This blog post is specifically for law enforcement officers who are members of FOP Crescent City Lodge #2 and who work in Louisiana. There may be benefits available to law enforcement officers who are not members of Crescent City Lodge #2 or who do not work in Louisiana. However, the benefits I refer to will be benefits specifically available to members of the Fraternal Order of Police Crescent City Lodge #2 and the law will refer to the law in Louisiana.

Members of the FOP Crescent City Lodge #2 get 2 hours of legal services to use any way they desire or need every year. In addition, members of Crescent City Lodge #2 are entitled to a benefit of up to $500 per year for family law. That means that most members of the FOP Crescent City Lodge #2 have these two benefits available to them. Using these benefits, I can usually prepare a Last Will and Testament, a Living Will, a Power of Attorney, and a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney for our members with no out-of-pocket cost to the Crescent City Lodge #2 member.

I often get calls from members of the FOP Crescent City Lodge #2 who ask if I can do a Living Will for them. The answer is almost always “Yes.” But, I know they are not usually really looking for a Living Will. They are usually looking for a Last Will and Testament. The good news is I can do both and I can usually do both with no out-of-pocket cost to the Crescent City Lodge #2 member.

So, what is a Living Will? A Living Will is a declaration relative to your desires as to what medical professionals will do if the person executing the Living Will is sick or injured to the point that two physicians, one being your treating physician, agree that the declarant is sick or injured to the point that they will never come back and the machines you are attached to in the hospital would only serve to artificially extend your life. The declarant also has to make a decision about what they would like the medical professionals to do regarding nutrition and hydration.

A Last Will and Testament contains your instructions as to how you want your property distributed at the time of your death. Of course, it is not quite that simple, but that is why you have a lawyer advise you on the creation of this document. This is almost always what people are looking for when they call to ask about a Living Will.

I also give the Crescent City Lodge #2 member the option of executing a General Power of Attorney and a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney. These documents essentially pass on the authority to make decisions on your behalf. The General Power of Attorney pretty much covers all aspects of your life and the Durable Health Care Power of Attorney is specific to health care.

What happens in Louisiana if you die without having a Last Will and Testament? All of your separate property (as opposed to community property) is divided evenly among your children. Your surviving spouse, if there is one, gets usufruct over the property that was divided evenly among your children. I’m going to save the explanation of usufruct for another day. The General Power of Attorney and the Durable Health Care Power of Attorney lose their authority when the person who executed those documents passes. The Living Will also fails to have any meaning once the declarant has died.

Most Crescent City Lodge #2 members have both of these benefits available to them — the personal legal benefit and the family law benefit. If you want to create these documents or revise one or more of these documents that have already been done, call me. It is usually not difficult to find my telephone number. You can also email me at dlivaccari at gmail.com. I can also be reached at dliva at protonmail.com, which has end-to-end encryption.

If you want a ProtonMail account so you too can take advantage of end-to-end encryption, click here.

As I mentioned at the top of this article, the personal legal benefit and the family law benefit are benefits that are particular to the FOP Crescent City Lodge and the law my statements were based on came from Louisiana. However, if you do not have the personal legal or the family law benefit, I can still discount a Last Will and Testament, Living Will, General Power of Attorney, and Durable Health Care Power of Attorney. Furthermore, if you are not in Louisiana, your state is probably similar, but you would be better off getting the work done in your state.