Committed to Community
for Over 35 Years
for Over 35 Years
Griffin Law Office has been helping clients with their real estate, estate planning, and small business needs since 1980. If you need to consult an attorney regarding the sale, acquisition, or bequest of property; or if your business or non-profit organization needs legal assistance, we’re here to help.
What We Do
Our expertise includes all aspects of elder law. We can craft personalized estate plans that consider the ramifications on taxes and future health care expenses; assist with passing real estate from one generation to the next, and help administer an estate after the passing of a loved one.
We develop long-term relationships with our clients, many of whom trust us with their real estate sales, purchases, and obtaining title insurance. We also assist regarding land use issues with zoning and municipal boards. We’ve helped numerous small businesses and non-profits with entity selection and formation; and we provide ongoing legal advice on contracts, corporate governance, and other matters.
Real Estate Planning & Cottage Succession
Real estate issues often appear during times of crisis. Clients who invest in proper real estate planning save time, money, and aggravation when they can least afford it.
Real Estate: Contract to Closing & Refinancing
We handle all aspects of purchases, sales, and refinances of real estate. Working closely with our clients, we’re responsive to changes in circumstances and time constraints.
Estate Planning
You’ve earned it, let us help you keep it. We work with individuals, families, and business owners to plan for their remaining years according to their individual objectives.
Estate Administration
We will guide personal representatives, trustees, and beneficiaries through the legal labyrinth of estate administration, assisting with the administration of an estate or trust and determining their rights and obligations.
Business Law
Whether you are just thinking about starting a business, currently own your own small business, or run a non-profit organization, we can help.
Elder Law
Caring for an elderly family member or worrying about what will happen as your own health declines can be overwhelming: informed legal and financial planning is essential for your peace of mind.
Who We Are
Attorneys
Carl R. (Chip) Griffin
Chip grew up and attended schools in Boothbay Harbor. Selected Phi Beta Kappa, he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bowdoin College in 1977. Chip attended the University of Maine School of Law, graduating Cum Laude in 1980. He has owned and managed Griffin Law Offices since 1980. Memberships include: American Bar Association, Maine State Bar Association, and past president of the Lincoln County Bar Association.
A member of the Real Estate Section and Trust and Estates Section of the Maine State Bar Association, Chip is also part of the Law Practice Management, Real Property, and Probate sections of the American Bar Association. He has been a faculty member for the Maine State Bar Association’s “Bridging the Gap” seminar, writing and speaking on law practice management and more recently at Maine’s real estate institute on real estate succession planning and the interplay between real estate and the Maine estate tax.
He is the only Lincoln County Attorney who is a member of both the Elder Law section of the Maine State Bar Association and the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).
Paralegals
Anne Mosher
Anne manages Schooner Title and deals primarily with real estate planning, contracts and real estate closings, performs abstracting, and is also responsible for all of the firm’s title insurance. Anne has been with the firm since 1991.
Sandy Paxson
Sandy manages Griffin Law as well as working with our clients in the areas of life and estate planning, estate and trust administration, probate, and elder law. Sandy has been with the firm since 2002.
News & Info
Office News
Spotlight on Seniors – Elder Law with Chip Griffin and Melissa Holmes Whitt (video)
Griffin Law Newsletter
We publish the “Chip’s Clips” Newsletter 2-3 times per year, containing helpful and informative information in many aspects of senior living and elder care, as well as real estate and property issues. Click here to check out the latest issue. (read more)
Helpful Links
State of Maine Links
State of Maine Home Page (www.state.me.us)
Pine Tree Legal Assistance (www.ptla.org)
The Volunteers Lawyer Project (www.vlp.org)
Elder Law Links
NAELA (www.naela.org)
AARP (www.aarp.org)
Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org)
Articles
Maine Ties: News from the Maine Community Foundation
EVERYONE HAS A STORY. Boothbay Harbor attorney Chip Griffin encourages clients to share stories as part of his approach to estate planning. In this interview he also reflects on the changes he has seen in his home community and the promise of a new Fund for Lincoln County. (read more)
Common Estate Planning Mistakes
Many married couples fail to have their Wills crafted properly by providing for a disclaimer trust option for the surviving spouse. Although every individual is entitled to the federal estate tax exemption and Maine estate tax exemption (as of January 1, 2016 both were set at $5.45 million per person), a disclaimer trust or proper credit shelter trust should be incorporated in the Will (read more)
Revocable Living Trusts
Living trusts are not as essential as many national periodicals promise, at least in Maine, where probate costs are minimal. However, living trusts can be extremely effective as financial management vehicles, particularly for elderly persons with substantial assets. (read more)
Community
Community Involvement
Community Involvement is important to us individually as well as to the Firm. Here are a few of the areas that interest us.
Attorney Carl “Chip” Griffin is a member, past president, past assistant governor, and multiple Paul Harris Fellow of the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club. He also has served as Town Moderator for the Towns of Boothbay Harbor and Edgecomb, as well as other towns over the years. Chip is also one of the founding members and past president of Rebuilding Together Lincoln County. He has also served six years as director of the Boothbay Region YMCA and Student Aid Fund. He is on the Board of Advisors for the Boothbay Region Land Trust and committee member of many nonprofits in the region. Chip has taught, for the past 15 years, an estate planning course for the Adult Education program at the Boothbay Region High School in February and March. He also researches and gives frequent presentations on local history and is the author of multiple articles and three books.
Anne Mosher, a resident of Bath, was actively involved with the Bath school committees. She has also been a Rebuilding Together Lincoln County volunteer.
Before moving to Bath, Sandy Paxson had been a member of the Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor school committee for 18 years. She currently serves on the board of Rebuilding-Together – Lincoln County. Sandy also previously volunteered in the Boothbay community as a Girl Scout troop leader, on the board of the Boothbay Region PTA, for the Historical Society, for the Opera House, and for the Boothbay Region Land Trust.
Local Historical Links & Articles
Boothbay Region Historical Society
(www.boothbayregionhistorical.org)
Lincoln County Historical Society
(www.lincolncountyhistory.org)
Maine Historical Society
(www.mainehistory.org)
Local Historical Articles by Attorney Griffin
“How Boothbay’s Scots Irish Molded Our Distinctive Culture of Equality and Liberty,” January 24, 2010.
“Scots Irish in Boothbay,” June 17, 2009.
“Founding of our Footbridge in 1901,” May 30, 2013.
“Heroes, Heretics, and Hell-raisers in our Colonial and Post-Revolutionary Midcoast,” Feburayr 15, 2011.
“Scots-Irish Culture in Midcoast Maine; Maine Scots-Irish Experience,” April 10, 2010.
“Scots-Irish in the Damariscotta and Newcastle Areas,” April 19, 2010.
CONTACT US
Griffin Law Offices &
Schooner Title Co.
59 Atlantic Avenue
PO Box 456
Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538
Phone 207-633-6300
Fax 207-633-6387
General Questions:
crg@GriffinLawOffices.com
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