Devine Millimet provides estate planning services to clients at all levels of wealth, of all ages, and from all types of businesses, professions, and occupations. We strive to find creative solutions to complex issues in a manner that meets clients’ objectives while minimizing estate taxes, protecting assets and family trusts, avoiding the delays and expenses of probate, and other administrative headaches. We work with the family advisors, including CPAs, insurance professionals, financial advisors, and corporate counsel to ensure an integrated approach to the family plan.
From the preparation of wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney and living wills, to more sophisticated estate planning tools such as spousal lifetime access trusts, irrevocable trusts, insurance trusts, charitable trusts and qualified personal residence trusts, to efficient estate and trust administration, to the preparation of estate, gift and fiduciary income tax returns, the Devine Millimet team focuses on preparing and implementing a comprehensive family wealth succession plan.
Our Services
Preparation of Trust Instruments, Wills, and Other Plan Documentation
We work to understand our client’s objectives, and then review the various options available and appropriate for each client. We develop unique plans including the preparation of core estate planning documents such as wills, revocable trusts, durable financial powers of attorney, health care directives, and living wills.
Estate Tax Planning
We identify wealth transfer techniques by formulating comprehensive estate plans which minimize or even eliminate federal and state-level estate tax exposure, including marital deduction and credit shelter trusts, irrevocable insurance trusts, grantor retained income trusts and qualified personal residence trusts.
Charitable Giving
We work with our clients to achieve philanthropic objectives and develop plans obtain charitable gift, estate and income tax deductions, including outright gifts, charitable remainder annuity trusts, charitable remainder unitrusts, charitable lead trusts, pooled income funds, and private foundations.
Lifetime Gifting Strategies
We help our clients identify lifetime giving strategies to maximize gift and estate tax savings.
Business Continuity Planning
We work with business owners to structure their estate plan to allow for orderly succession of the business, whether passing the business to the next generation or maximizing value by sale to a third party. Devine Millimet prepares corporate structure documents (corporation, LLC, partnership), shareholder agreements, buy-sell agreements and family partnership and LLC operating agreements. We strive to preserve business value and the continuation of income with minimum taxation to surviving family members.
Marital Planning
Estate plans are sometimes challenged by relatives, such as second spouses who might claim interests that were earmarked for children of a prior marriage. As part of the planning process, our attorneys can help anticipate such challenges. When called for, we can negotiate and prepare prenuptial agreements to ensure that everyone’s wishes are memorialized in the present and honored in the future.
Planning for Special Needs
We work with clients to structure unique trusts and estate plans to meet the special needs of disabled individuals. Our attorneys have expertise to develop plans to preserve a beneficiary’s continued eligibility for government sponsored programs and to develop a plan that provides care and support in the future.
Planning for Special Assets
We help clients develop plans for their unique assets such as works of art, real estate, collections, and other valuable tangible personal property.
Planning for the Elderly
We counsel on planning for retirement, the use of pension funds and IRAs, housing and medical care, long-term care and Medicaid eligibility.
Team
articles-updates
Aug 8, 21
Planning Ahead: New Hampshire Adopts Changes to its Advance Health Care Directives Statute, Including Updates to its Statutory Forms Used in Many Hospital Settings A difficult but frequently unavoidable subject, advance directives give instructions to providers on how to care for individuals who no longer possess capacity to make decisions […]
articles-updates
Feb 23, 21
In In re Estate of Dow, the New Hampshire Supreme Court was asked to analyze whether the son of the late Marie Dow should be considered a “pretermitted heir,” such that he would take a portion of the estate, even though Ms. Dow’s will omitted him completely. In New Hampshire, a […]
articles-updates
Feb 16, 21
On January 20, 2021, the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued an opinion, In re Estate of Dow, discussing two separate issues of interest to probate practitioners: (1) the governing law over a will that requested the application of Massachusetts law, and (2) the application of what is known as the pretermitted […]
articles-updates
Sep 11, 20
This blog has often discussed the issue of financial exploitation of the elderly. It is an ongoing and real problem. One way to protect loved ones from falling victim to the acts of a stranger or even another family member is guardianship. In these matters, the need for a guardianship […]
articles-updates
Dec 20, 19
New Hampshire law can protect a disinherited spouse. Such policies are grounded in the institution and the protections that come with marriage. From a public and social policy standpoint, it makes sense that one should not be able to completely disinherit a spouse. When that happens, and it does happen, […]
articles-updates
Dec 6, 19
Many of our clients come to us with concerns about an aging parent. Stories of financial exploitation of the elderly are often in the news, and this exploitation is real. There may be several ways to protect your loved ones from falling victim to a stranger or even another family […]
articles-updates
Nov 22, 19
In October 2018, our Probate Team (Attorneys David Eby and Tavish Brown) received a positive order from the Probate Division, Judge David King, providing a solid outcome for our client after a contentious battle with her sister. The order drew to conclusion longstanding litigation between two sisters over the management […]
articles-updates
Nov 8, 19
In May 2019, Devine Millimet’s Probate Litigation team received a favorable outcome in a case involving a long-running dispute between siblings over the management of their parents’ estates. After a three-day hearing, Judge King determined that while the client had in fact distributed assets from her mother’s trust contrary to […]
articles-updates
Oct 25, 19
In October 2016, Devine Millimet’s Probate Litigation team tried a will contest case before the New Hampshire Trust Docket. In this case, Devine shouldered the burden of showing that a 2014 amendment to a trust, a deed transferring ownership in the deceased’s home, and subsequent transfers of assets into the […]
articles-updates
Oct 11, 19
Devine’s Probate team recently received an Order from the Probate Division, Judge Quigley, which provided a positive outcome for its client. The Order stems from a petition to partition real estate that was originally decided on June 24, 2015. In the original partition, two brothers who owned a working family […]
articles-updates
Oct 31, 18
Under New Hampshire law, if a decedent’s child or issue (e.g. grandchild) is not named or referred to in the decedent’s Will and that child or issue is not a devisee or legatee under the Will (that is, they are not identified as a recipient of some part of the […]
articles-updates
Oct 15, 18
For many people estate planning seems like a confusing, complicated and uneasy topic, better to avoid for a later date. Nobody wants to think about death. At the same time most people have had some direct experience with, or know someone who has had a family member die without a […]
articles-updates
Oct 15, 18
On August 15, 2018, the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued an order in In re Alice Stedman 1989 Trust 2013 Restatement, Case No. 2017-0288, a case concerning a challenge to a restatement to a trust on the grounds of undue influence. The petitioner claimed that his sister unduly influenced their 93-year-old […]
articles-updates
May 21, 18
With the increase in the number of challenges to wills and trusts, it should come as no surprise that many estate planning documents contain language to protect against frivolous challenges. These so-called “no contest” clauses essentially provide that should a disgruntled beneficiary file a claim to set aside the subject […]
articles-updates
Apr 23, 18
Many wills and trusts are challenged on the ground that the testator simply lacked the required testamentary capacity to sign a will or trust, or other legal document. Frankly, none of us need to demonstrate much in order to sign a will. Any individual can sign a will so long […]
articles-updates
Mar 26, 18
We are all familiar with the phrase: “Innocent until proven guilty.” This phrase is often used to describe the basic tenet of criminal law that it is the state accusing an individual of a criminal act that has the burden of proving the person’s guilt. This same is generally true […]
articles-updates
Sep 11, 17
The finding of undue influence is heavily dependent on the facts of any given case. In order to prove undue influence, the challenger must find and marshal the evidence that will convince the judge that the executor had at least some diminished capacity and that the wrongdoer exerted such influence in a […]
articles-updates
Sep 11, 17
Challenges to estate planning documents or other legal documents such as deeds or contracts are often based on the theory of “undue influence.” This concept is perhaps widely misunderstood. For example, there is nothing wrong with an adult child providing assistance to an aging parent, even if it is done […]
articles-updates
Sep 4, 17
It is not uncommon for an unmarried couple to reside together in a residence, but where the title on the deed is in only one name. Because the couple is not married, the domestic relations laws in this state cannot be used to protect either partner. What happens, then, should […]
articles-updates
Aug 28, 17
Litigators, including probate litigators, litigate cases. That’s what we do. However, any good litigator will ensure that settlement discussions and mediation are part of any litigation strategy. Litigation is time consuming, difficult emotionally and financially on the parties, and is, by definition, uncertain. In any matter that goes to trial, […]
articles-updates
Jul 9, 17
Estate planning lawyers will often prepare power of attorney documents for their clients. These documents designate an individual who will have the power to act on the principal’s behalf in financial matters. These powers are often very useful and appropriate. Elderly individuals who can no longer manage their own finances, […]
articles-updates
Jun 1, 17
You need to pick someone to be the “executor” of your estate, but you want to pick the right person for the job. So what exactly does an executor do? Essentially, the executor is responsible for four things: identifying and protecting all of the deceased person’s assets; identifying people or business to […]
articles-updates
May 25, 17
Your estate planning attorney and/or financial advisor should provide you with advice and guidance on how to properly fund your Trust. Any comprehensive estate plan not only includes the legal documents, but a discussion about trust funding, beneficiary designations and asset titles. One of the primary benefits of a Revocable […]
articles-updates
May 23, 17
With our aging population, it is not uncommon for the probate division in New Hampshire to see petitions for guardianship. In these petitions, an individual (often a family member) seeks an order from the court declaring an elderly (the proposed ward) to be incapacitated and in need of a guardian. […]
articles-updates
May 16, 17
We often refer to power of attorney documents as “licenses to steal.” If you believe a family member or other trusted individual who has the power to manage finances under a power of attorney document might be taking advantage of that power, the law in New Hampshire does provide a remedy. Under […]
articles-updates
May 4, 17
When you think of an estate plan, you usually think about where your assets are going to go after you die and who will take of your kids (if any) while they are still young. A comprehensive estate plan will outline not only what will happen after death, but what […]
press-releases
Sep 12, 24
Manchester, NH – Devine Millimet Attorneys at Law is honored to be awarded The Best of the 603- Gold, presented by Manchester Radio Group, in three categories: ELDER LAW – Gold Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning The Devine Millimet trusts and estates practice group offers compassionate, knowledgeable and personalized service […]
press-releases
Jan 2, 24
Please join us in welcoming the team of Ambrogi Law Office to the firm. Bringing a combined 61 years of experience and being a staple in the Manchester area, attorneys Ambrogi, Jin, and Lamarre are an exciting and mutually beneficial addition to the Wills, Trusts, and Estates and Elder Law […]
press-releases
Jan 1, 21
MANCHESTER, NH – Devine Millimet is pleased to announce that Theo Vougias has been elected as a Shareholder of the firm, effective January 1, 2021. Theo joined Devine Millimet in August of 2014 and is a member of the firm’s Trusts and Estates Practice Group. Theo assists individuals and families with […]
press-releases
Aug 1, 20
MANCHESTER, NH – Devine Millimet is pleased to announce that John S. Kitchen has joined Devine Millimet’s Trusts and Estates team as an of counsel attorney. John focuses his practice on special needs trusts and estate planning. John’s knowledge about special needs trusts and a full menu of trusts is […]
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we can help you
Contact us today to learn more about how the attorneys at Devine Millimet can help you with your legal needs.
