Boise Power of Attorney Lawyer

Managing your financial affairs becomes harder as you age. One important estate planning tool is the power of attorney, called a POA for short. At Johnson May, we have created these documents for hundreds of people, and we ensure they work with other pieces of your estate plan. With the right power of attorney, you can appoint someone to make critical decisions involving finances and healthcare when you become incapacitated by dementia, stroke, or other illness.
Call our office to speak with a power of attorney lawyer about your estate planning needs. We are available to meet for a private consultation at our office.
Financial Power of Attorney

With a financial power of attorney, you appoint someone to act as your agent with broad authority with respect to your finances, including money and property. Your agent is empowered to make financial transactions for you.
The great thing about a power of attorney (POA) is that you can decide which powers to give to a trusted person as your agent. Some examples include:
- Depositing checks into your savings account;
- Paying taxes;
- Paying monthly bills;
- Collecting rents;
- Cashing out investments or changing investments;
- Handling legal claims and litigation for you;
- Running a business;
- Selling or buying real estate.
You can give your agent some or all of these powers. For example, some people are comfortable having an agent deposit checks into a bank account and pay monthly bills, but they don’t want to empower this person to sell real estate or change investment allocations in retirement accounts. That’s fine—it’s up to you, as the client, to decide what powers to give your agent.
Talk it over with an estate planning lawyer at our firm. We can help create a POA that works for you and provides peace of mind. We can also help you choose an appropriate agent. This is a critical choice, and we encourage you to give it some thought. You should identify someone you feel comfortable with who is detailed and good with money. Many people choose an older child, but that might not be the right choice, especially if he or she lives far away.
How Do I Find Your Office?
Address: 199 N Capitol Blvd #200, Boise, ID 83702
Parking: Use the Parking garage on the backside of the building! The best entrance is off of W Idaho St.
Best Way To Get To Us: To get to us in an easy way would be to drive North on N. Capital Blvd. and take a left on W Idaho St. and then enter the parking garage! See you soon!
Power of Attorney for Health Care

Incapacitated individuals cannot make choices for themselves when it comes to giving medical power for medical care and medical treatment. Unfortunately, when a person becomes incapacitated, disputes erupt between family members for healthcare power or general power. Imagine that Mom or Dad is in a coma and cannot speak. The children fight among themselves about what care their parent should receive. These disputes can become very bitter.
A legal document from power of attorney is one way to take control of your medical care when you cannot express your wishes in legal matters. You can appoint an agent to make healthcare decisions once you become incapacitated. So long as you maintain your mental capacity, you will make these choices for yourself, so don’t worry about losing control of limited power. Typically, a POA for health care will spring into effect when your doctor certifies that you are incapacitated.
Choosing the right agent for medical decisions with legal authority is also hard. You should pick someone you trust. Many people choose an agent who lives near them, since it is easier for this individual to come to the hospital and speak with doctors. Your agent should be confident in the decisions they make about legal affairs and be able to express themselves clearly, because they can face pushback from family members.
We often couple a power of attorney for healthcare and personal affairs with a living will. In this document, you decide what end-of-life care you want or don’t want, such as a feeding tube or artificial respiration. Many people do not want to be on life support for weeks or longer. Talk with our estate planning lawyer about what documents you need to achieve peace of mind.
When to Revise Your POA
Having created a power of attorney with an attorney document, you can breathe a sigh of relief. You are ahead of most people, who never create a POA or any other estate document.
However, many people need to update their POA because of certain life events:
- Divorce. Once your spouse files for divorce, they lose their power to serve as your agent. Many people naturally name their spouse to serve in this role, which means it’s time to appoint someone else when you are headed to divorce court. Divorce is an excellent time to review an entire estate plan, not only your POA documents.
- Death of your agent. Your agent might have predeceased you, in which case you should name a new one. Some people named a successor agent in their original POA, but this is still a good time to review whether to make a change.
- You change your mind. You might have fallen out with a child who you named as your agent, or you’ve changed your mind about what powers you want to give this person. Whenever you change your mind, you should discuss it with an experienced estate planning lawyer.
- You move to a different state. Many POAs will remain effective, but it’s always helpful to check. If you are new to Idaho, don’t assume your POA created in a different state remains effective according to Idaho law.
Also avoid using any forms you find online. Idaho has even published a statutory form which some people use, but there’s no substitute for legal advice tailored to your unique needs. You might struggle to pick an appropriate agent, or attorney services for example, or need help thinking through what end of life care you desire. These are the benefits of hiring an experienced attorney.
Call to Speak with Johnson May about a Power of Attorney
Johnson May has offered estate planning services for decades. We believe in empowering clients to take control of the future by creating a detailed, effective estate plan that meets their goals and will stand up to legal challenges in court. A power of attorney is a critical document to have in your plan, but other elements include a will and/or trust. Call us today if you’d like to schedule a consultation and go over what you need. We believe in transparent pricing and open communication with all of our clients.