Stephen A. Unsworth is admitted to practice in both Vermont and Maine, and has more than 30 years of experience in estate planning and business law. His mission is to provide quality estate planning services, including assistance with Living Trusts, Wills, Medicaid Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, Powers of Attorney, Special Needs Planning, and Family Limited Partnerships.
Experience
Stephen is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (AAEPA), a national organization serving the needs of legal professionals concentrating on estate planning. He was on the national Board of Governors for the AAEPA and is the only AAEPA member in Vermont. Stephen applies the Academy’s comprehensive training and innovative estate planning techniques to deliver the best possible service to his clients. He is also a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, the current president of the Vermont Chapter of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, the Vermont Bar Association, Chittenden County Bar Association, and Vermont Bar Association’s Elder Law and Probate & Trust Sections.
He has been President of the Chittenden County Bar Association, and Chairman of the Vermont Bar Association Continuing Education Committee, for which he was awarded a certificate for being an outstanding chairperson. Stephen was also awarded a certificate of appreciation from a Vermont Administrative Judge for his work as an Acting Judge in Small Claims Court. He regularly presents and writes materials for continuing legal education seminars for attorneys and paralegals in Vermont and has taught business law courses at both the University of Vermont and Champlain College. He published a Chapter on the Vermont Trust Code in a book entitled A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Vermont.
Stephen has been named a “Super Lawyer” by the New England Super Lawyers Magazine each year since its creation in 2007. This distinction – based on peer nomination, extensive polling, and independent research – ranks him in the top 5% of lawyers in New England. He has also been named one of Vermont’s top estate planning attorneys by Vermont Business Magazine.
Education
Stephen graduated with distinction from the University of Maine at Orono, and received his Juris Doctorate from Western New England College School of Law, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Personal
Stephen is native of Vermont, and devotes a good deal of his free time to serving his community. He is active in his church, and is on the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army. He is a past president of The Essex Rotary Club. An avid sailor, he is a past Commodore of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club. He has sailed extensively in the Caribbean, Belize and Mexico. Stephen lives in Shelburne with his wife and the youngest of their three children.
EMAIL: stephen@unsworthlaplante.com
