Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Louisiana

Re: Obtaining visitation rights for mental health patient

Dear LawGuru Friend,

If she is nineteen (19), as you say, she is an adult and capable of making her own legal decisions. If she wants you to visit her, then she certainly has the right to sign a document that you can use for your own protection just in case someone would allege that you were invading her privacy and visiting her when she did not want to be visited. Now, if by chance, because of her psychiatric condition her parents have already taken steps to have her interdicted by a judgmet o the court, then they may very well be her curators and then would have the right to deny you access to her while she is in the hospital. Any type of a lawyer who would have the time should be able to draw up a document that she could sign consenting in advance to your visiting her while she is hospitalized. Then you could use this document to show to hospital personnel and/or police should anyone challenge your right to visit her during her hosptialization. Best of luck! Be care, however, before jumping in and marrying somebody with mental problems. You might want to wait and see how things develop. Even if you love her, her mental condition may be sufficient for you to hold off making a big commitment, including a legal commitment, so long as she suffers from a mental illness. Holding off could turn out to be just as much for her benefit as for yours. Of course, only time will tell. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Be careful! Give some serious thought and prayer to what you should do under the circumstances. You did not ask for this fatherly advice, but I gave it anyway. Legally you are on good grounds. Best of luck!

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkerson, Atty.

Lake Charles, LA