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Aug 02, 2026
Elder law helps people prepare for the legal and financial problems that often accompany aging, illness, disability, or declining capacity. It also helps families respond when a loved one can no longer manage important decisions alone.
Although elder law overlaps with estate planning, it addresses more than what happens after death. It also focuses on protecting the person, property, independence, and wishes of an older or vulnerable adult during life.
Planning for Incapacity
A sudden illness, injury, or dementia diagnosis can leave someone unable to manage finances or communicate health care decisions. Therefore, incapacity planning plays a central role in elder law.
A Louisiana contract of mandate allows a trusted person to handle specified financial and legal matters. The document can grant broad authority or limit the agent to particular tasks.
In addition, health care planning may include a health care power of attorney and an advance directive. These documents address different issues. A health care power of attorney identifies who may make medical decisions, while an advance directive can state the person’s wishes concerning life-sustaining treatment.
Louisiana also maintains an optional Living Will Registry through the Secretary of State.
Completing these documents early allows the individual—not a court or family dispute—to choose who will act.
Preparing for Long-Term Care
Elder-law planning should also address where a person wants to live, who will provide assistance, and how the family will pay for that care.
Possible funding sources include:
- Privately purchased long-term-care insurance;
- Personal savings and retirement income;
- Family assistance;
- Veterans’ benefits, when available; and
- Medicaid-funded long-term-care programs for people who qualify.
Medicare and ordinary health insurance do not necessarily cover ongoing custodial care. As a result, families should examine long-term-care costs before a crisis occurs.
The Louisiana Department of Health provides information about facility-based and home- and community-based long-term-care programs. However, Medicaid is only one part of the conversation. Our article about including long-term care in an estate plan also discusses private insurance, self-funding, and family support.
Updating the Estate Plan
Older adults should review their wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, property titles, and financial accounts. A plan created many years ago may no longer reflect the person’s family, property, or wishes.
For example, the death of a spouse, a divorce, a new marriage, a serious diagnosis, or the sale of a major asset may require changes. A review can also reveal practical problems, such as an unavailable executor, an unfunded trust, or a beneficiary designation that conflicts with the rest of the plan.
Estate planning also gives the person an opportunity to decide:
- Who should inherit;
- Who should manage the succession;
- Whether a trust would help a beneficiary;
- How to address family conflict; and
- Who should receive particular property.
The goal is not simply to sign documents. Instead, the plan should work with the person’s property, accounts, and family circumstances.
Avoiding or Addressing Interdiction
When someone loses the ability to make or communicate reasoned decisions, family members may consider interdiction. Through interdiction, a court can remove some or all of the person’s legal decision-making authority and appoint a curator.
However, Louisiana treats interdiction as a serious remedy. Civil Code Article 389 requires the court to consider whether less restrictive measures can protect the person’s interests.
A properly drafted mandate, trust, or health care power of attorney may provide those less restrictive protections. If those options do not exist or cannot adequately protect the person, the family may need to examine the Louisiana interdiction process.
Responding to Abuse or Financial Exploitation
Elder law also addresses concerns about physical abuse, neglect, isolation, and financial exploitation. Warning signs may include:
- Unexplained withdrawals or transfers;
- Sudden changes to an estate plan;
- A caregiver who prevents private conversations;
- Unpaid bills despite adequate resources;
- Missing property;
- Misuse of a mandate; or
- A new person who assumes control over finances.
Families should act promptly when they suspect exploitation. Depending on the circumstances, they may need to contact financial institutions, law enforcement, an attorney, or protective services.
Louisiana’s Elderly Protective Services accepts reports involving abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults age 60 and older. When someone faces immediate danger, call 911.
Field Law Can Help
Elder-law planning works best before a medical or financial crisis limits the available choices. Field Law helps Louisiana clients prepare wills, trusts, mandates, health care documents, and other plans for aging or incapacity. We also assist families with interdiction and succession matters when a loved one can no longer act or has died.
To discuss an elder-law concern or begin planning for the future, contact Field Law to schedule a consultation.
