Power of Attorney Lawyers in Waco
Choosing now who signs for you later — and writing it so a bank, a hospital and a court will all honour it.
A power of attorney gives someone you trust the legal authority to make financial or medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated. It is the cheapest, quietest protection in estate planning and the one families most regret skipping. Our power of attorney lawyers in Waco draft both kinds. Call (254) 457-5083.
We can never tell what will happen to us from one day to the next. Our physical and mental health is never guaranteed, and so people put legal documents in place that give another person they trust the power to act for them if the worst happens. The legal term for that authority is power of attorney, or POA.
Depending on the type of POA, the person you name — known as the agent, proxy or attorney-in-fact — may be able to make decisions while you are still living. That is exactly why the choice matters: an agent needs to be someone you trust implicitly to handle your financial affairs and, in the medical version, to make health care decisions for you.
What kinds of power of attorney do Texas families sign?
Two documents do most of the work. A durable power of attorney covers money and property — banking, bills, insurance, real estate, dealing with a broker or the IRS. A medical power of attorney covers health care decisions when a physician determines you cannot make them yourself, and it usually travels with a directive to physicians recording your wishes about end-of-life care.
Beyond those, authority can be narrowed to a single purpose — a closing you cannot attend, one account, one transaction — or drafted to take effect only on incapacity. Texas also recognizes a declaration of guardian in advance of need, which tells a court whom you would want appointed if a guardianship ever becomes necessary. We fit the set to your situation rather than handing you every form in the book.
Who should I name as my agent?
Name the person who will actually answer the phone at 6 a.m., keep records, and tell you the truth about money. Competence and availability beat birth order; the oldest child is not automatically the right agent. Name a successor, because the first choice may be unavailable — or may be the one in the hospital bed beside you.
Think carefully about naming two people jointly. It sounds fair and it often stalls, because banks want one signature and siblings do not always agree. If your family is likely to argue, tell us that in the consultation; it changes how we draft. The other honest conversation is about risk: financial exploitation of older adults usually comes from inside the family, and the way authority is written can make that harder.
What happens if there is no power of attorney?
Then nobody has authority, and the family has to ask a probate court for it. That means a guardianship: an application, a physician's certificate, a court-appointed attorney for your relative, a hearing, a bond, and annual reporting for as long as it lasts. It is protective and it works, but it costs a great deal more than the documents would have.
It also arrives at the worst time, usually while a hospital is asking who can consent to treatment or a nursing home is asking who can sign the admission papers. Powers of attorney are part of every plan we prepare, alongside your will and, where the situation calls for it, Medicaid and long-term care planning.
What we prepare
The authority documents in a Texas plan
These are usually signed in the same appointment as a will, which is the least expensive way to do it.
- Durable (financial) power of attorney
- Medical power of attorney
- Directive to physicians and family or surrogates
- HIPAA authorization so your agent can get medical information
- Declaration of guardian in advance of need
- Limited or special powers of attorney for a single transaction
- Review of an existing POA a bank or facility has refused to accept
Who handles this work
The attorneys who draft these documents
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Daniel Hare
Advises clients on wills, trusts, powers of attorney and Medicaid planning, and guides families through probate and guardianship.
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Elisa Dillard Rainey
Co-founder, focused on estate planning, special needs planning and elder law for Central Texas families.
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Addison Eubank Scott
Elder law counsel and a certified mediator, with guardianship certification from the State Bar of Texas.
Contact us
Put your powers of attorney in place
Call (254) 457-5083 in Waco or (512) 598-9005 in Georgetown, or send the form and we will call you back.