Need assistance/advice please.....

I reside in Texas and my mother resides in Louisiana. Can anyone recommend an online web site to create/print a Power of Attorney that would be specific to Louisiana and be upheld in a court of law in either Louisiana or Texas? I'm ignorant on the subject, so I don't even know if a POA for a Louisiana resident is valid in Texas, if needed. Also, there are several types of POA's that cover several areas. Does one POA cover ALL areas, i.e., medical, financial, etc., or is there a POA for each specific area of "power"?

Thanks for any education and advice on the matter!!!

First of all, powers of attorney are not very useful. Few financial institutions honor one, for example. This has been a source of frustration, anxiety, and worry for me my entire career.

Secondly, the attorney in fact has only the powers described in the instrument, a matter of interpretation at best.

Thirdly, Louisians is the only civil law state. The rest are common law based. There is very little similarity in the theories, limitations, forms, and principles in common, no pun intended.

Most situations have solutions far more appropriate and secure than a POA. In any event, a Louisiana lawyer is essential for guidance through its unique labyrinths.

What JALLEN said. What you're trying to do can be rather case-specific, depends on lots of relevant state laws, and is not something to be attempted by amateurs.

Pay a qualified LA attorney now rather than paying one 5x as much later after you're in the middle of a horribly screwed up situation because you used on "online POA guaranteed valid in all 50 states for only $29.99" sort of deal.

Just like the salons that charge $60 to fix $10 haircuts, there are many attorneys who make thousands of dollars because a client tried to save $500 going it alone at the outset. (I believe our own ShneaSig has built his practice on this, in fact.)

If your mom lives in LA and her assets are there, Texas law may be completely irrelevant. You need a LA attorney that specializes in estate planning. Let him review the current situation. If there's nothing too complicated, a basic will and other necessary planning documents (POAs, etc.) would run you between $500-1000 here. No idea what the going rate in LA is.

-Rob

If you don't have the name of a LA attorney to call, then contact the LA State Bar. They have a Lawyer Referral program.

My father told me when he was trying to get his insurance company licensed in LA that the only valid POA in LA is cash, preferably in a brown bag...

If you want to do legal thing in LA you need a LA attorney, they don't cotton to outsiders

JAllen, BurtonRW, and Cheesegrits are all correct.

Pay particular attention to JAllen's comments about third parties ignoring powers of attorney. The commonly do just that.

You need to talk to a Louisiana lawyer about your specific needs and get some actual legal advice about how best to accomplish your goals. Maybe it is a power of attorney, maybe it is something else.

And not to pick on the OP too much, but why do people engage in so much legal self-help? Surely you know or at least suspect that the rules are Byzantine and that you don't know them. As I have said a million times - I guess I should thank goodness for this trait as it generates a lot of work for lawyers who then have to fix the problems people create for themselves.

Not only that but few outsiders can arrange a valid execution of an instrument with cat's blood ink, during a full moon, and the other ceremonial observances peculiar to some parishes there.

As wisely stated, work with a Louisiana attorney, hopefully one experienced in successions and mandates.

And as stated, Louisiana works on the civil law system, which is different than the rest of the country's common law system. The language is often different and the underlying concepts are often different -- in this case, what you want to create is a mandate, I believe (I took a successions course in law school, which means I fully realize I know diddly-squat about successions). And, on memory, mandates operate under the general rule of obligations (aka contracts -- though without the need for consideration). And being a civil law state, notaries are often very important. If you want to be further confused, read Louisiana Civil Code, Chapter 2. Mandate.

All of this many years' gone dusty memory says -- get you a knowledgeable LA attorney. Otherwise . . . .

Damned Frenchies and their Napoleonic Code.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
JAllen, BurtonRW, and Cheesegrits are all correct.

Pay particular attention to JAllen's comments about third parties ignoring powers of attorney. The commonly do just that.

You need to talk to a Louisiana lawyer about your specific needs and get some actual legal advice about how best to accomplish your goals. Maybe it is a power of attorney, maybe it is something else.

And not to pick on the OP too much, but why do people engage in so much legal self-help? Surely you know or at least suspect that the rules are Byzantine and that you don't know them. As I have said a million times - I guess I should thank goodness for this trait as it generates a lot of work for lawyers who then have to fix the problems people create for themselves.

Not to disagree with anything that you have said, but one challenge when things are really Byzantine is making sure the professional that you are about to hire really knows what he is doing.

Having working in high tech and been involved in building some of the building blocks in the 80s and 90s the phrase we often used that still resonates is, "You can find anything on the Internet! Greater than 90% of what you find is likely to be either what a horse or a bull leaves behind, but you can find anything on the Internet."

So I'd be looking for that professional, but also for some help in choosing the right professional...

Just what I need to get. I need a POA and a will here in La. I have to start saving money to find someone to do it. Mine should be simple never been married and no dependents.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
JAllen, BurtonRW, and Cheesegrits are all correct.

Pay particular attention to JAllen's comments about third parties ignoring powers of attorney. The commonly do just that.

You need to talk to a Louisiana lawyer about your specific needs and get some actual legal advice about how best to accomplish your goals. Maybe it is a power of attorney, maybe it is something else.

And not to pick on the OP too much, but why do people engage in so much legal self-help? Surely you know or at least suspect that the rules are Byzantine and that you don't know them. As I have said a million times - I guess I should thank goodness for this trait as it generates a lot of work for lawyers who then have to fix the problems people create for themselves.

Not to disagree with anything that you have said, but one challenge when things are really Byzantine is making sure the professional that you are about to hire really knows what he is doing.

...

So I'd be looking for that professional, but also for some help in choosing the right professional...

Precisely the reason I specified an attorney who specializes in estate planning. Walking into the office of the guy that does "speeding tickets, felony arrests, personal injury, divorce, wills, workers comp, and title work" is not likely to yield the best results.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
Not to disagree with anything that you have said, but one challenge when things are really Byzantine is making sure the professional that you are about to hire really knows what he is doing.

...

So I'd be looking for that professional, but also for some help in choosing the right professional...

Precisely the reason I specified an attorney who specializes in estate planning. Walking into the office of the guy that does "speeding tickets, felony arrests, personal injury, divorce, wills, workers comp, and title work" is not likely to yield the best results.

-Rob

Yes Rob, one certainly wants to get the right type of attorney. My point was a little more specific, I want to get the right attorney (or one of the right attorneys) within the right specialty. I personally know two estate planning attorneys here in town. One is generally well thought of and considered okay if you ask around locally. The other is very well respected statewide. Guess which one I want to employ? Through my own business and some non-profit work I have been involved in, I have had some dealings with some lawyers I'll call "transactional" or "business" lawyers for lack of me knowing the right term. If someone asked me for a reference for an attorney for a deal they were putting together, there are a few I'd highly recommend, several I wouldn't recommend for or against, and a few I'd suggest crossing the street if you see them coming. I'm just a guy local to the area with a little bit of experience. I am absolutely positive that there are much better places than me to go to get that reference. If I had to hire a lawyer somewhere else, I'd love to have some tips on finding that better place to get the reference.

I'd expect the local bar has a list of members and their specialties. I don't know if it would be reasonable to expect the local bar to make recommendations or to rank members? Do they do that?

Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:


I'd expect the local bar has a list of members and their specialties. I don't know if it would be reasonable to expect the local bar to make recommendations or to rank members? Do they do that?

Thanks!

The lawyer referral services I am familiar with do not rank or recommend specific attorneys, but rather provide a list of two or more, if they have them, that meet the criteria you are interested in that they have.

Thanks for the advice, all. One of my best friends from H.S. and college lives in LA and I've asked him if he has any attorney references for this specific area of LA law.