Overview

Karen works collaboratively with other advisors such as financial advisors, accountants and insurance agents to provide sophisticated estate and gift planning, business succession guidance and tax advice to individuals and families. Karen also has extensive experience guiding fiduciaries in administering complex estates and trusts with significant publicity and owning intellectual property assets.

Karen is uniquely positioned in the Twin Cities with expertise in international estate planning. She helps non-U.S. people who own property in the U.S. and U.S. people who either live or own property abroad to determine how to best hold and transfer assets to their intended beneficiaries in the most tax-effective manner.

A co-chair of Fredrikson’s Trust & Estates Litigation Group, Karen helps clients resolve trust and estate disputes out of court. In cases when negotiation proves ineffective, she works with the firm’s trial attorneys to represent clients in court proceedings. She has in-depth experience with gift and estate tax audits.

Karen has provided estate planning guidance to nontraditional families and same-sex couples since the early years of her practice. She continues today as a trusted advisor and ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

Services

Credentials

Education

  • New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2004
  • New York University School of Law, LL.M., 2008
  • Northwestern University, B.A., cum laude, 2001

Admissions

  • Minnesota, 2009
  • New York, 2005
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2005
  • U.S Tax Court, 2019

Recognition

  • Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - Trusts and Estates, 2021-2025
  • Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Private Wealth Law, Minnesota, 2023-2024
  • Fellow, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section, American Bar Association, 2011-2013
  • Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Civic & Professional

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, Member, Supervisory Council; Vice Chair, CLE Committee; Former Chair, Business Planning Group
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Member, Fiduciary Income Tax Committee; Member, Estate and Gift Tax Committee; Member, New Members Steering Commitee
  • Minnesota State Bar Association
  • Hennepin County Bar Association, Past Board Member and Past Chair of the Probate and Trust Law Section

News & Insights

News

Speaking Engagements

Legal Updates

Publications & Presentations

Advanced Fiduciary Income Tax Planning, ALI-ACTEC CLE, February 2023

S Corporation Basics for Estate Planners, Southern Federal Tax Institute, October 2021; American Institute on Federal Taxation, June 2022

Spotting International Issues That Impact Your Clients’ Estate Plans, Minnesota CLE Annual Probate & Trust Law Section Conference, June 2021

The Taxation of Trusts in Minnesota: The Impact of the Kaestner and Fielding Decisions, MNCPA, April 2020

Quoted in “Top State & Local Tax Cases Of 2019,” Law360 Tax Authority, December 26, 2019

Income Tax of Trusts and Estates, American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel 2019 Summer Meeting, June 2019

Moderator, Bright Thoughts from the Luminaries Panel, ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law National CLE Conference, May 2019

Panelist, Don’t be Caught Off Guard: Strategies to Manage Risk for Investment Advisors, Fredrikson & Byron program co-hosted with Charles Schwab and BMO Global Asset Management, June 26, 2018

The Uncertainty of Death and Taxes, Minnesota CLE 44th Annual Probate & Trust Law Section Conference “Ed Talk,” June 2018

International Estate Planning Issues for Every Estate Planner: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You, Minnesota CLE 42nd Annual Probate & Trust Law Section Conference, June 2016

Avoiding International Entanglements for the Domestic Estate Planning Attorney: Lessons from Washington’s Farewell Address, ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Spring Symposia, May 2016

State Income Taxation of Trusts Holding Business Interests, ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Spring Symposia (Moderator), April 2015; ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law eCLE (Panelist), March 2016

“Estate Litigation,” Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, 2015 update, published in Minnesota Estate Administration Deskbook, 4th edition

Old MacDonald Has a Farm... With Corporate Farming Statutes Here and Special Use Valuation There, What Kind of Planning Can He Do?, ABA Sections of Taxation and Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Joint Fall Meeting, September 2015

Duty of Diversification, Delegation and Directed Trust, Minnesota CLE 41st Annual Probate & Trust Law Section Conference, June 2015

Advising the Fiduciaries of Trusts and Estates Holding Business Interests—Balancing Tax Objectives with State Law Duties, 49th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, January 2015

“Tax Planning for Non-Traditional Families,” Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, December 2010; published in Minnesota Estate Planning for Non-Traditional Families, 2nd Edition (updated November 2014)

Co-Chair and Presenter, Trust Construction, The Estate Planning Probate & Trust Law 50, Minnesota CLE, September 2014

Five Unresolved Issues for Same-Sex Couples, Minnesota CLE and MSBA Family Law Section 35th Annual Family Law Institute, March 2014

Tax Planning for Same-Sex Couples, Minnesota Lavender Bar Association 12th Annual Conference, January 2014

Same-Sex Marriage: A General Overview of Changes with Implications for Practitioners, Minnesota State Bar Association, December 2013

Current Tax Issues for Same-Sex Couples, Minnesota State Bar Association 73rd Annual Tax Institute, December 2013; Minnesota Society of Public Accountants 59th Annual Tax Conference, November 2013

Family Law Series: Impact of Same-Sex Marriage in Minnesota—Tax Planning for Same-Sex Couples, Minnesota CLE Webcast, November 2013

New Law Series: Impact of Same-Sex Marriage in Minnesota—Tax Planning, Minnesota CLE Webcast, September 2013

Advising the Fiduciaries of Trusts Holding Business Interests, ABA Sections of Taxation and Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Joint Fall Meeting, September 2013

Year End Tax Planning for Estate Planners, Minnesota CLE Webcast, September 2012

Asset Protection Trusts in Estate Planning, ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law 23rd Annual Spring Symposia, May 2012

Tax Planning for Same-Sex Couples, 9th Annual Minnesota Lavender Bar Association Conference, January 2010; Minnesota State Bar Association Section of Taxation, February 2011; Hennepin County Bar Association Probate and Trust Law Section, March 2011; Minnesota State Bar Association Tax Law Section 71st Annual Tax Institute, December 2011

State Income Taxation of Trusts Holding Business Interests, ABA Sections of Taxation and Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Joint Fall Meeting, October 2011

Decanting Irrevocable Trusts, Minnesota State Bar Association 37th Annual Probate and Trust Law Section Conference, June 2011

Minnesota Income Tax Residency of Individuals and Trusts—What Estate Planners Ought to Know, Minneapolis Estate Planning Council, April 2011

Tax Planning for Unmarried Couples, ABA Section of Taxation Mid-Year Meeting, January 2011

Modifying Irrevocable Trusts, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, February 2010; Minnesota State Bar Association 36th Annual Probate and Trust Law Section Conference, June 2010

State Death Taxes—a ‘Crazy Quilt,’ ABA Section of Taxation Mid-Year Meeting, January 2010

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