it.
3. Appoint a health care agent through a Civil Code mandate for everyday medical decisions, and ask that person first.
4. Give signed copies to your agent and your doctor, and consider the Louisiana Living Will Registry with the Secretary of State.
5. Tell your attending physician so the declaration goes into your medical record.
6. Review it after any major life change, and revoke or replace it if your wishes change.

Pair this directive with the rest of your plan. The Louisiana power of attorney guide covers who manages your money and property if you cannot, the Louisiana guardianship and interdiction guide covers court-appointed decision-makers, and the how to avoid succession in Louisiana guide covers passing assets without a full court file. For the full set of Louisiana estate and succession pages, start at the Louisiana estate directory.

This guide is general information about Louisiana estates. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the parish Clerk of Court, the Louisiana Secretary of State, or a licensed Louisiana attorney.

Sources

• Title: La. R.S. 40:1151.1, Definitions (terminal and irreversible condition, qualified patient, declaration, life-sustaining procedure, witness). Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (Louisiana Revised Statutes). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=964663
• Title: La. R.S. 40:1151.2, Making of declaration; notification; illustrative form; registry; do-not-resuscitate identification bracelets. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (Louisiana Revised Statutes). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=964664
• Title: La. R.S. 40:1151.3, Revocation of a declaration. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (Louisiana Revised Statutes). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=964665
• Title: La. R.S. 40:1151.4, Procedure for a qualified patient who has not previously made a declaration (surrogate priority). Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (Louisiana Revised Statutes). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=964673
• Title: La. R.S. 40:1159.4, Consent to surgical or medical treatment. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (Louisiana Revised Statutes). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://legis.la.gov/legis/LawSearch.aspx