Overview

Emily Karr advises clients about estate planning and the administration of estates and trusts. She provides advice related to estate and gift taxes, the income taxation of estates, trusts and beneficiaries, and issues concerning charitable giving and tax-exempt organizations. Her estate planning practice includes establishing family limited liability companies, insurance and personal residence trusts, generation-skipping trusts, dynasty trusts, spousal trusts, and grantor and non-grantor trusts, and domestic partner planning.

Emily focuses on family-owned business succession planning, including trusts or other arrangements that can facilitate the transfer of a family business to the next generation. She also focuses on clients with specialized issues, such as executives, entrepreneurs, authors, performers, athletes, and artists. She specializes in international estate and tax planning for individuals, families, and trusts. She advises U.S. and foreign citizens with business or personal interests offshore; and foreign citizens with permanent U.S. or foreign residency who have unique community property and asset protection issues or estates that span multiple countries.

Emily can handle all aspects of settling estates, from preparing and filing pleadings and documents for probate court, to marshaling and inventorying estate assets, settling claims, and preparing tax returns. She advises trustees on tax and accounting responsibilities and helps interpret trust provisions and eventual distribution of assets. This includes preparing fiduciary income tax returns and preparing estate and inheritance tax returns upon death.

She advises nonprofit boards on corporate governance, tax-exempt organization law, and developing charitable giving plans involving charitable lead trusts, charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, and private foundations.

Emily serves as the Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, advising the Bishop and various Diocesan governing bodies and institutions on secular legal issues, Church canons, and ecclesiastical proceedings.

Prior to joining Stoel Rives, Emily was a law clerk for the Honorable Ernest C. Torres, U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

Education

Duke University School of Law, J.D. and LL.M., Foreign and International Law, 1988, with honors; Notes Editor, Duke Law Journal, 1987–1988

Northwestern University, B.A., History, 1985

Admissions

Oregon

Washington

Insights

Insights & Presentations

  • “FDIC Changes Deposit Insurance Regulations for Accounts Owned By Trusts,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, October 30, 2023
  • “Making Gifts this Year and Next,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, October 5, 2022
  • “Planning for College Kids and Young Adults,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, July 18, 2022
  • “Gift Planning in 2022,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, January 21, 2022
  • “Gifts to Irrevocable Trusts Under Proposed Tax Legislation,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, September 24, 2021
  • “Proposed Legislation to Change Estate and Gift Tax Planning,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, September 22, 2021
  • “Oregon Legislature Adopts New Form Advance Directive for Health Care,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, September 17, 2021
  • “Opinion: Is now the time to make a large gift?” Puget Sound Business Journal, March 6, 2021
  • “Post-Inauguration Estate Planning: Should Large Gifts Be Made Now?” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, January 29, 2021
  • “After Passage of Prop 19, Consider Transferring California Real Property to Avoid Property Tax Reassessment,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, November 20, 2020
  • “Gift-Giving and Other Planning Under the New Political Landscape,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, November 20, 2020
  • “Time to Plan for Year-End Gifts,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, September 29, 2020
  • “Using Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts to Lock in High Estate Tax Exemption Amounts,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, August 26, 2020
  • “Four Weeks to Undo Your RMD,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, August 4, 2020
  • “College Kids and Young Adults—What Planning Documents Do They Need?” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, August 3, 2020
  • “Is Now the Time to Use Your Lifetime Exemption?” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, June 30, 2020
  • “Planning for Your Estate in a Time of Social Distancing,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, May 21, 2020
  • “Low Interest Rates Create Planning Opportunities,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, April 22, 2020
  • “Estate Planning and Income Tax Updates You Need to Know,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, March 31, 2020
  • “CARES Act Provides Required Minimum Distribution Relief,” Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, March 30, 2020
  • “Advance Directive,” “Power of Attorney (OR)” (sections co-author), Trusts and Estates (OR), Thomson Reuters Practical Law, 2018–present
  • “Estate Planning for Owners of Closely Held Businesses,” Advising Oregon Businesses
  • “Intergenerational Philanthropy,” OCF Fall Philanthropy Forum, Portland
  • “Tax Issues in Administration of Trusts,” Administering Oregon Trusts
  • “Rule Against Perpetuities,” Administering Oregon Trusts
  • “Unitrust Conversions, Trust Amendments and Cottage Savings Issues,” Oregon Estate Planning and Administration Section Newsletter
  • “Estate Planning for Owners of Closely Held Businesses,” Advising Oregon Businesses
  • “Options for Intrafamily Transfer of Vacation and Other Residential Property,” Oregon Estate Planning and Administration Section Newsletter
  • “Tuition Savings Programs,” Oregon Estate Planning and Administration Section Newsletter
  • “Distributions of IRAs or Qualified Retirement Plans to or for the Benefit of Spouse: A Comparison of Outright Dispositions and QTIP Trusts,” Oregon Estate Planning and Administration Section Newsletter
  • “Qualified Domestic Trust Regulations,” Oregon Estate Planning and Administration Section Newsletter
  • “UK and US Planning,” Society of Trust and Estate Professionals (STEP), Seattle
  • “Transfer Taxes on Non Resident Aliens,” ALI-CLE, Toronto
  • “International Estate Planning,” ALI-ABA, Madison, Wisconsin, ACTEC summer seminar and annual meeting (San Francisco and Scottsdale, AZ) and Seattle Estate Planning Council annual seminar
  • “Estate Planning for Closely Held Businesses,” Oregon Law Institute
  • “Planned Giving Approaches for Non Traditional Families,” Carter Center, Atlanta
  • “Life Insurance Trusts,” Oregon Law Institute, Oregon State Bar and Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants
  • “Post-Mortem Planning,” Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants

Recognition

  • Listed in Chambers High Net Worth Guide (Private Wealth Law—Oregon), 2016–present   
  • Named by Best Lawyers® as Trusts and Estates Law “Lawyer of the Year,” Portland, 2016
  • Included in The Best Lawyers in America® (Trusts and Estates Law), 2005–present
  • Listed in Oregon Super Lawyers® (Estate Planning & Probate, Tax, Nonprofit Organizations), 2006–2020, 2022–present
  • Stoel Rives LLP Andrew Guy Pro Bono Award, Recipient, 2022
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) (International Estate Planning and Technology in the Practice Committees), Fellow

Affiliations

Professional

  • Past President, Estate Planning Council of Portland
  • Member, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), STEP Seattle
  • Academician, International Academy of Estate and Trust Law
  • Former adjunct professor, Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College
  • Member, Oregon State Bar, Washington State Bar, Multnomah Bar Association, American Bar Association
  • Member, Estate Planning and Administration, Business Law, Elder Law, and Taxation sections of the Oregon State Bar

Civic

  • Oregon Symphony Association, Director, 2022–present
  • Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, Chancellor, 2021–present
  • Good Samaritan Foundation, Trustee, 2021–present
  • The Jackson Foundation, Trustee, 2014–present
  • Business for Culture and the Arts, Creative Business Volunteer Award, 2013
  • The Carter Center, Planned Giving Advisory Council, Member, 2012–present

Past Board Service

  • Oregon Humanities, Former Chair
  • The Library Foundation, Former Chair
  • Northwest Academy, Former Chair
  • Business for Culture and the Arts, Former Member
  • Oregon Ballet Theatre, Former Member
  • Northwest Earth Institute, Former Member
  • Mental Health Services West, Former Member

Practice Areas

Jump to Page