Karen R. Bertram
|
 |
Karen Bertram is founding member of Kutscher Hereford Bertram Burkart, PLLC. Her practice focuses on trusts and estates. Part of her practice emphasizes standard estate planning for estates of all sizes, as well as probate and trust administration and preparation of federal estate tax returns. She serves as a fiduciary for trusts and estates, and has substantial litigation experience in trust and estate disputes. Ms. Bertram also serves as an arbitrator and mediator in trust and estate litigation matters. She is listed in Best Lawyers in America, has been named a Top Lawyer by Seattle Magazine, has been designated by her peers as a Super Lawyer every year since 2000 and has been named one of the top 50 women lawyers in Washington by Washington Law & Politics.
Practice
Bar Memberships
- Washington
- United States District Court, Western Washington
- United States District Court, Eastern Washington
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Education
- Seattle University
- University of Puget Sound, J.D., magna cum laude, 1992
- Notes & Comment Editor, University of Puget Sound Law Review
- University of Washington, B.A., Political Science, magna cum laude, 1986
Professional Activities and Memberships
- Member, Washington State Bar Association, Member Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and its Trust & Estate Litigation Subcommittee
- Rule 39.1 Mediator, United States District Court, Western Washington
- Arbitrator, King County Superior Court
- Member, King County Bar Association
- Member, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section
- Member, Estate Planning Council of Seattle
- Chair, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Endowment Investment Committee
Presentations
- “Ethics for Estate Planners” 2006, 2008, and 2009
- “Overview: Your Client’s Fiduciary Obligations”, 2008
- “Update on Relationship Claims in Estates”, 2007
- “Practical Applications of TEDRA”, 2007
- “TEDRA – How is it Working/Claiming Tortious Interference with Inheritance”, 2004
- “Challenges to Joint Tenancies and Other Non-Testamentary Dispositions”, 2004
- “Litigating Will Substitutes”, 2004
- “Challenges to Joint Tenancies and other Non-Testamentary Dispositions”, 2003
Publications
- WASHINGTON PROBATE DESKBOOK, Washington State Bar Association, 2005, Chapter 9, Estate Disputes
- KING COUNTY PROBATE MANUAL, King County Bar Association, 2010, Chapter 16, Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution
- Insurance Coverage for Pollution Liability in Washington: What Constitutes Damages under CGL Insurance Policies? 28 GONZ. L. REV. 625 (1993)
- Washington’s Closed-Circuit Testimony Statute: An Exception to the Confrontation Clause to Protect Victims in Child Abuse Prosecutions, 15 U. PUGET SOUND L. REV. 193 (1992)
|
