- Elder Law
- Estate Planning
- Trusts and Estates Administration
- Tax Planning
Whitney A. Gagnon
Director, Trusts & Estates Department and Chair of the Elder Law Practice Group
Portsmouth and Woburn
Whitney is a Director in the firm’s Trusts and Estates Department. Whitney assists individuals and families in all aspects of estate planning and trust and estate administration. Whitney focuses her practice in assisting high-net worth individuals with designing and implementing sophisticated estate plans that maximize family wealth preservation and asset protection utilizing estate, gift, income, and generation skipping transfer tax strategies. Whitney provides guidance to fiduciaries and beneficiaries to help facilitate efficient and productive administration of trusts and estates. Whitney advises clients on the advantageous New Hampshire trust laws and assists with establishing various types of Irrevocable Trusts including dynasty trusts and directed trusts, as well as improving existing Irrevocable Trusts through the use of decantings and non-judicial settlement agreements.
Whitney practices in the area of elder law and counsels clients in relation to the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Medicaid laws and prepares plans to achieve their estate planning and long-term care planning objectives. Whitney also practices in the area of special needs law where she works with individuals with special needs and their families to develop plans to provide for the individual’s supplemental needs and enhance the individual’s quality of life.
Whitney received a dual Bachelor of Art in Political Science and Justice Studies, cum laude, from the University of New Hampshire (2009), and her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from New England Law | Boston (2012).
Areas of Focus
Admissions
- New Hampshire
- Massachusetts
- Maine
Involvement
Present
- Seacoast Science Center, Board of Directors
- New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp, Corporator
- MassNAELA, Board of Directors; Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee
- New Hampshire Estate Planning Council
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)
- Massachusetts Chapter of NAELA
- New Hampshire Chapter of NAELA
Past
- Leadership NH, Class of 2023
- Hospice Help Foundation, Board of Directors (2019-2020)
- Leadership Seacoast, Class of 2019
- Boston Estate Planning Council
- Women’s Bar Association
- Professionalism and Ethics Committee of NAELA
Recognitions
Massachusetts Super Lawyer (Elder Law)
2023
Insights
Additional Publications
- Panelist, “Guide to Wills and Estate Planning,” NH Magazine, March 16, 2021
- Contributor, “Ask the Experts: Wills and Estate Planning,” NH Magazine, March 2021
- Contributor, “Ask the Experts: Guide to Wills and Estate Planning,” NH Magazine, February 20, 2019
- Author, “Wills: New Hampshire,” Thomson Reuters’ Practical Law, November 19, 2018
- Co-author, NAELA Aspirational Standards, Second Edition, April 24, 2017 – https://www.naela.org/AspirationalStandards
- Co-author, Exploring the Future, NAELA Journal, 2012
- Co-author, Massachusetts Elder Law, 2nd ed., 6th release, LexisNexis, 2013
Speaking Engagements
- “New IRA Regulations Applying at Death – Very Recent and Surprising Changes Impacting all IRA Owners,” NH Bar Association CLE (2022)
- “Practical Answers to Ethical Questions Arising in Elder Abuse Cases,” American Bar Association, National Aging and Law Conference (2018)
- “Durable Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, and MOLST,” Massachusetts Assisted Living Association (2018)
- BAE Systems – Legal Information Series – Elder Law (2017)
- Co-presenter, “NAELA’s Continuing Evolution to a Changing Environment: Redefining the Practice of Elder Law,” NAELA annual conference (2017)
- “The Facts About Medicaid (MassHealth) Planning and Eligibility,” Hospice and Palliative Care Federation Annual Conference (2015)
- “How Pre-Planning Can Save Your Independence,” Council on Aging (2015)
Latest News
- 26 McLane Middleton Lawyers Included in New England Super Lawyers (April 30, 2025)
- Eight McLane Middleton Lawyers Included in Massachusetts Super Lawyers (September 27, 2024)
- 26 McLane Middleton Lawyers Included in New England Super Lawyers (April 30, 2024)
- Whitney Gagnon Named to Union Leader’s 40 Under Forty (February 18, 2024)
- 37 McLane Middleton Lawyers Included in Super Lawyers (October 17, 2023)
- Whitney Gagnon Included in Leadership New Hampshire Class of 2023 (June 10, 2022)
- Audrey Young and Whitney Gagnon to Present on New IRA Regulations Applying at Death (May 27, 2022)
- McLane Middleton’s Whitney Gagnon Admitted to Maine State Bar (March 8, 2022)
- McLane Middleton Elects Christopher Dube, Whitney Gagnon, Caitlin McCurdy, and John Weaver as Directors (January 4, 2022)