A Living Will is the Perfect Place to Start Your Louisiana Estate Plan.
A closer look at a Louisiana Declaration of Living Will and why it’s (so so) important.
Depending on who you ask, you’ll most likely get differing opinions on how important having a Declaration of Living Will is, especially when it comes to Louisiana estate planning.
Some lawyers will emphatically support having a living will in your estate plan. They think it’s an indispensable part of your Louisiana estate plan.
Other legal professionals, however, will say that it isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
In case you couldn’t tell, I’m more in the first boat than the latter.
However, I will add that a Louisiana living will is an essential piece of your estate plan only if you use it in tandem with tools that create a comprehensive estate plan.
A comprehensive estate plan means having all the legal documents and having discussions with your loved ones.
Especially those persons you’ve appointed as your agent under a healthcare power of attorney.
Bottom line: if you are going to create a living will, you need to let your loved ones know about it.
AND, you need to share all of your estate planning documentation with those who will have the authority to make decisions for you, should you become incapacitated (especially our Declaration of Living Will!)
“More than 50% of Americans think that estate planning is at least somewhat important, but only 33% have a will or living trust.”
What is a Living Will?
A living will is a written, legal document that specifies and clarifies your preferences around medical care and medical treatment should you become incapacitated.
The legal document itself, recognized by the state of Louisiana, is often referred to as a Declaration of Living Will.
Often, a living will (as I’ll be referring to it in this article) is employed during end of life care. Which means, that it needs to be prepped and ready for whenever that time comes.
It is in place to communicate your wishes when you are unable to do so, it is a vital and important part of your estate plan.
It is crucial to communicate your wishes to your loved ones, share documentation with the person you’ve appointed as your agent under your healthcare power of attorney.
A living will can be overlooked because it is often confused for other parts of an estate plan.
So, in order to better understand what exactly a living will is and why it’s so important, let’s discuss what a living will is not.
Estate Planning has never been simpler!
Louisiana Living Will Template
$39.00 $49.00
This user-friendly template includes step-by-step instructions and a straightforward declaration of living will template that’s easy to complete.
Tailored to Louisiana's specific legal requirements, it includes provisions for making critical medical decisions and appointing witnesses.
A Living Will is not a Healthcare Power of Attorney
It’s understandable why some confuse a living will with a healthcare power of attorney.
Both have to do with medical care for those who have become incapacitated or otherwise unable to communicate their own wishes.
However, having a living will does not mean you have a healthcare power of attorney, and having a healthcare power of attorney does not automatically mean that you have a living will.
A living will refers to the explicit statement of preferred medical treatments and actions taken by the healthcare team, typically pertaining to end-of-life care.
However, it is important to note that, in Louisiana, only a very simple directive is required.
A healthcare power of attorney is a document that establishes a person who is responsible for communicating your wishes pertaining to healthcare and making decisions on your behalf should you become unable to do so.
For Louisiana estate planning, the power of attorney document is the best place to put detailed end of life instructions. These instructions can specify things like:
treatments
medications
comfort care
length of that care.
So, a living will is the game plan and the healthcare power of attorney is the playbook and the one who helps carry it out.
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Living Wills and Estate Planning
A living will can be referred to as an advance directive.
It is the document in your estate plan that refers specifically to the care of the individual before they pass away.
Remember: an estate plan is a collection of an individual’s wishes and how that individual want things to happen when they’re not around.
So, including healthcare directives is a vital and often overlooked aspect of a thorough estate plan.
The fact of the matter is that we just don’t know exactly when we’re going to need an estate plan. We can make educated guesses.
But, lives change every day in the blink of an eye.
So, the only way we can truly prepare for the inevitable unknown is to spend some time today thinking about and actually making an estate plan.
When in doubt, keep it simple.
You can download the Living Will Template now and take care of it quickly and easily.
Doing so will cover your bases until you can get some of the more involved estate planing documents taken care of. Check out the digital resource center for more templates, guides, and tools that will help you take care of your Louisiana estate plan with ease.
Louisiana has a whole set of laws that dictate where your stuff goes after you pass away.
All of these things will affect where your property goes when someone passes away:
if you’re married
if you have kids
if you have siblings
if you co-owned a business
if you own a home
or if had a bunch of debt
““Only 46% of Americans have a will.””
Having an accurate last will and testament is the best way to ensure your wishes are honored after you pass away.
It saves your loved ones from the hassle and stress of having to make those decisions when you’re not around.
There are also laws and regulations that healthcare professionals must follow when caring for individuals.
So, having an accurate living will and power of attorney document is the best way to make it very clear what you want to have happen in your final season.
By stating clearly in your estate plan what you want to have happen should you become incapacitated eases the burden of your loved one’s having to make incredibly difficult decisions that could be, quite literally, life and death.
Start with your declaration of living will, then cement the bonds with a power of attorney and a conversation with your loved ones.
Estate Planning has never been simpler!
Louisiana Living Will Template
$39.00 $49.00
This user-friendly template includes step-by-step instructions and a straightforward declaration of living will template that’s easy to complete.
Tailored to Louisiana's specific legal requirements, it includes provisions for making critical medical decisions and appointing witnesses.
A Living Will is not an Olographic or Notarial will.
A living will should not be confused with a olographic (handwritten) or notarial (typewritten) will.
These types of wills are typically what people think about when thinking about estate planning. They’re the “what did so-and-so leave to so-and-so” type of will also known as your your last will and testament.
A notarial or olographic will specifiesthe things you own and where (or to whom) they should be distributed upon your death.
In Louisiana, a handwrittenwill can be as valid as a notarial will, as long as they meet specific requirements outline by Louisiana law.
I have a free guide to help you create a handwritten will that’s and legal in the state of Louisiana - download it here.
So, your last will and testament specifies where (and to whom) you want your stuff to go after you pass away.
A living will specifies your wishes concerning some medical preferences for end-of-life care.
Handwrite your own Louisiana will with this FREE Guide.
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A Living Will is not a DNR.
Officially, DNR stands for “Do Not Resuscitate”.
The document that is often referred to as a “DNR” is a medical order that specifically states that you’ve opted in to or out of very specific life-saving medical procedures like CPR in the event of cardiac or respiratory failure.
A DNR does not refer to or include all medical treatment or procedures.
Even when you have a DNR, healthcare providers may still engage in life-saving measures in the event of an emergency or other scenario that calls for life-saving treatment (unless you’ve declared otherwise in your living will.)
In Louisiana, a DNR does not have to be written by a lawyer.
It can be written by a physician in collaboration with the patient or the patient’s authorized representative.
This authorized representative can be established with the creation of a healthcare power of attorney.
Let’s review:
A Louisiana living will is a simple directive that specifies wether or not you want artificial nutrition and hydration should you become incapacitated.
A power of attorney appoints an agent (to make decisions on your behalf) and can include specific instructions concerning end of life care including medication, treatments and length of care.
A DNR is a document that speaks directly to the practice of specific life-saving procedures.
Together, these documents create a strong estate plan that helps ensure that things goes down the way you want them to.
Louisiana Living Will Template
$39.00 $49.00
This user-friendly template includes step-by-step instructions and a straightforward declaration of living will template that’s easy to complete.
Tailored to Louisiana's specific legal requirements, it includes provisions for making critical medical decisions and appointing witnesses.
Why ChatGPT is not a go-to place to create a Living Will.
Louisiana, as is often the case, has it’s own way of doing things.
So, if you ask ChatGPT or other AI programs to write a Living Will for you, you’ll often get a document that isn’t exactly what Louisiana requires in a Declaration of Living Will.
Even ChatGPT gets confused about what a living will is.
It might say that a living will is a formal, legally-recognized document that provides instructions to healthcare professionals.
This definition is generally true, but it tends to overcomplicate and confuse the roles of different estate planning documents.
According to ChatGPT the following medical procedure specifications to be included in the document :
CPR
Artificial ventilation/respiration
Artificial nutrition and hydration
Treatments and medications
Pain management
Surgery
Comorbidities
… and that’s not exactly right.
It will go on to describe a living will as a lengthy legal document that can be written by physicians and goes into extreme detail about your wished concerning medical procedures.
But, there’s a major difference between these ChatGPT definition and what is actually necessary in real life.
In Louisiana, a living will a simple directive that clarifies if you want artificial nutrition and hydration. You can download the template (with instructions) here.
If you want to provide more detailed instructions, it is recommended that you create a power of attorney. This way, you can name an agent to fulfill your specific instructions. If you just create a living will with all these instructions and you don’t name a healthcare power of attorney, then there isn’t anyone legally recognized to make decisions on your behalf.
So, keep the living will simple. Then, take care of a power of attorney, where you can include specifics and name your agent.
If you have a lot of instructions and specifications when it comes to your healthcare, I recommend seeking the counsel of a licensed legal professional who is familiar with estate planning law.
Here’s the truth about Living Wills in Louisiana:
In Louisiana, there’s a state-provided form that gives a simple directive.
You simply need to declare wether or not you want artificial nutrition and hydration.
Should you require additional instructions or specifications for your end-of-life care or medical interventions given certain circumstances, then you’ll require additional documentation to clarify those instructions.
Here’s the thing: if you have a set of lengthy, complicated or otherwise specialized instructions that you require your medical providers to follow, then I highly recommended seeking the advisement of a licensed Louisiana legal professional to ensure your wishes are properly documented and legally recognized.
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A Living Will is Simple
A declaration of living will is the perfect place to start your estate planning journey because it is so simple.
When done correctly, it can be a quick process that yields a lot of value for the small amount of effort required to complete this vital step.
However, in working with lots of Louisiana estate planning clients over the years, I often run into errors and mistakes on even the simplest of documents.
Which is why I have a digital resource that makes the process of establishing your Louisiana Living Will extremely simple.
The digital resource is a downloadable, fillable document that includes instructions and quick video tutorial that addresses these common mistakes and guides you in the right direction.
Estate Planning is way more than a living will.
It’s time to get prepared.
What you need to create your Louisiana Living Will
First, Louisiana provides a simple Declaration of Living Will document.
But, the document does not come with instructions!
No worries, I got you!
In my digital resource, Louisiana Living Will, I give explicit instructions (with video!) on exactly how to fill out the Declaration of Living Will document (which is also included in the digital resource).
Here is exactly what you’ll need to create your living will:
You will need to include your name, address and parish in the document.
You’ll choose whether or not you want artificial hydration and hydration if you have no reasonable chance of recover.
You’ll need two witnesses that meet the legal criteria for who can be a witness.
You’ll sign the document.
The witnesses will sign the document.
And, then you’re done!
If you follow the steps, choose appropriate witnesses and keep this document updated and secured, then you have yourself a Louisiana Living Will!
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Making your Living Will official
Louisiana law recognizes the validity of a living will as long as it meets specific requirements while being prepared.
Therefore, your living will does not necessarily need to be notarized.
If you have questions about your particular situation or feel like you’d like an extra level of validation, then it’s important to seek out a licensed legal professional to assist you in preparation of your document.
Otherwise, check out my digital Louisiana Living Will template to complete this important step in the estate planning process!
Test Your Knowledge on Louisiana Living Wills
Did any of this information about living wills and Louisiana estate planning stick?
Check your knowledge with this quick Living Will quiz (and let me know how you did!)
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Remember, when it comes to estate planning, everyone needs to make the decisions that are best for them.
So, wether you’re just getting started or are updating an already established estate plan, it’s important to consider your options, ask for help and keep updated on the latest estate planning updates in your state.
Louisiana estate planning really can be simple.
Check out my digital resources, read through my estate planning articles, and be sure to reach out if you have any questions or need specific insight into your estate planning situation.
You’ve got this.
Take Care,
Addie
FAQ
Q: What is a living will?
A: living will is a written, legal document that specifies and clarifies your preferences around medical care and medical treatment should you become incapacitated.
Q: Is a living will the same as a last will and testament?
A: No! A last will and testament is an important estate planning document that specifies the things you own and where (or to whom) they should be distributed upon your death. A declaration of living will is a directive that specifies your medical preferences for end-of-life care.
Q: Do I need to get a living will notarized?
A: Louisiana law recognizes the validity of a living will as long as it meets specific requirements while being prepared.
Therefore, your living will does not necessarily need to be notarized.
Q: What is a DNR?
A: Officially, a DNR stands for “Do Not Resuscitate”. It is a medical order that specifically states that you’ve opted in to or out of very specific life-saving medical procedures like CPR in the event of cardiac or respiratory failure. A DNR does not refer to or include all medical treatment or procedures. A DNR is NOT the same thing as a living will!
Q: What is an estate plan?
A: An estate plan is a collection of an individual’s wishes and how they want things to happen when they’re not around. So, including healthcare directives is a vital and often overlooked aspect of a thorough estate plan.
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