Louisiana Power of Attorney (Mandate)

A Louisiana power of attorney is a planning document you sign while you are healthy, not a probate tool. Louisiana is a civil-law state, so it does not use the common-law "power of attorney" framework that most states share. Here, the same idea is called a mandate (also known as a procuration), and it is governed by the Louisiana Civil Code, not the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. A mandate lets you name someone to act on your money and property if you cannot act yourself. (See La. Civ. Code art. 2989 and the mandate articles, arts. 2989-3034.)

Use this guide as a plain-language map, not as legal advice or a fill-in form. A mandate gives real authority over your finances, so most people should have a Louisiana attorney draft or review it before signing. This page explains the rules so you can ask better questions.

One point sets the boundary for this whole site: a mandate ends at the principal's death. Once the principal dies, the mandatary's authority stops, and a separate process begins. In Louisiana, that process is succession, handled in district court, where a succession representative takes over. A mandate cannot be used to settle a succession. (See La. Civ. Code art. 3024.)

What a Louisiana Mandate Does

A mandate names two roles. The principal is the person who signs and grants authority. The mandatary (what other states call an agent or attorney-in-fact) is the person who can act for the principal. Under La. Civ. Code art. 2989, a mandate is a contract by which the principal confers authority on the mandatary to act for the principal. The mandatary can do the tasks the document allows, such as paying bills, managing bank accounts, or dealing with property.

The mandatary owes the principal real duties. Under La. Civ. Code art. 3001, the mandatary must perform with prudence and diligence and answers to the principal for any loss the principal sustains from a failure to perform. The mandatary must also provide information and render an account when the principal asks or when circumstances require it (La. Civ. Code art. 3003), and must deliver to the principal everything received under the mandate (La. Civ. Code art. 3004). The mandatary also may not contract with himself as the other party unless the principal authorizes it (La. Civ. Code art. 2998).

This document covers finances and property. Health care is different. Although Louisiana lets a mandate include health care authority when the document grants it expressly, most people use a separate document for medical decisions. If you want someone to make health care choices for you, read the Louisiana advance directive and living will guide and pair the two documents.

Durable by Default

Many states make you add special words to keep a power of attorney alive after you lose capacity. Louisiana flips that. Under La. Civ. Code art. 3026, in the absence of a contrary agreement, neither the contract nor the authority of the mandatary terminates because the principal becomes incapacitated, disabled, or otherwise unable to revoke the mandate. A Louisiana mandate is durable by default.

Here is why that matters. The main reason most people sign a mandate is to plan for a stroke, an accident, or a slow decline. A durable mandate stays in force through that incapacity, so the mandatary can keep paying bills and managing accounts without a court process. If you do not want that result, the document has to say so.

There is one limit to keep in mind. Under La. Civ. Code art. 3024, the mandate and the mandatary's authority terminate when a curator qualifies after the principal is formally interdicted. So even a durable mandate gives way once a court appoints a curator for an interdicted principal. For more on that court process and how a mandate can help you avoid it, see the Louisiana guardianship and interdiction planning guide.

Form Rules: It Depends on the Act

Louisiana does not impose one fixed signing rule on every mandate. Under La. Civ. Code art. 2993, the contract of mandate is not required to be in any particular form. The catch follows in the same article: when the law prescribes a certain form for an act, a mandate authorizing that act must be in that form.

Let's break it down:

• For everyday tasks, the Code sets no required witness count and no across-the-board notary rule for a mandate.
• For a formal act, the mandate must match the form the law requires for that act. A mandate to sell or donate immovable (real) property, for example, must be in the form of an authentic act, which Louisiana law executes before a notary public and two witnesses.

As a practical matter, most Louisiana mandates are signed before a notary and two witnesses anyway. Here is why: banks, title companies, and other third parties usually want that level of formality before they will rely on the document, and it lets the same mandate work for real-estate and other formal transactions. Notarizing the document keeps it from being technically signed but unusable when it counts.

Acts That Need Express Authority

Louisiana does not use the "hot powers" label that some states apply, but it reaches the same result. The Civil Code walls off certain high-impact acts so a general grant of authority does not include them. Each of these acts requires authority given expressly in the mandate.

Under La. Civ. Code art. 2996, the authority to alienate, acquire, encumber, or lease a thing must be given expressly.

Under La. Civ. Code art. 2997, express authority is also required to:

• Make an inter vivos donation (a gift), either outright or to a trust or other custodial arrangement, and to impose conditions on it when the mandate so provides
• Accept or renounce a succession
• Contract a loan, acknowledge or remit a debt, or become a surety
• Draw or endorse promissory notes and negotiable instruments
• Enter a compromise or refer a matter to arbitration
• Make health care decisions, such as surgery, medical expenses, nursing home residency, and medication
• Prevent or limit reasonable communication, visitation, or interaction between the principal and a close relative or another person with a strong relationship to the principal

These acts can reshape who inherits, how property is owned, and who reaches the principal, so the Code keeps them out of the general grant. If you want your mandatary to do any of them, the document has to grant each one in clear language. Leaving them out keeps those choices with you.

There Is No Official Louisiana Mandate Form

Some states adopted an optional statutory fill-in power of attorney form. Louisiana did not. Because Louisiana never enacted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, there is no statutory form to download and no statutory grant of authority by category. Authority in a Louisiana mandate comes from the express terms the parties write into the document, subject to the express-authority rules of La. Civ. Code art. 2996 and art. 2997.

That is one reason a generic online form often falls short in Louisiana. It may use common-law terms that do not match the Civil Code, it may skip the express grants your mandatary actually needs, or it may grant authority you did not intend. A Louisiana attorney can match the document to your situation and to Louisiana's civil-law rules.

How a Louisiana Mandate Ends

A mandate does not last forever. It can end in several ways:

• The principal terminates it. Under La. Civ. Code art. 3025, the principal may revoke the mandate and the mandatary's authority at any time. A mandate can be made irrevocable only when it is in the interest of both the principal and the mandatary or a third person and the parties agree to it, for as long as the object of the contract requires.
• An event listed in the Code occurs. Under La. Civ. Code art. 3024, the mandate and the mandatary's authority also terminate on the death of the principal or the mandatary, the interdiction of the mandatary, or the qualification of a curator after the interdiction of the principal.
• Notice reaches the people who rely on it. Tell the mandatary and any third parties so reliance on the prior authority ends.
• A recorded mandate is revoked in the records. If the mandate was recorded for an immovable-property transaction, record the revocation in the same public records.

That death rule is the line between planning and succession. At death, the mandate terminates. The mandatary loses authority, and a bank will stop honoring the mandate once it learns of the death. From that point, only a qualified succession representative can act for the estate, and that authority comes from the district court, not from any mandate.

Mandate vs Succession

These two tools solve different problems at different times.

A mandate can reduce stress while you are alive, but it does not avoid succession by itself. To plan ahead for what happens after death, see the Louisiana guide to avoiding succession, which covers survivorship, beneficiary designations, and trusts.

When to Get Legal Help

A mandate is one of the most powerful documents you can sign. The wrong wording can give a mandatary too much control, or too little to be useful. Talk with a Louisiana attorney when:

• You want your mandatary to make gifts, accept or renounce a succession, or handle real estate (the acts that need express authority)
• You own immovable property, a business, or out-of-state property
• Family members might disagree about who should serve as mandatary
• You are worried about financial abuse and want safeguards built in
• You found a generic form online and are not sure it fits Louisiana's civil-law rules

Next steps. This guide can help you understand the rules and prepare questions. A lawyer can draft the document, tailor the express grants, and make sure it works when your mandatary needs it.

For the planning steps that pair with a mandate, keep these nearby:

• Louisiana advance directive and living will guide for health care decisions
• Louisiana guardianship and interdiction planning guide for the court process a durable mandate can help avoid
• How to avoid succession in Louisiana for after-death planning tools
• Louisiana probate help hub for what happens when a succession is settled

This guide is general information about Louisiana mandates and successions. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the district court or a licensed Louisiana attorney.

Sources

• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 2989, Mandate defined. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110025
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 2993, Form of mandate. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110030
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 2996, Authority to alienate, acquire, encumber, or lease. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110033
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 2997, Express authority required. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110034
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 2998, Contracting with one's self. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110035
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 3001, Mandatary's duty of performance. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110041
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 3003, Obligation to provide information. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110043
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 3004, Obligation to deliver. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110044
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 3024, Termination of the mandate and of the mandatary's authority. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110066
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 3025, Termination by the principal. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110067
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 3026, Incapacity of the principal. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature (legis.la.gov). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-14. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110068