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.

  • Tips for Homebuyers – Disclosures, Inspections, Environmental Hazards, and More

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    The home-buying process can be daunting, and in New Hampshire parties are free to contract terms beyond just the traditional purchase and sales agreement. This means that sellers may not always disclose all the problems with a property. The sellers only need to disclose those items indicated on the seller disclosure form. Buyers in these states must ask more questions and take more responsibility to learn about every possible defect with the property, obtain the seller disclosure form from the seller, follow up on red flags, investigate, and obtain a home inspection. A home inspection can help insure you are making a good choice. The seller is legally obligated to answer questions honestly, but could easily leave out important information if not asked specifically about…

  • Enhanced Damages vs Punitive Damages

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    In New Hampshire, punitive damages are not allowed under the law when filing an injury lawsuit. Only compensatory damages are allowed in NH. Punitive damages are “penalties” and are designed to punish the person or company responsible. The most obvious example of this is with tobacco. Cigarette manufacturers faced large punitive damage verdicts when the juries were advised about what they knew about cigarettes causing cancer, and whether they hid any of those facts. Unlike other states, NH does not allow this type of damage. New Hampshire does, however, have “enhanced compensatory damages”. Enhanced compensatory damages result in a jury being instructed to double the damages if the facts warrant a finding for enhanced damages. However, these damages are “compensatory” and not designed to punish….

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    How Will Our Retirement Assets Be Divided in Divorce?

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    When clients come in to talk with us about divorce, we are often asked many questions about retirement assets. Often, only one spouse has retirement assets and the other spouse is concerned that he/she will lose the right to a share of those assets if they get divorced. This is often the case with a stay-at-home parent, who gave up his/her career to raise the parties’ children. We hear from many of these potential clients that their spouse told them they had no right to their retirement assets if they get divorced because he/she did not contribute anything to those assets. This is simply not true. In New Hampshire, all assets are “marital assets”. This includes assets that are titled to one spouse individually and…

  • Spoliation: Top Five reasons you have to preserve evidence

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    You have been injured, and you are not sure what happened. Maybe you slipped on something in a grocery store, or maybe there was a mechanical failure in an ATV or snowmobile, and now you are in the hospital unsure of what to do. If you find yourself in this situation, here are the top five reasons to preserve evidence: Because you need to know what happened! Beyond your legal case, it is important to try to preserve evidence when injured so you can find out what happened to you. Even if you are not able to bring a lawsuit for your injuries, knowing how and why you were hurt can provide peace of mind. Because you have a duty to preserve it! Once you…

  • What is a Shared Facility (or 540-B) Eviction, and How Does it Affect My Rights?

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    Evictions in New Hampshire are governed by three major statutes: RSA 540, N.H. RSA 540-A or N.H. RSA 540-B. RSA 540 governs evictions where the tenant rents from a landlord their own individual space. While RSA 540 evictions are much more common, what are the situations where a 540-B eviction may be appropriate for you? RSA 540-B governs rental of “shared facility”. A shared facility is a rental facility where tenants have separate sleeping areas, but share common facilities with the property owner, such as kitchens, washing areas, and/or dining rooms. The most common examples of shared facilities are single family homes. It is not terribly common for landlords to rent a room out of their single-family house, but it does occur. Such a rental…

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    I Asked for a Divorce, Now What?

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    This article was written by Cathy McKay and originally published at Collaborative Divorce New Hampshire. Many clients who come in to see me for a divorce ask me this very question: “I’ve told my spouse that I want a divorce, but now what do we do?” The answer is that once you have made the decision to get divorced, you need to decide how to proceed. This means that you need to decide what type of divorce process you want. One option, and the one most known, is the option to file a Petition for Divorce with the Court. This will open a case with the Court and will require the parties to then follow all Court rules, participate in several hearings, and ultimately, a…

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    Need a lawyer for an Appeal? PMM Law Announces Opening of Appellate Law Division

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    PMM Law is excited to announce that David Stamatis will be spearheading the opening our Appellate Law Division. At PMM law we will be able to take on appeals of most types of cases in New Hampshire. In New Hampshire, we have one appellate division of the Courts called the New Hampshire Supreme Courts. Typically, appeals involve issues of law decided at the lower court level that may have been decided incorrectly. Appeals are difficult and time consuming, and almost always require the assistance of experienced counsel. David is a former UNH Law grad, and Daniel Webster Scholar. David has been responsible for supervising and reviewing complex issues of law already, and is now moving part of his practice to handle most types of appeals….

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    Is It Time to Get a Guardianship Over My Incapacitated Loved One?

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    A guardian is a person who has been appointed by the Probate court to have care and custody of an incapacitated person (also called the “Ward”) by a court order. If there is a less restrictive means in place to assist the proposed ward, such as a health care power of attorney or a financial power of attorney signed by the proposed ward while competent, this is preferable than a guardianship. The guardian may be appointed over the person allowing the Guardian to determine the ward’s health care decisions and determining where a ward may live. And in some circumstances, with Court approval, the guardian may be able to admit the ward to a nursing home or other institution. A guardian can also be appointed…

  • Pro Bono Month: Top Five Reasons We Do Pro Bono at Parnell, Michels & McKay

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    October is Pro Bono Month, and National Pro Bono Week is from October 23-29. In honor of Pro Bono service, we have compiled our top five reasons for providing Pro Bono representation. Helping the Less Fortunate – The simplest answer. As attorneys, we have the unique skill and ability to help those in legal crisis. Our firm believes in helping our community by giving back to it. Lawyers are uniquely qualified to assist those that are less fortunate because attorneys understand the law and can assist these folks with crisis they cannot comprehend. Many members of our community cannot afford an attorney, and the Pro Bono system, through 603 Legal Aid, helps connect the less fortunate to attorneys that can assist them through their legal…

  • Home Ownership and Divorce – Family Law

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    In many divorces, the party’s main asset is the marital home. Therefore, one of the questions we hear the most in family law is “what’s going to happen to my home?” For some, this is a purely financial question. For others, there is a great deal of emotional attachment with concerns about the party’s children and their own future living arrangements. For most, the parties generally agree that there should be equal division as equitable compensation, but the question is how that is accomplished. This blog post will cover the parties’ options in dividing the marital home. Option 1: Sell the Home This is the “cleanest” option and allows both parties a fresh start, as well as provides the most financial return to each party….