Karen B. Johnson brings to Madge and Johnson, P.C. over 15 years of experience advising business owners, real estate developers, successful company executives and their families as well as clients with more modest means on how best to transfer and protect their assets. She is a graduate of Duke University School of Law and holds an advanced degree (LLM) in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. Karen offers her clients a wide array of planning services, from planning for incapacity and simple wills, to helping multi-generation millionaire families utilize their estate tax credits efficiently. Karen’s clients realize that estate planning is not a “one-time” matter and thus she helps her clients monitor and adjust their estate plans over time.

In assisting her clients, Karen has prepared estate plans that include the following features:

• Special Needs Trusts, for disabled family members
• Testamentary Trusts, for the Medicaid protection of surviving spouses
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, to assist with estates that need liquidity to pay expenses
• Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, to economically transfer residential real estate to the next generation
• Limited Partnerships, to protect assets from future creditors and to assist with the management of various assets
• Promissory Notes, to allow assets to be transferred without immediate gift tax consequences
• Disclaimer Trusts, to allow the use of post-death planning for surviving family members
• Qualified Marital Deduction Trusts, to ensure that all death tax credits are fully utilized for married clients
• “Crummey” Trusts, to utilize the annual gift tax exclusion
• Section 2503(c) Trusts, to utilize the annual gift tax exclusion for grandchildren
• Dynasty Trusts, to protect assets from the creditors of future generations
• Wills, to govern any assets that pass through probate and to appoint guardians for any minor dependents
• Health Care Proxies, to avoid the need to have the probate court appoint a guardian
• Durable Power of Attorneys, to avoid the need to have the probate court appoint a conservator
• Standby Guardianships, to avoid the unexpected need to have a temporary guardian appointed when the parents are unable
• Private Charitable Foundations, to carry out charitable goals and have the next generation participate
• Discretionary Trusts, to protect assets from the creditors of the family members
• Revocable Trusts, to avoid the probate process

Karen is a Member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and a Board of Directors Member for the Massachusetts Chapter. She has served as their Vice President in 2016 and as Secretary 2012-2015. She has lectured on various estate planning topics, including Tax and Medicaid Planning for High Net Worth Individuals, Veteran’s Benefits, Social Security Disability, the Food Stamps program, Health Care Proxies, Durable Powers of Attorneys and other Advance Directives. Karen has also been designated a Massachusetts SuperLawyer in 2015 to the present.

Madge & Johnson, P.C.

The Law Office of Madge & Johnson, P.C. began in Littleton, Massachusetts, in 1992 by its founder, Leslie S. Madge, Esq. Since that time, the firm has grown in size and now includes two attorneys in addition to a dedicated support staff.

The firm concentrates its practice in the areas of:

The Law Office of Madge & Johnson, P.C. is uniquely qualified to assist individuals and their families through the often-stressful process of securing an appropriate nursing home placement and dealing with the financial details, which such an institutionalization will require. The firm’s attorneys and staff are fully conversant with the Medicaid rules in dealing with the payment of nursing home expenses and can provide expert advice and assistance in qualifying for Medicaid benefits.