Baton Rouge Legal Blog

Parents in Louisiana should take note if they own a Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play Sleeper. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, together with Fisher-Price, has issued a warning that all models of the Rock 'n Play Sleeper, an inclined baby seat, can put babies at risk for injuries or death if they roll over in the product.

The safety commission knows of 10 infant deaths since 2015 involving the Rock 'n Play Sleeper. Since babies begin to roll over at approximately three months, the report advises parents to stop using the product when their babies reach that age (all 10 of the babies who died were over three months old).

Powers of attorney are important parts of an estate plan, but people in Louisiana should be aware of some common misconceptions about them. One myth is that a power of attorney is a uniform document that can be used from state to state. This is not the case; some states may not even recognize a power of attorney from another state.

Powers of attorney are created to appoint someone to manage a person's finances and healthcare decisions if the person is unable to do so. A durable power of attorney for finances is a separate document from the healthcare power of attorney. Powers of attorney must be prepared and signed while a person still has the mental capacity to do so. They remain valid if a person becomes mentally incapable as long as the documents were signed before this happened.

Since the terms of irrevocable trusts are designed to be permanent, these arrangements can be difficult to break. However, there may be instances when such a trust is no longer beneficial for a Louisiana estate owner or their heirs.

Some states have been adopting new laws that allow people to change an irrevocable trust. To be more specific, 25 states now allow broken trusts to be amended through what's known as decanting statutes. These allow the creator to take assets out of an old trust and pour them into a new and revised trust. This could correct provisions that might have been unfavorable. That being said, decanting statutes can differ from state to state, and some states can be more restrictive than others (Louisiana currently does not have any decanting statutes). Therefore, it is recommended that a creator move the trust situs to a state that offers flexible decanting statutes.

Some Tesla owners in Louisiana may be concerned about reports of fiery crashes involving the automaker's vehicles. The all-electric cars are known for both their luxury and innovation, but some people are questioning their safety after a February crash in Florida. In the incident, a Tesla Model S suddenly left the roadway, swerving through three lanes of traffic before hitting a median and trees. There, the car burst into flames. The one-car accident killed the Tesla's driver.

After the crash, the car was towed away to a city impound lot. According to local fire officials, the battery burst into flames at least three times in the night following the car crash. However, it is not clear that a problem with the battery led to the initial crash; instead, speed is being investigated as a cause. On the other hand, auto safety experts noted that heat can build up in the vehicles' large lithium-ion batteries after a crash, leading to fires that are challenging to fully extinguish. The manufacturer itself says that battery fires can take 24 hours to extinguish, and noted that it may be best to let the battery burn while protecting surrounding elements from the flames.