About Karen Meckstroth

I am an estate planning attorney with offices in Los Gatos and San Francisco. I work with clients to create estate plans that address each client’s unique needs. I believe that an effective plan addresses both the tax planning aspects of estate planning and the nontax aspects, taking into account the client’s personal values and family dynamics. I work with clients on basic estate plans (wills, revocable living trusts, durable powers of attorney) and on advanced planning, including lifetime wealth transfers. In addition, I represent numerous families who have children with special needs and assist these families with special needs trusts and, when appropriate, limited conservatorships. I also work with family members after a death during the probate or trust administration process.

Other areas of my practice include representing individuals to establish conservatorships of the person and estate, representation of private family foundations, charitable planning, and representation of the senior generation of family businesses to plan for succession. Increasingly, I have been working with clients throughout the Bay Area to modify irrevocable trusts through court proceedings and have given numerous presentations on the reformation and modification of irrevocable trusts.

Practice Areas

  • Estate planning
  • Probate and trust administration
  • Conservatorships
  • Special needs trusts
  • Charitable planning
  • Tax exempt organizations
  • Family business planning

Professional Associations

  • California Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Section
  • Silicon Valley Bar Association
  • Santa Clara County Estate Planning Council
  • Silicon Valley Planned Giving Council
  • Partnership for Philanthropic Planning

Education

  • J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1997
  • M.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1991
  • B.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1982

Bar Admissions

  • All California state courts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Tax Court

Reported Cases

  • Chen v. Franchise Tax Bd., 75 Cal. App. 4th 1110 (1998) (holding that a taxpayer need only pay the amount of tax assessed, and not interest, to maintain a suit for refund of corporate franchise taxes)

Pro Bono

  • For the past few years, I have volunteered with the Silicon Valley Planned Giving Council’s Incubator Project to assist participating nonprofit organizations to develop and implement their planned giving programs. I am currently working with Employment & Community Options, which provides employment and housing services to individuals with disabilities and low-income seniors in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Alameda, San Diego, and San Bernardino Counties.