Yesterday morning I spoke with a lady from Metairie whose mom is currently in a nursing home due to her dementia. Mom never signed a power of attorney, and the daughter has run into issues in managing her mother’s accounts and bills and was hoping there was a way to get power of attorney for her mom.
Unfortunately, I had to let the daughter know it’s too late. At this point, mom does not have the mental capacity to sign a power of attorney. The only way for the daughter to gain control of mom’s affairs will be through a court supervised procedure known as a Louisiana Interdiction. Interdictions are tedious, long, and expensive (usually thousands of dollars), but at this point to take control of mom’s affairs the daughter has no choice.
A Louisiana Power of Attorney done before it was too late could have avoided this entire dilemma, and made things much simpler and more cost effective for the family. Don’t get caught unprepared — Power of Attorney is an integral part of any Louisiana Estate Plan. To get your Estate Planning and Incapacity planning in order, call (504) 274-1980 in the Metairie and New Orleans Area or call (985) 246-3020 in Mandeville, Covington, Slidell, Houma, Thibodaux, and surrounding areas.