Sarah E. Messersmith

Sarah E. Messersmith is an attorney in the Hampton and Newport News offices. Her estate planning and administration work with clients ranges from the initial structuring and implementation of their estate plans to the resulting estate and trust administration.

Sarah helps clients create wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney and advance medical directives and assists clients with tax planning and succession planning issues. She also represents clients who are administering an estate or trust after a family member has died, providing assistance through the trust implementation or probate process.

Sarah is CRESPA certified and her real estate practice consists of representation of buyers, sellers and lenders in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate purchase and sale transactions and the associated financing.

She represents clients engaging in residential and commercial leasing as well as land use and rezoning. Sarah’s practice also includes creation of new business entities and working with owners of existing closely held businesses.

Education:

• College of William & Mary; B.S., summa cum laude, 2002
• College of William & Mary School of Law; J.D., 2005

Associations:

• Virginia Living Museum, Board of Trustees, 2018 – Present
• Sarah Bonwell Hudgins Foundation, Board of Trustees, 2008 – 2018Peninsula SPCA, Board of Directors, 2013 – Present
• Hampton Public Library Foundation, Board of Directors, 2016 – Present
• Hampton Bar Association, 2005 – Present

Representative Matters:

• Represented estates involving substantial assets, multiple beneficiaries, issues about advancement of inheritance and complex accounting reports to the Commissioner of Accounts
• Represented clients with the preparation of leases and contracts of purchase for residential and commercial properties
• Represented clients with the creation of new corporations and limited liability companies