witherell@bovelanga.com
10 Tremont Street
Suite 600
Boston, MA 02108
Tel: 617-720-6040
Fax: 617-720-1919

witherell@bovelanga.com
10 Tremont Street
Suite 600
Boston, MA 02108
Tel: 617-720-6040
Fax: 617-720-1919

Karen L. Witherell

Partner

“I went to law school knowing that I wanted to practice in trusts and estates.  I take pride in being able to help my clients achieve peace of mind through a carefully and thoughtfully drafted plan that takes into consideration all of the client’s specific goals.  I appreciate that at Bove Langa Witherell & Soiffer we strive to build lasting relationships with our clients through our high level of legal expertise, our dedication to client service, and our commitment to quality work.”

Karen’s significant background in Trust and Estate law and strong commitment to her clients enhances her practice, which includes wealth preservation, incapacity and estate planning, gift transaction planning, preparation of gift and estate tax returns, business succession planning, prenuptial agreements, trust administration and probate administration.  Karen has experience in working with clients with a wide variety of deeply personal estate planning goals such as ensuring the continued ownership of a family business for multiple generations.  Karen believes that an important part of her practice is to understand her clients’ wishes and family situations so that she can deliver a tailored work product that will provide each one of her clients with peace of mind and the result they are looking for.

In addition to her work in private practice, Karen is very active in the trusts and estates legal community. She is a lecturer for the Graduate Tax Program for Boston University Law School where she teaches Estate Planning. She regularly writes and speaks nationally and internationally on various topics relating to trusts and estate law. Karen is a Fellow with the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).  Locally, Karen frequently collaborates with Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) to help educate other practitioners in her field.  Karen is also a member of the Steering Committee for the Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum, a member of the Boston Estate Planning Council (BEPC), and a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

Prior to joining Bove Langa Witherell & Soiffer, Karen practiced trusts and estates law with a mid-sized regional law firm.  She was a member of the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) Implementation Committee and served on both the MUPC Rules Subcommittee and the Transitional Rule Subcommittee in 2010 and 2011.  Karen has also worked as a Judicial Law Clerk in six divisions of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court.  During law school, Karen was a Legal Intern for the Vermont Legislative Study Group reviewing a restructuring the Vermont Probate Court system, a Judicial Intern for the Washington County Probate Court in Montpelier, Vermont, and a Judicial Intern for the Essex Probate and Family Court in Salem, Massachusetts.

    • Estate Planning

    • Planning for Clients with International Considerations

    • Planning for Pets

    • Asset Protection Audits and Planning

    • Family Business and Succession Planning

    • Trusts for the Beneficiary with Special Considerations

    • Charitable Giving – Including the Establishment of Private Foundations

    • Prenuptial Agreements

    • U.S. Estate Tax, Gift Tax, and Generation Skipping Transfer Tax Planning and Return Preparation

    • Estate Administration and Probate

    • Trust Administration

    • Fiduciary Services

    • Co-Author: Drafting Estate Plans, Chapter 8: Planning Bequests or Gifts for Grandchildren (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education: 2016 Supplement, 2019 Supplement, 2021 Supplement, and 2023 Supplement)

    • Co-Author: Drafting Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts, Chapter 8: Special Problems Related to Transfers, Chapter 14: Provisions Regarding Payment of Estate Taxes, Chapter 47: Payment of Testamentary Devises, Debts and Taxes (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education: 2012 Supplement, 2015 Supplement, 2017 Supplement, 2019 Supplement, and 2023 Edition)

    • Co-Author: Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Massachusetts, Chapter 5: Lifetime Asset Transfers, Chapter 17: Postmortem Estate Planning (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education: 2013 Supplement 2015 Supplement, 2017 Supplement, and 2019 Supplement, and 2024 Edition)

    • Author: “Estate Tax: Massachusetts” (Thomson Reuters, Practical Law Trusts and Estates (2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022))

    • Co-Author: “Asset Protection: Is It the Right Rite of Passage for Your Client (And You)?” (Wealth Strategies Journal, November 6, 2021, also published in the Massachusetts Bar Association, Section Review, July/August 2022)

    • Author: “How to Keep Your Mind When Your Clients Are Losing Theirs” (The International Family Offices Journal, September 2021)

    • Author: “Don’t Get Cute with Non-Massachusetts QTIP Property: Review of the M. Christine Shaffer, Executrix v. Commissioner of Revenue Case” (Massachusetts Bar Association, Section Review, January/February 2021)

    • Author: “EWills: A Brief Summary of Current Statutory Law and How It Might Impact Massachusetts Probate Practice” (Massachusetts Bar Association, Section Review, January/ February 2020)

    • Co-Author: “Lifetime Gifting to Reduce Massachusetts Estate Tax” (Winter II 2015 Edition of SUMNEWS by the Massachusetts Society of CPAs)

    • Speaker: “Probate Practice” specific topic: Final Distributions, Accountings, and Closing Probate Proceedings (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education for BasicsPlus! Estate Planning, March 2019, August 2020, August 2021, May 2022, May 2023, and May 2024)

    • Speaker: “The Trust Protector: Friend? Foe? Fiduciary? Or all of the above??” (Tax and Estate Planning Forum, 42nd Conference, October 27, 2022)

    • Speaker: “An Overview of Planning and Issue-Spotting for Multinational Individuals and Families” (National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, July 13, 2022)

    • Speaker: “Asset Protection Review” (Sioux Falls Estate Planning Council, Webinar April 21, 2022)

    • Speaker: “Domestic Asset Protection Trusts: Protecting Clients’ Assets Without Going Offshore” (Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum, December 2019)

    • Chair of Program and Speaker: “Will & Trust Drafting” (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education for BasicsPlus! Estate Planning, February 2018 and February 2019)

    • Speaker: “Planning Under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code & Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code” (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education for BasicsPlus!  Estate Planning, September 2016, September 2017, and September 2018)

    • Speaker: “Opening and Closing Probate” (Boston Bar Association, May 2018)

    • Speaker: “Lifetime Gifting to Reduce Massachusetts Estate Tax” (Trust and Estates Consortium, December 2014)

    • Speaker: “Lifetime Gifting to Reduce Massachusetts Estate Tax” (McLane Middleton Law Firm – Estates & Trusts Speaker Series, September 2014)

    • Speaker: “Decoding the MUPC & MUTC – 2 Years Later” (MCLE, May 2014)

    • Speaker: “One Year Later – The Massachusetts Uniform Probate and Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code” (McLane Middleton Law Firm – Estates & Trusts Speaker Series, September 2013)

    • Adjunct Professor: Boston University Law School Graduate Tax Program; Estate Planning TX935 (2021-Present, and Teaching Assistant Fall 2020)

    • Recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America (Trust and Estates)

    • Accredited Estate Planner designation by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, February 29, 2004

    • Fellow of the America College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)

    • Fellow of the American Bar Foundation

    • TBF (The Boston Foundation) Professional Advisors Network Member (2022 – Present)

    • New England Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel – 2022 Graduate

    • Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum –Steering Committee Member (2020-Present), Moderator (2022- 2023), and Programs Committee Co-Chair (2020-2022)

    • Boston Estate Planning Council – Seminars & Webinars Chair (2019 – 2020), Governance Committee Co-Chair (2018 – 2019), Strategic Advisory Committee Co-Chair (2017-2018), Programs Committee Member (2014- 2017), WIC Committee Member (2013-2014)

    • Massachusetts Bar Association: Member

    • National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys: Member

    • American Bar Association: Member

     

    Community Involvement

    • Mass Audubon

    • Brookline Bird Club

    • Boston University Law School Graduate Tax Program – LL.M. in Taxation, 2011  Recipient of The Ernest M. Haddad Award for best example of overall ability based on academic achievement, character, and potential to serve the public interest.

    • Vermont Law School – J.D. cum laude, 2005

    • University of Vermont – BA in Geology, 1999

    • Massachusetts, 2005