Practice areas: Elder Law, Estate Planning & Probate; view more
Licensed in Massachusetts since: 1996
Education: Albany Law School
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2020 - 2025 Call today:
413-216-3538
Virtual Appointments Berkshire Law Group
1 West StLenox, MA 01240 Visit website
Berkshire Law Group founder PAULA K. ALMGREN is an attorney specializing in estate planning, elder law, and life care. She is the author of the new book, ELDERCARE THE RULES—Navigating the Legal, Financial, Medical, Housing and Care Maze. She is also an accredited attorney with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Inspired by caring for her mom, her law practice is one of the few in the nation that combines estate planning and asset protection with care advocacy and coaching for seniors and their families. With 20+ years of experience, Ms. Almgren has received a Super Lawyer designation six years and running, an honor given to less than five percent of attorneys in Massachusetts where she is licensed to practice in addition to New York.
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 was a Board member from 2002 to 2019. 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 serves on the Berkshire Health Systems Board of Trustees, Fairview Hospital Ethics Committee, 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 services professionals, hospital administrators, health care professionals, and senior and disabled individuals and their families.
Ms. Almgren is a graduate of Williams College and Albany Law School of Union University.
She has a five-star Google review rating and is rated 10.0 “Superb” through Avvo, the attorney consumer and peer-review rating website.
Berkshire Law Group is based in Lenox, Massachusetts around the corner from Tanglewood in Berkshire County.
For more, visit www.berkshirelawgroup.com
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/
Bar / Professional Activity
- Massachusetts Bar Association Co-author Community MassHealth and VA Benefits chapters, 2026
- Member, MassNAELA, 2026
- Member, MassNAELA’s Advocacy Committee, 2026
- 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
- Board of Directors National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys 2003 to 2019, 2025
- Past President, 2020 National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts Chapter, 2024
Videos
- Super Lawyer Paula Almgren shares 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 is focused on Estate Planning, Elder Law and Life Care. Specific practice areas include: Estate & Tax Planning, Elder Law & Eldercare, Life Care Planning, the Whole Crew Annual Program, Nursing Home Medicaid, Community Medicaid, Home Care Benefits, Veterans Benefits, an Estate Plan Maintenance Program called Lawyer for LIfe, and Probate, Trust & Estate Administration. , Videos addressing elder law and estate planning, 2025
Special Licenses / Certifications
- Accredited Attorney with the Department of Veteran's Affairs, 2025
Pro bono / Community Service
- Berkshire Health Systems, Board of Trustees, 2026
- Board Member, Pittsfield Council on Aging Chair and Chair of Supportive Day Program Committee, 2026
- Past President, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts Chapter 2020, 2025
- Fairview Hospital Ethics Committee, 2026
- Alzheimer’s Association: Walk to End Alzheimer's , 2026
Educational Background
- Albany Law School of Union University, 1995
- Williams College, 1992
White Papers
- 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, 2026
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Your parent is aging, getting up there in years, and all is fine―until it isn’t. An unexpected fall, a life-changing diagnosis or a catastrophic event leaves them―along with concerned family members―scrambling for direction and the next best steps. Before you start tearing your hair out, learn the rules (many unwritten until now) needed to navigate the eldercare maze often riddled with confusing laws and regulations and frustratingly siloed systems. Get clued into essential dos and don’ts and valuable in-the-trenches information when confronted with legal, financial, medical, housing and care decisions. The rules will not only guide and educate you through important decision making for your elderly loved ones, but ultimately the decisions you will need to make in the future for yourself., Author, Eldercare The Rules Navigating the Legal, Medical, Financial, Housing and Care Maze Published July 17, 2025., Amazon, 2025
Other Outstanding Achievements
- Massachusetts Bar Association, Co-author - Veterans Affairs Financial Benefits; Pension and Compensation for Eligible Veterans and their Surviving Spouses , 2025
- Massachusetts Bar Association, Co-author - Community Medicaid (MassHealth) Benefits: Programs for Seniors at Risk for Institutionalization, 2026
- MCLE author Assisted Living: Services, Regulations, and Financing: Estate Planning for the Aging or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts, 2023
Honors
- Selects only the top 5% of attorneys state-wide based on nominations of peers, Super Lawyers 2020 - 2025, Super Lawyer Thomson Reuters Independent rating service, 2025
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts Chapter, President's Service and Dedication Award, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Massachusetts Chapter, 2021
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2020 - 2025
