Karen Green-Rose - Santa Monica, CA

I have a litigation background and have zealously fought for my client’s rights in different courts throughout my 30 years of practicing law. I started out as a Public Defender in Riverside and Orange Counties defending those accused of crimes. I then worked for Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers in Dependency Court (or Children’s Court as it is referred to) and defended parents, caretakers, guardians, and grandparents accused of abuse or neglect of the children in their care.

Building on my 12 years of experience in Family Law, I loved working with caretakers, grandparents, and family members who wanted to make the kids in their care permanent members of their family by becoming guardians or adopting them. For these kids, having a home with a guardian or an adoptive parent gave them hope for their future and a feeling of security, knowing they would be taken care of.

My path to Trusts and Estates law started with my own journey for my special needs son and the fact that we needed a Conservatorship over him and a Special Needs Trust. My son has a rare genetic condition known as Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba Syndrome (BRRS) and is a Regional Center client pursuing college certificate programs designed to foster independence and employability. We don’t know what the future holds for him and we hope he can live a productive life and live independently.

I understand the challenges parents face having a special needs child. I remember the IEPs and the numerous legal challenges we went through with the school district. I use my personal experiences to help families decide how their Special Needs Trust is set up so their adult child can still get SSI, Medicaid/Medicare, Section 8 Housing, and Food Stamps, now SNAP.