Practice areas
State | Status | Acquired | Updated |
---|---|---|---|
CA | Active | 1997 | 02/03/2021 |
Legal answers | 1 |
Legal guides | 0 |
Award name | Grantor | Date granted |
---|---|---|
Top Rated Estate Planning Attorney | Avvo | 2014 |
Certified Specialist - Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law | State Bar of California | 2011 |
Title | Company name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Shareholder | Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel | 2015 - Present |
Owner | Law Office of Karen Meckstroth | 2009 - 2015 |
Estate Planning Attorney | Beck, Ross, Bismonte & Finley | 2007 - 2009 |
Trusts and Estates Attorney | Hopkins & Carley | 2004 - 2007 |
Corporate, Litigation and Estate Planning Attorney | Bingham (Riordan & McKinzie) | 1997 - 2004 |
Association name | Position name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Silicon Valley Bar Association | Member | N/A |
State Bar of California, Trusts and Estates Section | Member | N/A |
Planning Committee for the Conference on Charitable Giving (at Stanford University) | Member | N/A |
Notre Dame High School (San Jose) | Board Member | N/A |
State Bar of California, Taxation Section | Member | N/A |
Employment & Community Options | Board Member | N/A |
---|---|---|
Silicon Valley Planned Giving Council Incubator Program | Mentor | N/A |
School name | Degree | Graduated |
---|---|---|
University of California, Hastings College of the Law | JD - Juris Doctor | 1997 |
University of California - Berkeley | MA | 1991 |
University of California - Berkeley | BA | 1982 |
Conference name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
Sand Hill Global Advisors | Rewards and Challenges of Being a Successor Trustee | 2017 |
Invest in Women | Cracking Open The Philanthropic Conversation | 2017 |
Children's Health Council (Palo Alto) | Estate Planning 101 | 2016 |
Elipsis 2016 | Estate Planning 101 | 2016 |
Silicon Valley Bar Association New Attorney Roundtable | Ethics in Estate Planning | 2015 |
San Jose Chapter of the American Association of University Women | Selecting and Preparing Your Successor Trustee | 2015 |
---|---|---|
East Bay Trusts and Estate Lawyers | Changing the Unamendable: How to Reform, Modify and Terminate Irrevocable Trusts | 2013 |
Lasecke Weil | Estate Planning in Chaotic Times | 2012 |
Silicon Valley Bar Association | Integrating Philanthropy in the Estate Planning Process | 2012 |
Meeting of Financial Planning Association of San Francisco | Incorporating Philanthropy in the Family Wealth Plan | 2011 |
Silicon Valley Planned Giving Council -- Incubator Project | Giving and Happiness | 2011 |
National Business Institute | Probate Process from Start to Finish | 2010 |
Silicon Valley Bar Association | Ethical Duties in Estate Planning (MCLE Ethics Credit) | 2010 |
Silicon Valley Bar Association | Presence and Ethics at the End of Life | 2009 |
Silicon Valley Bar Association | Changing the Unamendable: How to Reform, Modify and Terminate Irrevocable Trusts | 2009 |
Employment and Community Options | Planned Giving and Building an Endowment | 2009 |
Saratoga Retirement Center | Control Your Property and Define Your Legacy Through Your Estate Plan | 2008 |
Silicon Valley Bar Association | Trust Reformation: The How's and How Knots | 2008 |
Golden Gate University School of Law | Trust Reformation | 2007 |
Golden Gate University School of Law | Reformation of Irrevocable Trusts | 2006 |
Parents Helping Parents | Special Needs Trusts and Limited Conservatorships | 2005 |
Case name | Outcome |
---|---|
Chen v. Franchise Tax Bd. | Judgment for plaintiff affirmed |
Ellen McKissock, Estate planning Attorney on Apr 21, 2014
Relationship: Worked together on matter
Karen is a top notch estate planner and one of the best in the Bay Area. Karen is thorough and knowledgeable. Not only have I referred many friends to Karen, but she is my estate planning attorney. Karen and I co-counseled on a case wherein she represented the young adult beneficiaries of a trust following the death of their mother, and needed a trust & estate litigator to help protect their interests. She is hard working, reliable and always concerned about doing what is best for her client by the most cost-effective means. I have known her to perform work and not bill for it simply because she wants what is best for the client.
Elijah Keyes, Estate planning Attorney on Aug 2, 2012
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I am happy to endorse Karen. She is a knowledgeable and hardworking attorney. She is devoted to helping her clients find innovative ways to use their estate plans to affect the world in positive ways. I have referred and will continue to refer cases to her.
Thomas Rossmeissl, Estate planning Attorney on Oct 7, 2010
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
Karen is a smart, hard-working, and client-focused estate planning attorney. She works hard to make sure that the client's goals are achieved. I endorse this lawyer's work.
Filmore Rose, Estate planning Attorney on Jan 5, 2010
Relationship: Worked together on matter
I am happy to endorse Karen Meckstroth. She is a first-rate estate planning and trusts and estates attorney. Karen takes the time to understand her clients' needs and wishes. She approaches her work with skill, thoroughness and practicality. She stays up to date on legal and tax changes and writes about them articulately in her Blog. She is equally at home with cutting edge wealth transfer strategies and basic estate planning.