Estate Planning
 

Does anybody have a recommendation of a law firm that can assist with basic estate planning and a will/trust?

Thanks!

What area are you interested in? I can highly recommend a firm in Manchester but suspect you want something in the Lakes Region...??

Dan

Normandin Cheney
213 Union Ave, Laconia, NH 03246
603-524-4380
I didn’t use them
But I have heard good things about them.


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John Hughes at McLane Middleton. They have offices in Portsmouth and Manchester.

www.mclane.com

Also interested here... retiring to the lake shortly!

Second for Normandin Cheney, Donna Depoian

2nd Mclane
 

Using them now. They have everything you possibly want under one roof.

Dave M

will
 

If all you need is a will I would consider legalzoom.com. I used them and it's easy and inexpensive. If you require legal advice I'd use a local cpa/jd as indicated.

Estate Planning
 

I’m sorry I disagree with legalzoom. Your will is complicated and too important to just answer a few questions and have it completed online. As a CPA I use legalzoom for many things but never for a will as their are too many pitfalls, law changes and options to consider. You need the advice of a true professional. Real estate, money, children, health care proxy that should accompany your will, tax strategies ect.


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I will preface my response by saying that I am a retired money mgr and CFP. That said, a basic will is pretty damn simple.

I will agree to disagree from my professional point of view. [emoji4]


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One point we will absolutely agree on is that having a properly executed will is essential. Dying intestate is just careless and sets your heirs up for trouble.

Boy you are correct there. Not sure how it is in NH but dying intestate in New York is a disaster.


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This is the point to take away but you get what you pay for. That's coming from a CPA, JD, MST very familiar with the field but not an area I specifically practice in ;)

Donna Depoian from Normandin Cheney in Laconia specializes in estate planning and is very pleasant and personable to work with. [emoji6]


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Give a lot of forethought to your decisions...
 

We have gone through this process several times. First, it is vital that you have your docs drawn up by an estate/trust attorney specialist. If you just have a generalist or the person who did your house closing do it, you are setting yourself up for trouble. Fun fact: We did our very first wills when we got married, and naturally had our real estate closing attorney write them up. About 5 years later, we went to an estate/trust attorney to update them, and the first words out of his mouth were, "...this was done by a real estate closing guy, right?"

Also, the states that have estate taxes are getting super aggressive in trying to collect, so it is imperative that you protect your assets.

It is also super important to give a lot of forethought to your decisions as to how things will be divided. This is especially true if there is a blended family situation, or if the heirs are very different, meaning that one or more are successful and one or more are derelicts. In my family's case, my father had 3 kids from his first marriage, my mother had 2 from her first, and I was their only child between them. My parents had wills and the surviving spouse got everything. My father died first, so everything went to my mother. She re-did her will and the assets were not distributed equally among the 6 kids. She left a sizeable amount to one black sheep brother, but made me the sole trustee of his trust, to ensure that he did not blow through his money on booze and cigarettes. Although her intentions were good, it made my life miserable dealing with "my ward", as my wife called him. It also pissed off the other brothers, who couldn't understand why the black sheep got so much, but my mother's reasoning was that she was taking care of him and the others didn't need her money.

So, the moral of the story is, play out the different scenarios and think of the ramifications of your decisions on your family members before you sign the documents.

Basic Will
 

In my humble opinion there is no such thing as a simple will. Many issues are necessary to be addressed.

---------------------------------------------

I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic

I think Meredith Man hit the nail on the head. An attorney who specializes in estate planning is a must!

Dan

Randy Walker in Wolfeboro is very knowledgeable in this area of practice.
6035692000

You aren't obligated to be trustee if you don't want to - this can be turned over to a third party if it becomes a complete pain. Of course there is a charge the trust will have to pay for this.

I tripple agree with John Hughes of McLane.

Tripple because he helped to clean up a prior attorney issue and then help with two estates, one of which was very messy and complicated.

He is a great guy, and a specialist in this area.

Any other recommendations for wills/estate planning in Wolfeboro area? Does Walker & Varney have one lawyer who specializes in this area of law?


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Don't know about W&V, but I can recommend Marbury & Marbury in Wolfeboro.

A trust allows you to avoid probate and remains private . I think it all depends on the size of ones estate . One maybe able to do a will on line but if you want an estate plan which would include a trust a seasoned expert is a must . I would trust the recomendations of the people here who have used someone.

I'm coming a little late to the party, but Christine Anderson of Ansell & Anderson in Bedford has done very thorough estate work for several members of my family.