Federal law (and New Hampshire's implementation) imposes a 5-year lookback period for Medicaid long-term care eligibility. Any uncompensated transfers (gifts, transfers to family members, transfers to a non-Medicaid-qualified trust) within the 5 years before applying for Medicaid can trigger a penalty period during which Medicaid won't pay for nursing home care. This is the main reason Medicaid planning needs to start years before care is actually needed — and the main reason elder law attorneys exist as a distinct practice area.

Estate planning attorneys in New Hampshire average $360 per hourClio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jan 1, 2025 for wills and estates work. Flat-fee packages run roughly $1,080–$2,160 for a simple individual will and $3,360–$5,040 for a basic revocable trust. Online and DIY services cost $30–$300 for the same documents — see the will cost calculator for a side-by-side comparison.

New Hampshire requires nearly all estates to go through formal probate. Most families retain an attorney for this — the procedural overhead is what counsel is there to absorb. Living trusts are the most common workaround for families that want to skip the process entirely.

In New Hampshire, the situations where retaining counsel is typically worth the cost are: blended families with children from prior relationships; ownership of a business, rental property, or significant investment assets; special-needs dependents who need a special-needs trust to preserve benefits; substantial property held in multiple states. If none of these describe your situation, the simpler online and DIY tools are often enough.