New Orleans Mental Health Lawyers

Skilled Mental Health Law Attorneys In Orleans Parish, Louisiana

When a loved one is suffering a cognitive impairment or other mental condition that impacts his or her ability to function, it can be difficult to know when to step in and the best way to ensure he or she gets the care needed.

The mental health law attorneys at Brown Weimer, LLC serve families in New Orleans and throughout the area with loved ones of all ages who are mentally impaired due to a variety of conditions, including, but not limited to: Alzheimer's, dementia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, learning disabilities, autism, stroke, heart attack and even drug and alcohol addiction. Whether you need assistance protecting your loved one's assets, establishing a guardianship or obtaining financing for your loved ones, we can help.

We invite you schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys to discuss your needs with us. You can reach us by completing our online contact form or calling us directly at 504-561-8700.

Helping You With the Next Right Step For Your Loved One

The proper care for your loved one depends on a number of factors, including whether your loved one is suffering from a serious mental illness or a physical condition such as a heart attack or a stroke. Sometimes, there is only the need to transfer limited control over in the form of a power of attorney. If your loved one is in a situation where he or she is unable to make sound decisions on his behalf, a guardianship or conservatorship may be appropriate.

Our lawyers work with you to help you obtain the appropriate level of care for your loved one. We never assist with putting someone into a nursing home where this isn't the absolute last resort.

Judicial Commitment and Interdiction Help

Our mental health law services include help with obtaining the following:

• Guardianship, conservatorships and interdictions — When a loved one needs protection and cannot effectively manage their own affairs a guardianship or interdiction may be the best answer.
• Commitments — If a person is unable to take care of their basic needs and may pose a danger to themselves or others, a civil commitment may be needed to assure his or her well-being.
• Power of attorney — A power of attorney gives another person the right to act on behalf of another with respect to a certain matter. These can be written a variety of ways depending on need.
• Special needs trusts — Parents of individuals who are disabled or who require some form of special assistance often worry about how to provide for them after they have passed away. A special needs trust is a tool for preserving assets to care for a loved one.
• Medicaid and nursing home financing — The ideal way to prepare for your long-term care needs in the future is to plan ahead. Our firm provides guidance on what is needed to effectively finance your stay in a long-term care facility.

The Benefit of Special Needs Trusts

Despite Louisiana's mental health parity laws, people dealing with profound mental illness or other disabilities will often need to obtain Medicaid or Medicare benefits to cover the cost of the their long-term care. Qualifying for these federal benefits is a complicated process, requiring among other things, the exhaustion of the applicant's resources below a certain threshold in order to be eligible.

For family members who wish to ensure that their mentally ill loved ones are able to get the care they need, which may be beyond what government benefits provide, a special needs trust is essential. Sometimes known as a supplemental needs trust, a special needs trust was specifically created to provide for this heightened level of care while protecting your loved one's ability to receive government benefits.

Our attorneys can draft a special needs trust as a standalone instrument or as a part of a will to ensure that assets are protected to provide for the care of a mentally ill loved one after the family member has passed away.

We Offer Affordable and Approachable Mental Health Law Representation

At Brown Weimer, LLC, we take pride in providing affordable, approachable representation to our clients. To talk with our mental health law attorneys about your family situation, call us at 504-561-8700. We work with clients in metropolitan New Orleans and the surrounding areas, including Gretna, Harvey, Slidell, Mandeville, Houma, Metairie, Thibodaux, Kenner, Covington, Jefferson Parish, St. John Parish, Lafourche Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and St. Tammany Parish.