Karen Holyoke focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, and planning for owners of closely held businesses. Karen is strongly client focused, a good listener, and delivers complex advice simply, with an emphasis on kindness and respect. Her practice includes advising clients on complex strategies relative to charitable giving and estate and gift taxes, including marital trusts, credit shelter trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, and charitable trusts. She also advises nonprofit entities on a variety of issues, including formation and qualifying for tax exempt status.
Karen began her practice here at Eaton Peabody focused on business law. She took that expertise in house, serving as Corporate Counsel and then Vice President of Corporate and Legal Affairs (2004-2015) at the local electric utility. That role led to a role in business operations, serving as the Vice President of Customer Experience (2015-2018). Prior to rejoining Eaton Peabody, Karen was a general practice attorney at a small local firm in the Bangor area.
Immediately after law school, Karen served as Judicial Clerk to Andrew J. Kleinfeld, United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in Fairbanks, Alaska. While at the University of Utah School of Law, Karen was adminitted to the Order of the Coif, as a member of the top 10 percent of her class and was Managing Editor of the Utah Law Review.
Karen has been active in a variety of community activities, presently serving on the Board of Directors of the Eastern Area Agency on Aging. She is the two-time recipient of the Chairman’s Award for Contribution to the Bangor YMCA’s Annual Fund.
Along with her husband John, Karen lives in Brewer with her two dogs and a cat and tries to keep up with her three college-aged children. She is an avid Peloton cyclist and Peloton tread jogger.