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"Competent, Caring and Responsive"

Divorce & Mediation

David Johnson and his staff provide
unique legal and personal support
for people throughout East Idaho
who are contemplating separation or divorce.

Personal/Family

Having a personal and family
attorney is important in helping
you plan for your future and/or
resolve problems and conflicts
that come up.

Business

Having an experienced attorney
is crucial to the success of your
business. Many small businesses
pay little or no attention to the legal side of their business, which can be a big mistake. David Johnson your business succeed and be adequately represented.

Archives for June 2015

June 11, 2015 By

Avoiding Trouble With Wills and Probate in Idaho

If you have been smart, fortunate, and diligent enough to have amassed some assets in your lifetime that could be going to your children or others, you should take the steps to be sure your assets are handled properly. Common problems include giving young children or grandchildren access to large sums of money before they are mature enough to handle it properly, or not giving clear directions in your will. These, and other issues, can be handled by using an attorney who is familiar with wills and probate in Idaho.

Strategies

When it comes to protecting young beneficiaries from themselves, you might want to consider the use of a testamentary trust. Setting up a trust during your lifetime is often prudent with sizeable estates. For lesser holdings, a testamentary trust may suit your needs. A testamentary trust is one that is created after your passing, but allows you to plan exactly how and when your descendants gain access to any funds. During your lifetime, you do not have to administer the trust or incur the cost of having one set up. A testamentary trust is designated and outlined as part of your will.

Estate planning is a complex and emotional task, and the advice of an experienced attorney and financial planner is essential to making sure all your wishes are followed.

Filed Under: Probate
June 7, 2015 By

Navigating Private Placement Adoptions in Idaho

Adoption is often a difficult emotional time for all involved. The adopting parents may be doing so out of compassion or a desire to assist either the family giving up the child or the child itself, or may be seeking to compensate for the inability to conceive a child of their own. The family passing on custody may be financially, emotionally, or otherwise unable to care for the child and seeking to place it in a better situation. Either way, private placement adoptions in Idaho involve the voluntary transfer of termination of parenting rights and the placement of custody and adoption with the adoptive parents.

Need for an Attorney

While all adoption cases greatly benefit from the advice and counsel of a qualified and experienced attorney, a private placement adoption offer special legal and emotional considerations and should be assisted by an attorney who understands the pitfalls that can derail the process.

Despite the term ‘private,’ all adoptions in Idaho, except stepparent adoptions, require a home study of the adopting family in order to determine their capability to care properly for the child. This can be conducted by a private firm which the attorney may be aware of or have prior experience with. The state also has other basic requirements for private placement adoptions, including that the adoptive parents be a minimum of fifteen years older than the child being adopted or a minimum of 25 years of age, and that the birth parents’ parental rights be terminated when the adoption is completed.

In order to ensure that these and other requirements are met, an attorney familiar with the current state of adoption law – especially private placement adoptions – in Idaho is a necessity. A life decision of this level of importance requires very careful handling.

Filed Under: Adoption
June 2, 2015 By

Contract Disputes Attorney in Idaho Falls and the Two Side of Contractual Agreements

We all have long contracts given to us and we are expected to sign without having much of a chance to review the same. Entering into a contract can be as simple as signing your name without reading a thing, or as complicated as having an attorney spend many hours reviewing and negotiating the terms of a contract with the other party and their attorney. As long as the contract is written in a reasonably coherent manner and entered into freely, the courts will generally uphold contractual agreements between most parties, including individuals and businesses. However, the ‘reasonably coherent’ aspect is often open to interpretation, and when there are disagreements over what a contract requires it’s past time to hire a contract disputes attorney. A better time to hire one would be before the contract is signed If you sign before you understand, you still may be liable for the what the contract says.

Two Stages of Contract Review

An attorney does not need to read every contract you entered into. However, if you have concerns, you should have an attorney review the contract read before you sign. Sometimes contracts have provisions that you have a certain number of days to rescind the same. If the contract has the same, the person who presented the same to you should be able to point out this specific provision to you. Although it is always better to read beforehand, you can possibly get out of a contract before you accept any benefits from the same. If you are knowing you are going to engage in a contract in the future, you may want to get a copy of the contract and review it before the time you are going to sign.

Getting the advice of a qualified attorney cannot also help you understand what you would be agreeing to. They know what to look for because they have seen what has caused problems in the past. This review is essential to avoiding problems in the future because noting a piece of problem language before signing is a matter of a quick revision, whereas dealing with it after signing off on the contract often involves litigation or alternative dispute resolution such as mediation and arbitration.

Despite the best review, sometimes contract disputes still arise, in which case the attorney who reviewed the contract in the first place is often the ideal choice to deal with the dispute, as they are most familiar with the terms of the contract in the first place.

Although a contract is supposed to define relationships and behaviors in ways that assure certain benefits and responsibilities, the fact is reasonable people can and do disagree all the time. Attorney review and assistance in these scenarios is essential.

Filed Under: Contract Dispute

David A. Johnson has been providing quality legal services in East Idaho. As both a private attorney and as a former Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney, Mr. Johnson has substantial courtroom experience. Mr. Johnson has handled cases all over the State of Idaho. His primary areas of practice are in Bonneville, Bingham, Butte, Jefferson, Madison, Fremont Bannock and Jefferson Counties. In addition, to Idaho Falls, we serve residences in the Blackfoot, Shelley, Firth, Rigby, Rexburg, St. Anthony, Ashton, Ammon, Driggs and Victor, Idaho. [Read more..]