Probate and Estate Law

Trusts, Wills, and Powers of Attorney are important to ensure that if you become disabled or die, there is an orderly distribution of your assets to the persons you actually choose as your beneficiaries. If you do nothing, the law will dictate what happens to your lifetime treasure, regardless of your wishes.

An example is when people divorce and die, all their money goes to the benefit of their children and then the ex-spouse is appointed the guardian and executor and ends up spending all the money that he or she didn’t get out of the divorce settlement! The point is, there are many traps and unintended consequences that can happen without proper planning. Set up an appointment now to discuss your plan: (603) 692-4282.

Proper Planning to Fulfill Your Wishes

Proper planning means you have a Will that makes sense and one that will appoint guardians for minor children and trustee provisions for minors until they are of age. Wills and Trusts give you the flexibility to decide when a child should get his or her money, which is seldom wise at age 18.

Trusts have the advantage of allowing you to control how money is used well after your death, especially if you have a camp or summer home that you want to be available for everybody’s use. Trusts allow you to decide whether one or two people should be in charge for the benefit of all the other children or grandchildren involved.

Personalized Plan for Disability and Death

There are things that can be done with your home and financial assets in order to plan for a nursing homestay. These all have specific rules which you can find through a personalized plan with an attorney. Attorneys at The Coolidge Law Firm in Somersworth and Farmington are extremely skilled in dealing with probate issues in Maine and New Hampshire. We will make sure that there are no surprises and your plans for your wealth are executed both in disability and death.

Trusts

Trusts are not just for the wealthy, but in fact make sense for the solid middle class, because we eliminate the need for probate judges, bankers, appraisers, and other professionals that would just use up your money. Everybody should all have a comprehensive estate plan. Let us help setting up trusts for you or your parents: (603) 692-4282.

Advance Directive

We also can do end-of-life and Medicaid planning which is fair to the caregivers and to the care receivers in a legal and ethical manner. A little planning today, including Advance Directive, Living Will, Durable Medical Power of Attorney, can save a huge amount of heartache in the future.