Ext. 217Tap to Call This Lawyer
Karen L. Rowell
Estate Planning, Estate Administration & Elder Law Attorney, Clark & BraKaren L. Rowell is an associate attorney with Clark & Bradshaw, P.C. Ms. Rowell grew up in Roanoke County, Virginia, graduating from Cave Spring High School. She received her baccalaureate degree in Family & Child Development from Virginia Tech and her juris doctor from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary. Ms. Rowell served as a Cryptologic Technician Interpretive in the United States Navy for five years prior to attending law school and has been practicing law in Harrisonburg since 2008. Ms. Rowell focuses her practice on wills & estate planning, advanced medical directives & powers of attorney, Medicare, Medicaid & Social Security Benefits, financial & long-term care planning, revocable living trusts, life insurance trusts, special needs & charitable trusts, guardianships & conservatorships, and probate, trust & estate administration. Ms. Rowell is a qualified guardian ad litem for incapacitated adults. Ms. Rowell and her daughter, Lura Alexandra Gurth, have enjoyed living in Bridgewater since 2008 and look forward to many more years living and serving the community in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Clark & Bradshaw, P.C. is a full service law firm which has represented individuals and businesses in the Shenandoah Valley since 1948.
- Elder Law
- Estate Planning
- Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- Probate
- Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Will Contests
- Credit Cards Accepted
- Virginia
-
- English: Spoken, Written
- Attorney
- Layman & Nichols, P.C.
- -
- I spent the first ten years of my practice with this firm practicing estate planning, estate administration and elder law.
- Cryptologic Technician Interpretive Petty Officer Second Class
- United States Navy
- -
- I am a proud Navy veteran.
- College of William and Mary
- J.D. (2008) | Juris Doctor
- -
-
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- B.S. (1996) | Family & Child Development
- -
-
- NATO Medal
- NATO
- Awarded during Navy service.
- Joint Service Achievement Medal
- Department of Defense
- Awarded during Navy service.
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Former Republic of Yugoslavia
- Department of Defense
- Awarded during Navy service.
- Good Conduct Medal
- United States Navy
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Virginia Chapter
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: I have attended many state and national conferences. This is a wonderful organization to be a part of as an estate and elder law attorney.
-
- Virginia State Bar # 76801
- Member
- - Current
-
- Senior Advantage Program, Sentara RMH Hospital, Harrisonburg, VA
- Powers of Attorney, Advance Medical Directives, Guardianships and Conservatorships
- Guardian ad litem for Incapacitated Adults
- Supreme Court of Virginia
- Q. My parents live with us and agreed to either pay on our remaining mortgage or pay us rent. What should they do?
- A: A lump sum would definitely raise red flags as a gift and would have to be justified, documented and argued. Reasonable rent is easy to justify and document. It would be good to have a written lease and have them pay you rent, you can always apply it toward extra principal payments on your mortgage loan. Alternately, they could purchase a life estate in the home if you are set on a lump sum, in a documented real estate transaction with values based on the Medicaid life estate annuity tables.
- Q. Co-executor in VA. One lives in Hong Kong & cannot travel due to covid and family. Can he sign rights to other co-ex?
- A: He should be able to sign a waiver of qualification form and allow you to qualify without him unless the Will specifies that something different happen under the circumstances that he is not able or willing to serve.
- Q. VIRGINIA. Son dies intestate. No administrator declared. Mom heir of succession. She dies in July with Will. Now what
- A: Your fiance's estate would be administered as usual, except instead of his mother being his intestate heir it is now her estate since she survived him. His debts are his debts, they don't transfer to her estate. Once the debts of his estate have been paid and final distribution is made then the assets go into her estate which would be probated pursuant to her Will.
