Practice Areas

David R. Craig & Associates provide comprehensive estate planning to individuals and families. We help our clients prepare for unexpected incapacity or death, to ensure both that their family and loved ones have the ability to care for them and that their assets are transferred at their passing in accordance with their goals and wishes. We design and create proper estate plans for our clients, including the use of trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives.

A well thought out and comprehensive estate plan can prevent the need for someone to obtain a guardianship in the future, can lessen administrative costs associated with the transfer of assets at death, and can help smooth familial relations.

With the high cost of nursing home care, many people find themselves unable to privately pay for their nursing home care over an extended period of time. The rules and criteria for Medicaid eligibility are voluminous and eligibility depends on each individual’s unique circumstances. We provide comprehensive Medicaid planning and application services, from proactive planning before a need for nursing home care arises up through the full application process, including any appeals before the Administrative Appeals Unit or the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, many individuals do not, or never have the chance to, complete their own personal estate planning. If such an individual becomes incapacitated and you need to act on his or her behalf in order to manage finances or make health care decisions, you will need to obtain a guardianship over them to do so.

A guardianship is a legal arrangement created and supervised by a Court to provide a person (the guardian) with the power to make legal, financial, and medical decisions for another (the ward). In order to obtain a guardianship over another person, one must file a Petition with the New Hampshire Probate Court and attend a formal hearing to prove that the Ward no longer has legal capacity.

If an individual did execute appropriate estate planning documents, such as general Durable Powers of Attorney or Advance Directives, a guardianship may not be necessary. However, when a guardianship is necessary David R. Craig & Associates can assist with the entire process, from the initial Petition to the hearing, to the annual reports that must be filed with the Court, including the formal defense of those accounts. In addition, we defend individuals against inappropriate attempts by others to obtain guardianship over our clients’ medical or financial affairs.

After the death of a loved one, there is often a need for estate and/or trust administration in order to formally transfer ownership of the deceased’s assets. David R. Craig & Associates represents Executors and Trustees at all stages of administration, from filing the initial paperwork with the Probate Court to preparing annual accountings for presentation to beneficiaries. We also represent Executors and Trustees in trust and estate related litigation.

Individuals with disabilities require special estate and long-term care planning, whether those individuals themselves are doing the planning of if they are a beneficiary of another’s estate plan. David R. Craig & Associates can recommend an appropriate plan for those with disabilities, including supplemental special needs trusts and other estate planning vehicles to protect those individuals already receiving public benefits to ensure continued receipt of assistance.