Karen Boxx

Professor Karen Boxx joined the faculty in 1997.  She teaches in the areas of trusts and estates, community property, property law, conflicts of laws, cannabis law and professional responsibility. She was co-reporter for the Fifth Edition of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and is reporter for the Sixth Edition of the Commentaries.  She is past Chair of the Washington State Bar Association Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and past Chair of the WSBA Elder Law Section.

She has been active in legislative reform, including chairing a WSBA Task Force that drafted major revisions to Washington trust law enacted in 2011. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of its Professional Responsibility, Elder Law, and Legal Education Committees.

She has run 17 marathons (so far). 

Peer Reviewed Journals & Law Reviews

• Karen E. Boxx & Philip N. Jones, Janus as a Client: Ethical Obligations When Your Client Plays Two Roles in One Fiduciary Estate, 44 ACTEC L.J. 223-56 (2019).
• Karen E. Boxx, Shakespeare in the Classroom: How an Annual Student Production of King Lear Adds Dimension to Teaching Trusts and Estates, 58 St. Louis U. L. J. 751-65 (2014).
• Karen E. Boxx & Katie S. Groblewski, Washington Trust Law’s Extreme Makeover: Blending with the Uniform Trust Code and Taking Reform Further with Innovations in Notice, Situs, and Representation, 88 Wash. L. Rev. 813-902 (2013).
• Karen E. Boxx & Terry W. Hammond, A Call for Standards: An Overview of the Current Status and Need for Guardian Standards of Conduct and Codes of Ethics, 2012 Utah L. Rev. 1207-73 (2012).
• Karen E. Boxx, Too Many Tiaras: Conflicting Fiduciary Duties in the Family-Owned Business Context, 49 Hous. L. Rev. 233-90 (2012), reprinted in 54 Corp. Prac. Commentator 669-729 (2012).
• Karen E. Boxx, Distinguishing Trustees and Protecting Beneficiaries: A Response to Professor Leslie, 27 Cardozo L. Rev. 2753-60 (2006).
• Karen E. Boxx, Community Property Across State Lines: Square Pegs and Round Holes, Prob. & Prop., Jan.-Feb. 2005, at 8-13.
• Karen E. Boxx, Of Punctilios and Paybacks: The Duty of Loyalty Under the Uniform Trust Code, 67 Mo. L. Rev. 279-307 (2002).
• Karen E. Boxx, The Durable Power of Attorney’s Place in the Family of Fiduciary Relationships, 36 Ga. L. Rev. 1-62 (2001).
• Karen E. Boxx, Gray’s Ghost -- A Conversation about the Onshore Trust, 85 Iowa L. Rev. 1195-1268 (2000).

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Books or Treatises

• Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Thomas Andrews & Karen Boxx co-reporters, 5th ed., Am. Coll. of Trust and Estate Counsel, 2016). 222 pages.
• Tom Andrews, Karen Boxx & Ann Murphy, Washington Community Property Deskbook (4th ed. Washington State Bar Association 2014). 1 vol.
• Siegel's Wills and Trusts: Essay and Multiple-Choice Questions and Answers (Karen E. Boxx rev., 5th ed., Aspen Publishers 2013). 263 pages.
• Roger W. Andersen & Karen E. Boxx, Skills & Values: Trusts and Estates (LexisNexis Matthew Bender 2009). 142 pages.
• Brian N. Siegel, Lazar Emanuel & Marsh C. Brilliant, Siegel's Wills and Trusts: Essay and Multiple-Choice Questions and Answers (Karen E. Boxx rev., Aspen Publishers 2009). 263 pages.
• WSBA Community Property Deskbook (Karen Boxx et al. eds., 3d ed. 2004).

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Book Chapters

• Samuel A. Donaldson & Karen Boxx, Basic Federal and State Tax Relevant to Estate Planning, in Washington Estate Planning Deskbook 5-1 to -55 (Thomas R. Andrews et al. eds., Washington State Bar Association 2005).
• Karen Boxx, Planning for Disability, Health Care, and Other End-of-Life Concerns, in Washington Estate Planning Deskbook 6-1 to -58 (Thomas R. Andrews et al. eds., Washington State Bar Association 2005).

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Professional Publications

• Karen E. Boxx, The Use of Joint Revocable Trusts for Unmarried Couples, Prac. Law., June 2015, at 53.
• Karen E. Boxx, Washington Recent Law Developments, in 41st Annual Estate Planning Seminar (Estate Planning Council of Portland, Inc., 2012). 22 pages.
• Karen E. Boxx, Revisions to the Durable Power of Attorney Statute, Recent and Proposed, Real Prop. Prob. & Trust (Wash. State Bar Ass'n), Winter/Spring 2002, at 6-8.

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• Speaker, "Washington Update", 46th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Portland Estate Planning Council (February 9, 2018)
• Speaker, "Federal Law and Regulatory Update", Medical and Recreational Marijuana in Washington State, (November 30, 2017)
• Speaker, "The ACTEC Commentaries on the Rules of Professional Conduct", Basic Estate Planning and Administration, Oregon State Bar (November 17, 2017)
• Speaker, "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Ethical Concerns for Estate Planning Lawyers' Service on Charitable Boards and Other Conflicts Between an Estate Planning Lawyer's Clients and the Lawyer's Personal Charitable Interests", 62d Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Estate Planning Council of Seattle and University of Washington School of Law, Graduate Program in Taxation (November 10, 2017)
• Speaker, "Conflicting Fiduciary Duties in the Family-Owned Business Context", 2017 Southern California Tax & Estate Planning Forum, (October 27, 2017)
• Speaker, "Ethical Considerations in Community and Separate Property Planning", 2017 Southern California Tax & Estate Planning Forum, (October 26, 2017)
• Speaker, "Ethical Issues Involving Community and Separate Property Planning Techniques", 2017 Western Regional Meeting, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (September 17, 2017)
• Speaker, "Marijuana Law: Policy Perspectives", Marijuana Law: Changes in Regulation and Best Practices, Washington State Bar Association (April 12, 2016)
• Speaker, "The Best Is Yet to Come: Preview of Issues Encountered in the Upcoming New Edition of the ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct", Annual Meeting 2016, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (March 17, 2016)
• Speaker, "Case Law Updates", Navigating Elder Law Systems: Advising Clients in a Complex World, Washington State Bar Association Elder Law Section (March 4, 2016)
• Panelist, "Meeting the Legal Needs of the Aging Population", Second Friday CLE, University of Washington School of Law (February 12, 2016)
• Speaker, "Forthcoming Fifth Edition of the ACTEC Commentaries and Annotations: What’s New, What’s Trending in Estate Planning Ethics Issues, and What’s Being Clarified", with Thomas Andrews, 60th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Estate Planning Council of Seattle and University of Washington School of Law, Graduate Program in Taxation (November 3, 2015)
• Panelist, "The Ethics of Multidisciplinary Practice – Staying Inside the Ethics Lines When Your Clients Cross Borders", 60th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Estate Planning Council of Seattle and University of Washington School of Law Graduate Program in Taxation (November 2, 2015)
• Moderator, Ninth Annual Ethics Teleconference for Estate Planners, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the American Law Institute-Continuing Legal Education (October 8, 2015)
• Speaker, "The Use of Joint Trusts for Married Couples", Skills Training for Estate Planners, American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law (July 1, 2015)

• GoFundMe Campaign Raised Nearly $700,000 in 2 Days for Club Q Victims (Prof. Boxx quoted)
  Nov 22, 2022 | Source: Business Insider
• Researching Medical Marijuana May Soon Get Easier (Prof. Boxx quoted)
  Aug 28, 2019 | Source: NPR
• South Korea Approves Medical Marijuana (Prof. Boxx)
  Dec 12, 2018 | Source: U.S. News
• Opinion: The Senate Should Not Confirm Kavanaugh
  Oct 03, 2018 | Source: The New York Times