MAINE ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

Michael J. Neff of RM Davis will moderate a panel discussion on the topic of Real Estate Investment and Estate Planning. The speakers' bios are below.

Michael J. Neff, CFA

Vice President, Client Advisor

RM Davis

Mike holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.  He has worked in financial services his entire career. His clients benefit from his diverse background and extensive portfolio and investment management experience. Mike works with his clients to provide investment management, asset allocation, and financial planning advice.

Mike is a native of Buffalo, New York. Growing up, he spent summers canoeing the lakes and rivers of Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada. His love of the outdoors brought him and his wife, Katya, to Maine in the early 2000’s. They have three children. Mike is a long distance and trail runner. He spends his free time with family and friends hiking, biking, back country skiing, and enjoying the full range of outdoor activities Maine has to offer. An avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction, Mike is usually working through one or two books at a time.

Justin Lamontagne, CCIM, SIOR

Partner, Designated Broker

The Dunham Group

Justin is recognized as one of the leading experts on industrial real estate in Maine.  With over a decade of experience, he has successfully brokered transactions in all sectors, specializing in industrial, office, and investment properties.  From strategic planning and representation for both buyers and sellers, to site searches and commercial property valuations, his exceptional market knowledge and expertise is an asset for clients looking for not only results, but a lasting relationship.  Carrying his Rotarian principles forward in every deal, Justin is always looking out for his clients’ best interest and often talks people out of deals rather than into them.  As such, he has fostered a reputation for being a genuine and trustworthy partner for clients.

As someone who approaches the market with a broad lens to understand all the different angles, positions, and perspectives, Justin is someone both clients and colleagues look to for his market insight.  In 2013, Justin was named the Maine Commercial Association Realtor of the Year. In 2015 he earned the prestigious CCIM accreditation, an international membership comprised of the world’s top commercial real estate professionals. In 2017 he earned the Society of Industrial & Office Realtor’s (SIOR) designation, a global network of only 3,600 industry leaders. In doing so, he became the 5th broker in the state of Maine to carry both CCIM & SIOR honors. Annually, Justin is the author of The Dunham Group’s Greater Portland Industrial Market Survey, a comprehensive study and inventory of the local industrial market.

Justin is active in several Greater Portland philanthropic and professional organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Maine Commercial Association of Realtors (Past President), Maine Cancer Foundation, Town & Country Federal Credit Union, and Portland Little League. Justin is also an active member of the Rotary Club of Portland, the Maine Real Estate Development Association, the Portland Chamber of Commerce, and the CCIM & SIOR New England chapters.

Justin joined The Dunham Group in 2011. In 2016 he earned Partnership in the firm and, in 2019, was named Designated Broker. He has worked in commercial real estate since 2006 and has a degree from the University of Rochester (BA ’02) and an advanced degree from Boston University (MS ’04).  In his free time, Justin is an avid water skier, snow skier, hiker, rock climber and plays organized softball. He lives in Portland with his wife, Marycelina, their children Katherine and William and their dog, Fenway.  His wife is a 5-year breast cancer survivor, an experience that has contributed to Justin’s empathy for others, commitment to having a true work/life balance, and his focus on giving back.

Bonnie L. Ball Wahrer

Associate

Pierce Atwood LLP

Bonnie Ball Wahrer is an associate in Pierce Atwood’s Trusts and Estates Practice Group where she represents individuals, families, fiduciaries, and institutional clients in all aspects of trust and estate planning, administration, controversy, and probate litigation.

Bonnie enjoys working with families to help implement their goals to reduce gift and estate taxes, generation-skipping transfer taxes, and to put in place a comprehensive estate plan that addresses their families’ needs for transferring wealth to future generations.

She is also skilled in preparing and negotiating premarital and postmarital agreements. Bonnie’s strong technical understanding of gift and estate tax and her attention to detail give her the edge in providing high quality services to her clients.

In addition to her trusts and estates practice, Bonnie works with charitable organizations to incorporate and gain 501(c)(3) tax exempt-status. She regularly counsels public charities with respect to governance and compliance matters.

Prior to joining Pierce Atwood, Bonnie gained valuable insight into state appellate litigation as law clerk to the Honorable Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, and federal pretrial management and trial litigation experience as law clerk to the Honorable John H. Rich III of the United States District Court for the District of Maine.

While in law school, Bonnie served as editor-in-chief of the Maine Law Review, and pioneered the path for dual enrollment in the University of Maine School of Law, Juris Doctor, and University of Southern Maine, Muskie School of Public Service, Master of Public Health (MPH) programs after being accepted into both in 2015.

J. Casey McCormack, Esq.

Vice President, Director of Real Estate

Spinnaker Trust

Prior to joining Spinnaker Trust, Casey was a commercial real estate broker in New York City, an affordable housing consultant in the Bar Area of California, and most recently a partner at a local law firm, where he represented real estate developers, secured lender, and tax credit investors.  Casey enjoys drawing on his diverse background to advance all types of real estate projects in an efficient and effective manner. 

Casey lives in Portland with his wife, their three young children, and a terrier named Clifden.  During law school, Casey had the opportunity to study abroad at the National University of Ireland at Galway, which he and his wife used as a base camp to explore Europe.  He enjoys spending time with his family, working on the house, and taking advantage of the Maine outdoors.