Karen handled my mother's estate planning flawlessly before she passed to help ease a very difficult time. From the will to various trusts, Karen's expertise was invaluable to me and my family.
I worked with Karen as Co-counsel on a complicated probate case embroiled in litigation challenging the alleged Will and Personal Representative's apparent misconduct. She has very fine legal drafting and analytic skills.
In my practice I specialize in the areas of asset protection, estate planning (wills and trusts), business planning (formation, mergers, acquisitions, sales, spin-offs, conversions), probate (independent administration, dependent administration, muniment of title, small estate affidavit, affidavit of heirship), and tax (estate and gift taxation along with tax analysis in the area of business).
I love what I do. When I am analyzing a client's estate I look at all their assets as a giant puzzle in which I try to place each asset in an optimum position for maximum asset protection while having a minimal tax impact on their passing. It does not matter what size estate a client has as I am able to minimize any estate tax impact while at the same time making sure the assets going to the client's beneficiarie are protected from creditors, kept as separate property in the event of a divorce, bypass probate, and have minimal tax impact upon the death of such beneficiary.
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Excellent attorney
Karen handled my mother's estate planning flawlessly before she passed to help ease a very difficult time. From the will to various trusts, Karen's expertise was invaluable to me and my family.
Posted by Jim | July 12, 2017
This review is from a potential client who consulted with this attorney.
| Consulted Attorney
Co-counsel
I worked with Karen as Co-counsel on a complicated probate case embroiled in litigation challenging the alleged Will and Personal Representative's apparent misconduct. She has very fine legal drafting and analytic skills.
Posted by anonymous | July 10, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Communicates completely
Karen takes time to answer your questions completely, she offers advice but realizes the final decision is yours and is very through when planning/preparing estate documents. I have used Mrs. Akiens for @ 7 years.
Posted by Bruce | July 5, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Outstanding Trust Attorney
I selected Karen back in 2008 to set up my Revocable Living Trust and have been more than pleased ever since. Her superior expertise, attention to detail, and continual follow-up far exceeded any expectations I had of the process. As my life situation changes...marriage, retirement, etc....Karen is always there to make sure my Trust is updated correctly. I never thought I needed a
Trust until I met Karen and now I don't see how I could be financially secure without one.
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Posted by Lisa | July 2, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Absolutely the Best
I highly, highly recommend Karen for any probate, trust & estate needs. When my mom passed last November, I was astounded at the amount of paperwork and legalese required to settle her estate. Karen very quickly got us a probate date so we had the legal documents necessary to begin dealings with the banks, life insurance, annuities, etc. Karen quickly got us the tax identification numbers so we could open an estate account. There were a few times I had to call Karen from the bank because I was overcome with grief and unable to answer some of their questions. She dealt with the bankers and answered their questions when I was unable to. When it was time to sell the house, Karen reviewed the buyer/seller agreement and made a few edits that saved us money. When I discovered that Mom hadn't paid taxes in several years while in ill health, Karen told me not to panic and recommended a CPA who has since filed all the missing tax documents. Because Mom was taking care of all my dad's bills and financial needs as he is in a nursing home; Karen provided the necessary paperwork and tax forms so I could get two trusts set up to help pay for Dad's bills while awaiting Medicaid approval. Many times during all these processes necessary to handle a person's estate upon their passing, I would wonder how the heck people do this without an attorney? And I was blessed to have such a good one. She dealt with the different bank accounts for me and when there was an action I needed to take; she told me step by step exactly what to do. In addition taking care of all the legal issues regarding handling Mom's estate; Karen also advised me on how best to handle the inheritance money left from Mom's estate. I was probably what some lawyers may have considered a pest because I had zero legal knowledge and must have asked a thousand questions. Karen treated me with compassion and handled all the legal affairs as quickly as possible. I always felt she was looking out for my best interests and saved me spending unnecessary
money. Karen was always quick to follow up so things didn't linger; she stayed on top of it. She made the worst time of my life a little less unbearable by handling the legal affairs so thoroughly, quickly and graciously. I was in awe of her knowledge. If you want a good, compassionate, knowledgeable lawyer, Karen is it!
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Posted by Gabriella | July 2, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Very knowledgeable law & tax professional
Karen is instrumental in her ability to provide the best legal advice and service. She is extremely knowledgeable about the law and she is a great listener. She is also well versed in anything that has to do with taxes. She has been a tremendous resource for my family. I would highly recommend Karen for all your legal needs.
Posted by Maher | July 2, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Estate Planning And Asset Protectiom Work
Karen has put together multiple entities, trusts, ILIT's and other estate planning documents for myself and my family. She is very responsive and available for any questions I have, provides great customer service. I've worked with Karen on multiple projects since 2006 and have recommended her to multiple contacts who have also used her legal services. Karen has put together presentations to teach in detail the various complexities of estate planning to my forum group of 9 Entrepreneur CEO's, a few of whom then utilized her services based on her deep knowledge and service minded personality.
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Posted by WA and Margo | August 2, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Very professional and has expertise on both financial and legal issues. Most helpful and fun to work with.
Developed our Estate Plan, Tax planned revocable living trust, irrevocable investment trust and LLCs. We are extremely satisfied with all that Karen has done to help us in establishing the documents needed for a complicated situation.
Posted by Frank | August 2, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Estate Planning and Tax Efficiency
Karen Akiens is my lawyer and has structured and maintains my estate plan. Karen keeps the estate plan current with changes in law and precedent.
Posted by William | July 29, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Longtime family legal counsel A+!
Ms. Akien has been serving my family's estate planning needs for many years. This includes my late wife and myself, my in-laws and my children. She has proven herself, and her firm, to be fully invested in our security and well-being. It is always a pleasure to work with Karen, and I look forward to continuing to do so.
Posted by anonymous | July 29, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Exceptional attorney
Karen Akien is highly qualified to plan corporate structure for tax and liability purposes as well as individual estate planning. She is excellent and highly knowledgeable in all areas. We have relied on her expertise for our corporate and individual planning. I would highly recommend her. She is thorough and follows through quickly with the finalized plan.
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Posted by anonymous | October 2, 2015
This review is from a potential client who consulted with this attorney.
| Consulted Attorney
consultation
Karen provides nice consultation with gathering details and quick response. She sets up the plan with supported information, and explained with details. Also she provides other related information and answers extra questions even through the weekends. Strongly recommend to people who needs the service in Cypress.
Posted by anonymous | August 9, 2016
This review is from a potential client who consulted with this attorney.
| Consulted Attorney
Karen Akiens
Very knowledgeable. Explains concepts very well. Very reasonable rates compared to attorneys in larger firms with similar qualifications. Can be a bit brusque with 'bedside manner' and may not be an ideal fit for all ranges of client personalities. Some follow up was needed to make sure everything was completed/filed/copied to interested parties/etc. but not too burdensome.
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