Karen Sue Keaton

Karen Sue Keaton

5.0
Rating: 8.5

Licensed for 41 years

Estate planning Lawyer at Saint Petersburg, FL
Practice Areas: Estate Planning, Landlord & Tenant, Trusts ... +4 more

2816 Beach Boulevard, Saint Petersburg, FL

About Karen

Fees and Rates

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Licenses

Licensed in Florida for 41 years

State: Florida

Acquired: 1984

Member in Good Standing

Lawyer disciplined by state licensing authority in 2014

Location

Karen S. Keaton, Esquire

2816 Beach Boulevard, Saint Petersburg, FL, 33707

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Karen Sue Keaton's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

5.0 /5.0

6 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (6) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 5 of 6 reviews

Posted by Mary Anna Matthews | July 24, 2017 | Hired Attorney | Wills & Living Wills

Karen Keaton

Karen drew up my husband's and my will and created a trust for us. After he died she kept after me to make sure that I updated the trust. I am very grateful for her caring and concern during that difficult time. She has never failed to offer me sound advice and I consider her a dear friend.

Posted by Pat | July 18, 2017 | Hired Attorney | Estate Planning

Living Trust

Living Trusts were set up and FUNDED with Karen's expert help and guidance. She is a pleasure to work with and is extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of estate planning. If you want to do it right, call Karen. Her support staff is top notch also.

Posted by Pam | July 18, 2017 | Hired Attorney | Trusts

Great Attorney

Our experience with Attorney Karen Keaton has been stellar. Karen is professional as well as genuinely caring about her clients. My Mom & I met with Karen Keaton about establishing a Trust. This can be a confusing process but it was explained clearly without an effort to 'sell' the process but to und...erstand the true value of establishing a Trust. Karen helped my Mother with the details of creating a Trust and following her desires to protect the family assets. My Mother and Father have since passed away but Karen Keaton's commitment to the wishes of the Trust and family have remained steadfast and done so with compassion.

Posted by George | July 17, 2017 | Hired Attorney | Estate Planning

Experience and Education that is hard to find

Having practiced law for over 1/3 of a century I have come to know a large number of lawyers - some good, some mediocre and some bad. And then there are those lawyers who rise above the pack. Karen Sue Keaton, SJD has years of experience in real estate, corporations and business law, estate plannin...g and tax law. Her SJD (Juridicae Scientiae Doctor which is sometimes also referred to as a Doctor of Laws) is in tax law and is the equivalent to a PhD in other disciplines. I have only known one other lawyer with her educational background who was a professor of mine in law school. Because of her years of practical experience and strong education background I had no problem referring my own mother to her for family estate planning. She is also my personal lawyer for matters involving tax consulting as well as estate planning. The bottom line is that a good lawyer with her experience and education is hard to find.

Posted by Susan | July 17, 2017 | Hired Attorney | Wills & Living Wills

Excellent caring attorney

Ms. Keaton and her staff guided me through the writing of my will and setting up my trust. They were professional, helpful, answered all of my questions. They made the whole procedure painless and I would recommend Ms. Keaton highly.

See All Client Reviews

Karen Sue Keaton's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Karen
April Denise Hill headshot
April Hill

Landlord or tenant lawyer | Jul 20

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. I have known Karen for over 15 years. We have had the opportunity to consult with each other on several matters. I always appreciate how knowledgeable Karen is as well as how well she serves her clients."

Marshall C Deason Jr. headshot
Marshall Deason

Landlord or tenant lawyer | Jul 19

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"I endorse this lawyer. I send all my residential eviction work to Karen. She does an excellent job on residential evictions."

Richard P. Caton headshot
Richard Caton

Unknown lawyer | Jul 18

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"I endorse this lawyer."

Denyse Danielle Kruse headshot
Denyse Kruse

Estate planning lawyer | Jul 17

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"I endorse this lawyer."

View All Endorsements
Raandi L Morales headshot
Raandi Morales

Real estate lawyer

April Denise Hill headshot
April Hill

Medicaid and medicare lawyer

Denyse Danielle Kruse headshot
Denyse Kruse

Estate planning lawyer

Experience

Rating:  8.5 (Excellent)

Professional misconduct

This lawyer was disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2014.

Public Reprimand issued in FL, 2014

updated on 07/17/2017

Public reprimand means the attorney did something wrong but may still practice law. The Bar warns the lawyer in hopes that he or she will not repeat the behavior. Details of the infraction are made part of the public record.

Karen’s comment:

“I served my client as trustee of a charitable remainder trust which invested in private money mortgages. I previously created a corporation for another client who subsequently borrowed money from the first client's charitable trust. Unfortunately, I failed to obtain a letter from the corporate client acknowledging that there could possibly be a conflict of interest should the corporate client default on the mortgage.”

Public Reprimand issued in FL, 2012

updated on 07/17/2017

Public reprimand means the attorney did something wrong but may still practice law. The Bar warns the lawyer in hopes that he or she will not repeat the behavior. Details of the infraction are made part of the public record.

Karen’s comment:

“My client nominated me to serve as trustee of her trust. I followed my client's specific directions in creating the trust and administered the trust in accordance with the terms of the trust. A trust beneficiary was unhappy with the terms of the trust.”

Honors

1993

AV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

Work Experience

1990 - Present

Attorney, Gulf Beaches Law, P.A., formerly known as Karen S. Keaton, P.A.

1996 - 1996

Professor - Estate Planning, Stetson University College Of Law

1991 - 1991

Professor - Financial Planning and Accounting for Guardians, St. Petersburg Junior College

1989 - 1990

Attorney, B. Gray Gibbs, P.A.

1989 - 1989

Attorney, Powell, Carney, Moore, Hucks & Olson, PA

1985 - 1988

Attorney, Allison & Heistand, P.A.

1984 - 1985

Prosecuting Attorney, Pinellas County State Attorney

Associations

2014 - Present

National Association of Residential Property Managers

Affiliate Member

1985 - Present

St. Petersburg Bar Association

Member

Education

1989

University of Florida

LL.M - Master of Laws

1983

Stetson University College of Law

JD - Juris Doctor, with honors

1974

Samford Univeristy

Bachelor of Music

Languages

English

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

What determines Avvo Rating?
  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline
    This lawyer was disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2014
    Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution