Business Details
Your Trusted Partner for Elder Law & Estate Planning Solutions
At Cocheco Elder Law Associates, we specialize in estate planning, elder law, and asset protection, dedicated to helping families navigate complex legal challenges with compassion and expertise. Our team focuses on personalized solutions for Medicaid planning, special needs trusts, probate administration, and long-term care strategies, ensuring clients maintain control over their futures. With decades of combined experience, we prioritize client education, proactive planning, and ethical representation to safeguard assets and family legacies.Our approach combines technical proficiency with empathetic guidance, addressing unique concerns related to dementia care, guardianship, and intergenerational wealth transfer. We serve communities across New Hampshire and Maine, offering tailored legal frameworks that adapt to evolving personal and regulatory landscapes.
Services
Estate Planning
Elder Law
Medicaid Planning
Asset Protection
Special Needs Trusts
Probate Administration
Dementia Planning
Trust Administration
Highlights and features
- We offer 20+ years of specialized experience in elder law and estate planning.
- Our team provides Medicaid crisis planning and long-term care strategies.
- We create customized asset protection plans preserving eligibility for government benefits.
- Our compassionate approach addresses unique challenges of dementia and Alzheimer's planning.
- We administer probate and trust matters with efficiency and sensitivity.
What people say
High quality legal service
Compassionate and caring
Prompt communication
Reasonable fees
Thorough job performance
Services
Estate Planning
We create comprehensive estate plans including wills, trusts, and advance directives to ensure your assets and healthcare preferences are protected. Our customized approach addresses tax implications, guardianship for minors, and asset distribution strategies. Clients receive ongoing support to update plans as life circumstances change.
Medicaid Planning
Our Medicaid eligibility strategies protect assets while qualifying for nursing home benefits. We implement compliant gifting programs, annuity conversions, and trust structures to navigate complex 5-year lookback rules and spend-down requirements. Services include crisis planning for immediate care needs.
Asset Protection
We safeguard client assets from creditors, lawsuits, and long-term care costs through legal vehicles like irrevocable trusts and family limited partnerships. Our planning preserves wealth for intended beneficiaries while maintaining compliance with current exemption laws and transfer regulations.
Special Needs Planning
We establish special needs trusts that supplement government benefits without disqualifying eligibility. Our plans address housing, medical care, and quality-of-life expenses for individuals with disabilities, including provisions for trustee selection and fund management.
Probate Administration
We guide executors through probate processes, handling asset inventory, debt settlement, and tax filings. Our streamlined approach minimizes delays in estate distribution while addressing contested wills or beneficiary disputes through mediation or litigation support.
People
Thomas F. Torr
Attorney
Thomas Torr specializes in elder law and estate planning with 25+ years of experience helping families protect assets and create legacy plans. He focuses on Medicaid compliance, special needs trusts, and probate solutions while maintaining membership in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
Questions
What Medicaid asset protection strategies do you offer?
We implement legal tools like irrevocable trusts, annuities, and gifting strategies to protect assets while maintaining Medicaid eligibility for long-term care.
How does probate avoidance benefit my estate plan?
Avoiding probate reduces administrative costs, maintains privacy, and ensures faster asset distribution through living trusts and proper titling.
Can you help with special needs trust creation?
We establish special needs trusts preserving government benefit eligibility while providing supplemental financial support for loved ones with disabilities.
What estate planning documents are essential?
Key documents include wills, revocable living trusts, durable powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations.
How do you handle dementia-related planning?
We create contingency plans with springing powers of attorney, memory care provisions, and guardianship frameworks to address progressive cognitive decline.
