Karen Yolevski, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B.

Called to the bar in 2006

Karen graduated with an honours degree in Communications from York University in 2002 and received her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall in 2005. Karen was called to the Ontario Bar in 2006 and joined Basman Smith LLP as an associate in 2007. She became a partner of the firm in 2012.

Karen practices in the areas of real estate, trusts and estates, and corporate/commercial. She focusses on serving individual clients with an emphasis on first time home buyers, real estate investors, families in need of advice concerning estate planning and administration, and small business owners.

As part of her real estate practice, Karen works with buyers, sellers and lenders in a broad range of residential and commercial real estate and leasing transactions, as well as in property and condominium development.

Karen is also involved in various business and commercial contracts from basic shareholder agreements and incorporations, to more complex asset and share purchase transactions.

In her role as an estate planner, Karen assists clients dealing with issues involving trusts, estates, intergenerational dispositions, disabled beneficiaries and custody of young children. Such issues entail the preparation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney for property and personal care, and insurance and RRSP trust directives on behalf of clients.

Karen's knowledge in the area of estate planning allows her clients to make planning decisions which reduce probate fees, and provides certainty to her clients, ensuring that upon death, assets are distributed in accordance with a plan tailored to each client's personal circumstances.

For individuals seeking assistance with the challenges of administering an estate, Karen often acts for executors, assisting with all aspects of estate administration including applications for certificates of appointment with or without a will.

Karen is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Ontario Bar Association. She is also committed to a variety of charitable causes, notably the Pro Bono Students of Canada Wills Program, a pro bono program devoted to estate planning for low income or terminally ill members of the community, and the Wellspring Wills Clinic, which provides free estate planning services to cancer patients at Women's College Hospital in Toronto.