Parnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices

Our firm blends advocacy oriented practice with effective practical solutions for all our clients in Londonderry, N. Woodstock, and throughout New Hampshire. The attorneys at Parnell, Michels & McKay provide effective representation and counseling to assist our clients facing legal questions. We simplify the process so our clients can understand and are able to participate as partners in the resolution.



Our practice includes personal injury law such as motor vehicle accidents, falls, dog bites, workers compensation, social security disability, and other injuries.



We also practice family law, including divorce, post-divorce, unwed custody and property division, and collaborative divorce, and have extensive experience in bankruptcy, probate, boundary disputes, estate planning, corporate formation and other real estate litigation.

  • Personal Injury Series: Having A Lien on Your Settlement or Judgment on An Injury Case

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    When a person gets injured, the last thing they are thinking about is how the various insurances interplay with one another. The first thing that should always be focused on is getting the necessary medical treatment. At our firm, we have a textured knowledge of insurance law and how each policy affects the other and we can unwind the confusing mess that a personal injury claim becomes. This allows our clients to focus on the treatment they are receiving, while we focus on getting the right insurance to pay for our client’s medical bills. There are three basic sources for payment of medical bills. The first is obvious, and it the health insurance for our clients. The second is no-fault coverage, and not everyone is…

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    Timing of Divorce In Preparation for College

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    As couples with teenage children are considering divorce, one of the things to think about is the timing of the divorce. We have always considered the timing of divorce as this impacts the parties’ ability to file a joint income tax return. However, I had never considered how this might impact their children’s ability to get financial aid. I recently came across a post from Robert Bordett, a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst in Georgia, in which he shares some information he learned about the timing of divorce and its impact on financial aid. https://familyaffaires.com/co-parenting-work-together-divorce/. A collaborative divorce process allows the family to consider all factors associated with their divorce, including the timing. As Mr. Bordett explains, the timing of the divorce…

  • Injury Claims: The Road Map To Getting Back To Normal

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    The key to understanding injury claims is that claims handling is driven by insurance requirements. The vast majority of injury claims are resolved by settlement. The parties to the settlement discussions are most commonly the injured party, his/her attorney and an insurance company. It is necessary to know how insurance companies process claims in order to achieve the best possible result. The most important thing to remember is that insurance companies rely heavily on objective information to form a valuation of each claim. This comes in the form of medical and billing records, accident reports, pictures, lost wages documentation, investigative reports and other related records. The more complete your documentation the better your chance of a satisfactory result. Gathering documentation should be your first priority…

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    Your Driver’s License: A Privilege, Not A Right

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    It is often a concern of clients of ours that are facing violations of New Hampshire’s driving laws that they normally face two hearings after being arrested. The most common forms of these are when a person is arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There is often concern and confusion about the dual hearings and what they both mean. In New Hampshire, when a person is arrested for driving under the influence they face two hearings. The first, if they request it, is called an “Administrative License Suspension Hearing” or “ALS hearing” for short. These hearings are done at an administrative office in Concord at the Bureau of Hearings, which is a part of the New Hampshire Department of Safety….

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    Revocable Trust v. Will: What Is The Best Choice for You and Your Family?

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    We often get questions on whether a client should have a will or a trust, and what the benefits of each are. For each client, there are benefits to both types of estate plans.Wills are simple and can be much cheaper to complete then trusts. They direct where your property goes when you pass into the great beyond, and they can provide direction to your family when they deal with your passing. However, wills can sometimes be inefficient to deal with the property in a way that you want, and they require the will to be probated in Court. They are also public documents that can be viewable at Court, and for some more private people that can be a problem.Revocable trusts provide clients with…

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    The Voice of A Child of Divorce

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    This video titled. “Dear Mom and Dad: Voice of a Child of Divorce” touches on one of the major problems associated with parental disputes in divorces. Certain divorces can become very bitter and emotional affairs, and often parents seek to “win over” their children to their side. This can have catastrophic consequences for the parties’ children. One divorce Judge in Minnesota offered profound remarks on what happens when a child is put in the middle of a divorce and asked to choose. Judge Michael Haas, now retired, said:“Your children have come into this world because of the two of you. Perhaps you two made lousy choices as to whom you decided to be the other parent. If so, that is YOUR problem and YOUR fault….

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    Using A Phone While Driving: To Be Illegal In New Hampshire By 7/1/15

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    HB1360 (House Bill 1360) has made its way through the New Hampshire House of Representatives and the New Hampshire State Senate. The bill is set to prohibit the use of electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle. You can read the proposed text of the statute here. The bill is set to be signed by Governor Hassan in the near future. The basis of the bill stems from the many accidents that are caused by cell phone use while driving. Most commonly, this happens when a person is texting, surfing the web, or posting to social media sites like Facebook when they should be concentrating on the road. This bill goes beyond just texting while driving, and seeks to limit any use of a handheld…

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    Collaborative Law Getting More and More National Recognition

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    CNBC recently featured an article on collaborative law being applied in divorce cases. As the author, Deborah Nason, states, “Divorce will never be a walk in the park, but it doesn’t have to be a traumatic process, either.” She addresses the major problems that can be created by litigating a divorce to conclusion in Court. For a lot of people, the cost of a divorce is a major factor. According to the article, litigating a divorce can cost as much as three times or more than a collaborative divorce. As we have discussed in this blog before, Collaborative Divorce is a process that involves each party having their own lawyer. The agreement includes a clause in each party’s contract with the lawyer that if the…

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    Property Law Series: Adverse Possession

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    At Parnell & McKay, we handle a large number of property litigation cases. One such type of litigation is claims made through adverse possession. It is one of the oldest forms of law in property, and involves the taking of title to property without having to execute a written deed. It most commonly arises in boundary line disputes, and can involve something as innocuous as the misplacement of a fence by a friendly neighbor. However, the effects this doctrine can have on people’s property can be immense, so it is important to try to understand the concept of adverse possession and to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Basically, the initial test is whether the person claiming adverse possession has acted as the true…

  • Personal Injury Series: Health Insurance Liens

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    In almost all injury cases, when the plaintiff gets injured they seek healthcare almost immediately. Most times the person’s health insurance company pays the bills generated by an accident in the first instance. Sometimes, this is a private company like Blue Cross Blue Shield, and other times it is government-provided insurance like Medicare or Medicaid. In each scenario, both types of insurance will have a “lien” or right of reimbursement from the settlement an injured party can get from a third party insurance policy. Most commonly, it is a private health insurer like BCBS that pays the bills. As part of all health insurance contracts, the health insurer reserves a “subrogation” right through the contract. This allows the health insurer to get paid back through…