
Practice areas: Elder Law, Estate Planning & Probate; view more
Licensed in Massachusetts since: 1996
Education: Albany Law School
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413-216-3538

Berkshire Law Group
1 West StLenox, MA 01240 Visit website
Details
An elder law and estate and care planning attorney with two decades of experience, Ms. Almgren is the founder of Berkshire Law Group (formerly Almgren Law Group), one of only a few U.S. law practices taking a holistic team approach to helping seniors and their families plan for and navigate through complex legal, medical, financial and lifestyle-housing care decisions. Alongside attorneys and paralegals, its team includes a registered nurse/certified care coordinator, public benefits coordinator, and retired army veteran services officer. The firm is based in Lenox, Massachusetts, near Tanglewood in Berkshire County.
Ms. Almgren with her team provide a full range of elder law services from helping clients protect assets (like their homes) and triggering and obtaining approval for long-term care insurance benefits to fully accessing programs like Medicare, Medicaid and veterans’ benefits to supplement private resources.
Inspired by Ms. Almgren’s own experience caring for a chronically ill parent, the firm is also home to Life Care, an annual flat-fee program that takes the pressure off family members caring for elderly loved ones by coordinating all aspects of care – assessing living arrangements and care services to see what improvements can be made, addressing immediate and long-term needs, finding appropriate care – and resources to pay for it – and arranging for other providers when needed.
Ms. Almgren also provides comprehensive estate planning services for high net worth clients in the managing and transferring of property in the event of incapacity or death. This includes making recommendations to save estate taxes by using trusts that help avoid probate while keeping client’s assets and beneficiaries private.
Recognized as a state expert in leveraging community resources to help older people stay in their homes, Ms. Almgren has gained a reputation for her compassion and integrity as well as her commitment to those she serves. In 2020 she served as President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), Massachusetts Chapter and has been a Board member since 2002. Her work alongside chapter peers on the MassNAELA Advocacy Committee has been instrumental in changing laws to benefit seniors, disabled and veterans throughout the Commonwealth.
A life-long learner and mentor, she regularly contributes her insights and expertise to the state’s leading law forums and journals published by the Massachusetts Bar Association and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE). Ms. Almgren is the section editor for Aging in Place chapters for MCLE's publication "Estate Planning for the Aging and Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts" 2023.
Ms. Almgren serves on Fairview Hospital Ethics Committee, is past President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), Massachusetts Chapter and the Pittsfield Council on Aging, and is a member of the Alzheimer’s Partnership, the Berkshire County Estate Planning Council, and the Massachusetts and Berkshire Bar Associations.
Known for her engaging style, she frequently addresses attorneys, financial professionals, hospital administrators, health care professionals, women, and senior and disabled individuals and families.
Ms. Almgren is a graduate of Williams College and Albany Law School of Union University. She is also an accredited attorney with Veteran’s Administration.
She is rated 10.0 “Superb” through Avvo, the attorney consumer and peer-review rating website.
Practice areas
Elder Law, Estate Planning & ProbateFocus areas
Estate Planning, Probate & Estate Administration, Trusts
- 50% Elder Law
- 50% Estate Planning & Probate
First Admitted: 1996, Massachusetts
Professional Webpage: https://berkshirelawgroup.com/about-us/
- Member, MassNAELA's Membership Committee, 2023
- MCLE author of Assisted Living: Services, Regulations, and Financing Chapter: Estate Planning for the Aging or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts, 2023
- Editor MCLE Aging In Place: Estate Planning for the Aging and Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts, 2023
- Massachusetts Bar Association Co-author Community MassHealth and VA Benefits chapters, 2023
- Member, MassNAELA’s Advocacy Committee, 2023
- Board of Directors National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys 2003 to 2019, 2021
- Past President, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts Chapter, 2023
- Super Lawyer Paula Almgren, Attorney Kristina Kisiel and RN Debra Allen share important in-the-trenches, need-to-know info and insights for helping seniors and their families navigate the eldercare world – the maze of legal, financial, medical, care, and housing concerns that need to be managed as people age. Berkshire Law Group (formerly Almgren Law Group) is focused on Estate Planning, Elder Law and Life Care. Specific practice areas include: Estate & Tax Planning, Elder Law & Eldercare, Life Care Planning, the Life Care Program, Nursing Home Medicaid, Community Medicaid, Home Care Benefits, Veterans Benefits, an Estate Plan Maintenance Program, and Probate, Trust & Estate Administration. , Videos addressing elder law and estate planning, 2023
- Accredited Attorney with the Department of Veteran's Affairs, 2023
- Alzheimer’s Association: Walk to End Alzheimer's , 2023
- Past President, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts Chapter, 2023
- Pittsfield Council on Aging, 2023
- Fairview Hospital Ethics Committee, 2023
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts Chapter, President's Service and Dedication Award, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts Chapter, 2021
- Albany Law School of Union University, 1995
- Williams College, 1992
- From finances to health and tech, here are some actions to take now that can lower the chances of nursing home admission. By Paula K. Almgren, Esq. MAKE A LONG-TERM CARE PLAN EVEN WHEN YOU’RE NOT SURE WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS People often resist planning because they perceive the future as a series of unknowns. But once a plan is in place, you have a roadmap that can be modified as needed along the way. You can match financial resources and needs with care options; from staying home to living with family, or friends, to assisted living or, if necessary, a nursing home. You can also be spending down, using or transferring funds in such a way so that you will qualify legally for many community-based programs designed to keep you in your home. By planning, you can more wisely protect your home and other assets or even compensate an overburdened family caregiver. And when circumstances inevitably change, you can adjust the base plan to say, “Ok, it’s time to move to Plan B or even C and use what’s left to pay for caregiving this way.” Even if the goal post gets moved, at minimum you and everyone else involved in your care begin by working off the same page and moving together in one direction until events send you in another., Avoid Nursing Home Placement By Taking These Actions Now, 2021
- Author "Help! My Mother Needs ElderCare" THE RULES, 2023
- MCLE author Assisted Living: Services, Regulations, and Financing: Estate Planning for the Aging or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts, 2023
- Massachusetts Bar Association, Co-author - Veterans Affairs Financial Benefits; Pension and Compensation for Eligible Veterans and their Surviving Spouses , 2023
- Massachusetts Bar Association, Co-author - Community Medicaid (MassHealth) Benefits: Programs for Seniors at Risk for Institutionalization, 2023
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2020 - 2025