Schwartzberg LawSchwartzberg Law2026-05-28T16:08:53Zhttps://www.nhlawyer.net/feed/atom/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/sites/1104773/2019/07/OG-75x75.jpgOn Behalf of Schwartzberg Law<![CDATA[What are intangible assets in a New Hampshire legacy planning?]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=2529982026-01-30T10:11:22Z2026-02-04T10:10:07ZIntangible assets in a New Hampshire legacy plan are nonphysical rights and interests that may hold value for your family over time. Planning for these assets intentionally can help your loved ones manage, protect and benefit from what you built.
Understanding intangible assets
Most people first think of houses, cars or bank accounts when planning their legacy. Yet, your legacy can also include rights you cannot touch, which may carry financial and emotional value. Common intangible assets often considered in a legacy plan include:
Intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks and patents
Royalty income from books, music, software, inventions or licensing deals
Business interests, including brand names and customer lists
Digital assets, such as websites, domain names and online stores
These assets can change over time. Regularly reviewing your plan may help keep it aligned with your goals.
Managing intellectual property
If you create, design, code or invent, you may already hold intellectual property that could generate income after your lifetime. That income might come from royalties, license fees or ongoing payments. In a New Hampshire legacy plan, you can consider:
Naming who could receive copyrights, trademarks or patents after your lifetime
Indicating who may collectroyalty income and under what terms
Allowing a trusted person to manage contracts and access digital accounts
Clear instructions could reduce family conflict and help ensure valuable rights are not overlooked or lost during the court process.
Handling patents in the estate
Patents often support a business or product line, which makes them important to consider. While federal rules govern patents, state rules generally manage their transfer after death. In New Hampshire, representatives typically list and value patents like other property.You might use a will or trust to suggest how patents could transfer. Because federal patent rules and state estate rules sometimes overlap, careful planning can help the transfer proceed smoothly.
Incorporating intangibles in the plan
Planning for intangible assets usually involves more than listing them. You may also consider how someone could access, manage and protect these rights over time. Steps to consider include:
Compiling a detailed list of intellectual property, accounts and contracts
Collecting proof of ownership, registrations and license agreements
Choosing a representative capable of handling royalty or licensing matters
Starting this process while in good health and reviewing it when life or business circumstances change may help keep your plan effective.
Protecting your legacy
Your legacy in New Hampshire may extend beyond physical property. Creative work, ideas and digital assets can form a meaningful part of your story. Treating intangible assets as part of your overall legacy plan could provide guidance for your loved ones, reduce confusion and support a smoother transition.]]>On Behalf of Schwartzberg Law<![CDATA[What is a revocable trust?]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=2529912026-01-15T18:20:35Z2026-01-07T15:30:22ZA revocable trust holds property for your benefit during your lifetime. You can change or cancel it anytime while you are mentally capable. In most New Hampshire plans, you serve as trustee and keep control of the assets.Because the trust is revocable, it stays flexible. You can add or remove property, update instructions or dissolve it if your goals change.
How revocable trusts work in New Hampshire
In New Hampshire, a revocable trust often manages assets during life and transfers them after death. The state follows a modified Uniform Trust Code that governs trusts.New Hampshire trust law allows for a flexible structure. In some cases, you can separate investment and distribution duties. The law also recognizes trust protectors with limited authority to address changes. Family members can have others represent them, which can simplify trust administration. State law grants trustees broad authority, though the trust document can tailor those powers.A trust does not replace all estate planning documents. It works alongside a will, powers of attorney and health care directives. Many people place certain assets in a revocable trust, including:
A primary home or vacation property in New Hampshire
Nonretirement investment accounts
Personal property with clear ownership
Out-of-state real estate
Once you transfer assets, the trust can operate as intended. Assets left outside the trust may still go through probate.
What revocable trusts do and do not do
A revocable trust does not protect assets during your lifetime and does not reduce estate taxes alone. These issues need separate planning.A revocable trust provides continuity. If you become incapacitated, your successor trustee manages assets without court involvement. After death, the trust distributes property per your instructions.
Planning with flexibility in mind
A revocable trust is a tool, not a one-size-fits-all solution. For many New Hampshire families, it offers a balance of control, privacy and adaptability. Understanding how it fits into your broader estate plan helps you make decisions that reflect your values and protect the people who matter most.]]>by Ora Schwartzberg<![CDATA[Your Revocable Living Trust Can be Drafted to Protect your Children’s Inheritance, Should they Divorce]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=2528152023-11-15T11:30:29Z2023-11-15T11:28:53Z
Attorney Ora Schwartzberg, Plymouth, NH
A major concern of many of our clients is how to protect their children’s inheritance from a future divorce. If planned in advance, such protection can be incorporated into your Revocable Living Trust.
One of the ways to offer such protection is to leave your children’s inheritances to them in Trust rather than leaving it to them outright. Each child’s Trust would provide for the appointment of an Independent Distribution Trustee who is not related to or subordinate to (i.e., under the control of ) your child.
It is important that this Independent Trustee have complete discretion as to whether to distribute money or other property to your child. The Trust for each of your children would have language stating that the Trustee could withhold distributions to your child, if it is in the best interest of your child to do so.
The protection arises out of the fact that if your child can’t force the Independent Trustee to distribute property to them, neither can their divorcing spouse.
Such a Trust could also provide that the Trustee have the discretion to accelerate the distribution of property to your child, if it is in the best interest of your child to do so, even if it results in the exhaustion of all property in the Trust. This would allow your child to have use of their inheritance as if you had left it to them outright.]]>On Behalf of Schwartzberg Law<![CDATA[3 Reasons to Avoid Probate]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=2528142026-04-03T21:45:32Z2023-05-23T21:15:48Znot allow you to avoid probate. Instead, a Will simply lets you inform the Probate Court of your wishes—then your loved ones must go through the probate process to make your wishes legally binding.
There are three key reasons why you may want to avoid probate.
It is all public record.
Almost everything that goes through the courts, including probate, becomes a matter of public record. This means that in order to properly wind up your affairs (i.e., pay your bills, file any remaining tax returns, and distribute your money and property to your chosen recipients), documents—including associated family and financial information—could become accessible through the Probate Court to anyone who wants to see them. The value of your accounts and property, creditor claims, the identities of your beneficiaries, contact information for your loved ones, and even any family disagreements that affect the distribution of your money and property may be publicly available.
It can be expensive.
The court costs, attorney’s fees, executor commissions, and other related expenses associated with the probate process are likely create expenses for your loved ones that can easily escalate into thousands of dollars, even for small or simple matters (like the transfer of one piece of property). The probate process can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars, if family disputes or creditor claims arise during the process. Your money and property that should be going to your beneficiaries, may be significantly diminished by the probate process.
Although setting up an estate plan that avoids probate does have its own costs, the costs that you incur now, to put a plan in place, are more easily controlled than uncertain costs controlled by the Probate Court, after you pass away.
It can take a long time.
Probate cases, even seemingly simple ones, take at least six months or even years, during which time your beneficiaries may not have access to the money and property you intended to leave them. A simpler process, such as the administration of a Revocable Living Trust makes it possible for your loved ones to receive their inheritances shortly after you die.]]>by Ora Schwartzberg<![CDATA[Legacy Strategies For Personal And Business Interests]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=2527472023-04-10T17:34:50Z2023-04-10T17:34:50ZOra’s Legacy
A Foreward by Ora Schwartzberg as featured in Stan Miller’s Your American Legacy
I heard Stan speak at a WealthCounsel Symposium in Boston, in August of 2019. I had participated in other Symposium sessions and was quite satisfied with the subject matter content that earlier speakers were able to provide.
Then there was Stan!...... I walked out of his presentation completely mesmerized. This was one of those times in my life that I was astonished by the importance of a “calling” that I wanted to pursue. I sat in the lobby of the hotel where the Symposium was given unable to think about anything else. I spent the afternoon talking to my husband about how we could incorporate some of the concepts Stan discussed into my legal practice.
Several weeks after the Symposium, I began giving some thought to the legacy that my parents had provided me. My father was an attorney in Philadelphia when I was growing up. Many times, during my childhood, teenage years and college he told me that he would like me to become an attorney.
I never took his request seriously. When I was in college, it was almost unheard of for a woman to be an attorney, or so I thought. I graduated from college with a teaching degree and chose to teach in an all-black inter-city high school. This was 1969, the heart of the civil rights movement, one of those times in my life where I was astonished by the importance of a “calling” that I was very determined to pursue.
My father died in 1980. By then I had three children, the youngest of which was only two weeks old. As I stared at my newborn lying on a blanket on the floor, I spoke to a stranger at a party, who asked me, if you could do anything, what would it be? Without hesitation, I replied I wanted to be a lawyer.
My father had left me some money, in trust, that was enough to pay for three years of law school. The closest law school to my home in upstate New York was 3 ½ hour drive. I was determined enough to get up at 4am on some cold snowy mornings to make the trip to Vermont Law School. At that time, I could not articulate why I wanted to be a lawyer. I did not even know what a lawyer did. It took time, experience and maturity to acknowledge my father’s legacy.
This was not the only legacy my parents provided. They also showed me what a loving marriage looked like and how they also valued their children and family, above all else. I had a brother who died age 7 from leukemia. Although this loss was devastating to all of us, I as an only child became the focus of their lives.
Now back to the question, why the concepts set forth in Stan’s “Your American Legacy” are of importance to me now. It is because I wish to share with my clients a “calling” in which I am personally involved…..that is to pass on a legacy to our “collective” children and grandchildren.
Stan has developed an incredible process with which to pass down to our children and grandchildren our cherished values and traditions, including the core beliefs and traditions that have allowed this country to flourish.
Our firm, Legacy Strategies, PLLC has been formed for the purpose of effectuating the concepts of Stan’s book, with the goal of making the world a better place…..”one family at a time.”]]>by Ora Schwartzberg<![CDATA[Discretionary Trusts – How to Protect Your Beneficiaries from Bad Decisions and Outside Influences]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=2527482023-03-17T14:22:05Z2023-03-17T14:22:05ZWhat is a Discretionary Trust?
A discretionary trust is an irrevocable trust set up to protect the assets funded into it for the benefit of the trust’s beneficiary. This can mean protection from the beneficiary’s poor money management skills, extravagant spending habits, personal or professional judgement creditors, or divorcing spouse.
Under the terms of typical discretionary trust, the trustee is limited regarding how much can be distributed to the beneficiary and when the distributions can be made, according to your wishes. You can make the terms and time frames as limited or as broad as you want. For example, you can provide that distributions of income can only be made for health care needs after the beneficiary reaches the age of 21, or you can provide that distributions of income and principal can be made for health care needs and educational expenses at any age.
An added bonus of incorporating discretionary trusts into your estate plan is that they can be designed to minimize estate taxes, as the trust assets pass down from your children to your grandchildren (this is referred to as “generation-skipping planning”). In addition, you can dictate who will inherit what is left in each beneficiary’s trust when the beneficiary dies, which will allow you to keep the trust assets in the family.
While the distribution choices that can be included in a discretionary trusts are virtually endless (within certain parameters established under bankruptcy and creditor protection laws), the bottom line is that a properly drafted discretionary trust will protect a beneficiary inheritance from creditors, predators, and divorcing spouses, avoid estate taxes when the beneficiary dies, and ensure that it ultimately passes to the beneficiaries of your choice.
Where Should You Include Discretionary Trusts in Your Estate Plan?
Discretionary trusts should be included in all of the trusts you have created that will ultimately be distributed to your heirs, including:
Your Revocable Living Trust
Your Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
Your Standalone Retirement Trust
What Should You Do?
If you are concerned that your children, grandchildren, or other beneficiaries will not have the skills required to manage and invest their inheritance or will lose their inheritance in a lawsuit or divorce, then give us a call to discuss how to incorporate discretionary trusts into your estate plan.]]>by Ora Schwartzberg<![CDATA[Estate Planning to Protect Your Children]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=2527492023-03-15T14:24:35Z2023-03-15T14:24:35ZEqual Division
In hypothetical one, you have three kids and want to divide your assets and wealth equally among them. All three at are similar places in their lives, have received similar emotional and financial support from you in the past, and are each responsible and capable of managing their individual inheritance. Equal division is obvious and easy.
Fair Division
In hypothetical two, you have three kids, but the youngest is still in high school. You paid for your oldest to attend a four-year college and he is now a successful accountant with his own home. Your middle child has opted to go to trade school instead and is renting an apartment in another state. Here, evenly distributing your estate might not end up equal. If you gave one child more money during their lifetime, equal distribution of your estate could lead to tension – siblings who have not yet received as much financial support as others may feel slighted.
Planning for Division
While its important to consider the feelings of your loved ones when dividing your assets, you have the right to do what you wish with your estate. When perceived inequality is a concern, it may help to talk to an attorney about your options. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you craft a custom plan that will carry out your goal of supporting each beneficiary in the specific way they need. In may cases, if you make a decision today and want to change it in a few years as your beneficiaries lives change, we are here to help. Peoples needs will change over time, and it is just as important that you update your estate planning to reflect these changes.
One thing you should avoid? Putting off your estate planning. Failing to spell out your wishes ahead of time will cause your estate to be decided by a judge. In such cases, assets are typically divided equally and distributed outright. If this is not the outcome you want, it is crucial you have an estate plan in place. Left to chance, your loved ones could be caught in probate, battling for what they feel is their deserved inheritance.
There are many factors to consider when dividing your assets, but simply making the choice to move forward with an estate plan is a great start. Feel free to give us a call to set up a meeting. We are here to help you determine the best way to accomplish your goals – whether they be fair or equal – for distributions to leave to your beneficiaries.]]>On Behalf of Ora Schwartzberg<![CDATA[Protect Your Family from Lawsuits with a Domestic Asset Protection Trust]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=2527502023-01-09T10:31:30Z2023-01-09T10:31:30ZThe Domestic Asset Protection Trust
A domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) is a legal structure into which you (in your role as the grantor) transfer your accounts and/or property. Once transferred into the DAPT, the DAPT may offer protection from future lawsuits, divorcing spouses and creditors. Even though you have transferred these assets to the trust, you can continue to enjoy the benefit of this property in the DAPT, with some limitations.
DAPTs work on the legal principle that someone cannot take away from you something that you no longer own. When you transfer ownership of your property to a DAPT, you are actually making a gift of it to the trustee (the person or entity you have chosen to manage, invest, and use the accounts and property) on behalf of the irrevocable trust. The trustee is then under a legal obligation to use this property for your benefit, or for the benefit of those you have named in the trust.
How a DAPT Works
When you create a DAPT, you sign a trust document and permanently gift some of your property into the trust. The trustee may be able to make distributions to you as the grantor, thereby allowing you to continue enjoying some benefits of the property in the trust.
What Kind of Creditor Protection Does a DAPT Provide?
A DAPT does not protect against certain state and federal claims. It also does not protect against creditor claims that existed at the time the DAPT was funded. Creditors are also precluded from bringing claims against the grantor more than 4 years after the DAPT was funded.
Despite the protection offered by a DAPT, some creditors will be able to reach the property owned by the DAPT. Currently, state law does not allow a DAPT to be used to
spend down or qualify a grantor or the grantor’s spouse for Medicaid eligibility;
defeat state or federal reimbursement claims or rights of recovery for Medicaid benefits paid to the grantor or the grantor’s spouse; or
defeat creditor claims if property is transferred to a DAPT with the intent to prevent, hinder, or delay a known or present creditor from reaching the property.
Who Is Likely to Need a DAPT?
Not everyone will need a DAPT because not all people face the same kinds of risks. However, there are certain professions and circumstances for which you may want to consider using a DAPT as part of your estate planning.
High-risk occupations. Lawsuits are increasingly common against those in certain professions, such as doctors, accountants, lawyers, real estate developers, builders, architects, and business executives. Creating a DAPT to protect a portion of your assets can be an effective shield against risks associated with lawsuits if you are in one of these occupations.
Owning a business. Owning a business can put you at a higher risk of lawsuits. Using a DAPT can protect your home and other personal property against claims brought against your business. Probate court entirely. This process not only limits court costs but also maintains the privacy of your financial records while enabling your beneficiaries to enjoy the benefits of the trust without disruption or delay.
]]>by Ora Schwartzberg<![CDATA[Myths and Frequently Asked Questions Estate Planning for Senior Citizens]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=2527512026-03-31T14:43:12Z2023-01-09T10:27:37Zby Ora Schwartzberg<![CDATA[Why a Trust is the Best Option to Avoid Probate]]>https://www.nhlawyer.net/?p=504592023-01-09T06:26:35Z2023-01-09T10:20:14ZWhat is a trust?
Often touted as an alternative to a will, a trust is a legal structure that owns your accounts and property or is named as the beneficiary of certain accounts and property (like a retirement account) and is managed by a trusted decision maker, also known as a trustee, on your and your beneficiaries’ behalf. A living trust is established while you are still alive, as opposed to being created upon your death. You can be the trustee for your own living trust until you are no longer able to manage your financial affairs or you pass away, at which point your chosen backup trustee, also known as a successor trustee, steps up and assumes the responsibility for managing the trust on your or your beneficiaries’ behalf.
How does a trust help you avoid probate?
The purpose of probate is to transfer property ownership for all accounts and property that are owned in your sole name and that do not have a beneficiary, pay-on-death, or transfer-on-death designation when you pass away. A trust can bypass this process completely because your accounts and property are either transferred to the trust while you are alive, or the trust is named as the beneficiary at your death. Therefore, when you die, there is nothing that needs to be transferred by the probate court (everything is already in your trust or was transferred to the trust automatically at your death). Furthermore, a trust can cover virtually any type of account or property, from real estate to heirlooms to stock to bank accounts. When a trust is structured correctly with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney, your affairs can stay out of.]]>