Karen R. Mills focuses her practice on estate planning, probate administration, guardianships and probate litigation. Karen currently serves on the Northwestern Memorial Foundation Board of Directors. For over a decade now, she has been an active member of the DuPage County Adult Protective Services Abuse and Neglect Program Multidisciplinary Team. She frequently writes and speaks on estate planning, probate, guardianship and related topics.

An active member of the DuPage County Bar Association, Karen currently serves as President (2024-2025).

Karen is active in the community and was named in 2023 by the Public Interest Law Initiative to its Pro Bono Volunteer Honor Roll.

Karen is resident in the firm’s Wheaton office.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Karen joined Aronberg Goldgehn in 2021, and was in private practice for seven years before that. Before her legal career, Karen spent nearly 20 years at JPMorgan Chase and BMO Harris Private Bank with experience in trusts, estates, guardianships and wealth management.

Since 2021, Karen has been recognized as a Rising Star by Illinois Super Lawyers.

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

• Estate Planning Essential Skills, DuPage Estate Planning Council Half-Day Workshop, January 2024
• “The Courage to Act: Overcoming Challenges, Imposter Syndrome and How to Advocate for Yourself,” Women In Business Expo, October 2023
• Special Needs Planning Insights, William Blair, July 2023
• “We Are Better Together: How Mentorship Can Shape a New Attorney’s Career,” DCBA Brief, July 2023
• "Protection for Seniors," Naperville Carillon Club, May 2023
• The Local Podcast, May 2023
• Mental Health and Guardianships, April 2023
• Legal Documents: The Item Missing from Your College Paking List, July 2022
• "Trusts from A-Z: Understand all the Wealth Planning Options Available to Your Clients," February 2022 
• "Is It Too Late to Create an Estate Plan for Your Client with Dementia?", January 2022
• Guardianship and Estate Planning Issues for Veterans, November 2021
• Wealth Management Roundtable, Crain's Chicago Business, July 2021
• “Wait...I am not Dead Yet and I Need My Money!” DuPage County Bar Association, March 2021
• “What is an Estate Plan and Why do You Need One?” Edward Jones, Illinois Financial Advisor, February 2021
• Mental Health Issues...What is a Guardian to Do? DuPage County Health Department, January 2021
• Moderator, “Judicial Webinar: Your Professional Reputation and Civility,” DuPage County Bar Association, July 2020
• “Effective Leadership,” DuPage County Bar Association, July 2020
• “Investments and Transfers: Legal and Prudent,” National Business Institute Illinois CLE, “Accounting & Tax Crash Course for Trusts and Estates,” June 2020

LEADERSHIP ROLES

Karen is active in the DuPage County Bar Association, serving as a mentor in the Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentorship Program and in 2024, she was installed as the association's President after having previously served as President-Elect for the 2023-2024 bar year and Second Vice President for the 2022-2023 bar year. She previously served on the Board of Directors, as well as Chair of its Estate Planning & Probate Section and Chair of Continuing Legal Education. Also, during the 2022-2023 school year, Karen sered as a 1L Mentor at NIU Law School.

Karen is a faculty member of the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education where she is a frequent speaker on estate planning topics. 

In 2020, 2017 and 2016 Karen served as an Evaluator for the High School Mock Trial Invitational presented by the Illinois State Bar Association.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Karen serves on the Board of Directors (Executive Committee Member) of Northwestern Medicine and Co-Chair of the Philanthropic Advisory Council for NWM Central DuPage and Delnor Hospitals.

She also is a Multidisciplinary Team Member for the DuPage County Adult Protective Services Abuse and Neglect Program.

Karen actively seeks out and participates in pro bono opportunities in the community. She and other practitioners from the firm’s Wheaton office participated in a “Wills for Heroes” event organized by the Public Interest Law Initiative, the DuPage County Bar Association, Prairie State Legal Services, and the 18th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee, providing estate planning services to veterans and seniors. Karen was honored by PILI in 2023 with inclusion on its Pro Bono Volunteer Honor Roll.

RELATED NEWS

• Karen R. Mills Educates Local First Responders on Estate Planning at 100 Club of Illinois Frontline Convention

• Karen R. Mills Appointed to Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness

• Karen R. Mills and Angela M. Iaria Provide Pro Bono Support at the DuPage County Wills and Powers of Attorney Legal Clinic

• Karen R. Mills and John C. Sciaccotta Featured in Chicago Lawyer

• Final Regulations Issued by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on the SECURE Act

• Legal Documents: The Item Missing From Your College Packing List!

• Karen R. Mills Spoke at the National Association of Bar Professionals 2024 Annual Meeting

• Karen R. Mills Installed as President of the DuPage County Bar Association

• Karen Mills Presents, "Are You the Next Victim? How to Protect Yourself from Elder Abuse in Today's World"

• Karen Mills to Moderate DCBA Women's History Month Panel Discussion

• Super Lawyers' 2024 Lists Honor Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys

• Karen R. Mills to Discuss Basic Estate Planning Skills at DuPage County Estate Planning Council Seminar

• Karen R. Mills to Share How Courage Has Shaped Her Career at Women in Business Expo 2023

• Angela M. Iaria, Karen R. Mills and Joanie Hogan Offer Insights in 2023 - 2024 DCBA Leadership Workshop

• Property Tax Relief: Exemptions to Consider

• Karen R. Mills Shares Insights on Pro Bono Work in PILI Feature

• Don't Send Your Child Back to College Without These

• Karen R. Mills to Share Special Needs Planning Insights with William Blair Professionals

• Karen R. Mills Discusses the Impact of the DCBA Administered Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program

• Karen R. Mills Installed as President-Elect at DCBA 2023 President's Ball

• Aronberg Goldgehn Named to 2023 Pro Bono Recognition Roster by PILI

• PILI Honors Karen R. Mills in 2023 Pro Bono Volunteer Honor Roll

• Karen R. Mills to Discuss Protection for Seniors at Naperville Carillon Club

• Karen R. Mills Discusses Career Paths and Aronberg Goldgehn's Wheaton Office on The Local Podcast

• Karen R. Mills to Discuss Mental Health and Guardianship in DCBA Mental Health Symposium

• Karen R. Mills to Provide Estate Planning Beginner's Guide to Young Lawyers in DCBA Webinar

• Karen R. Mills to Lend Estate Planning Drafting Services at PILI Legal Clinic for Veterans and Seniors

• Super Lawyers' 2023 Lists Honor Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys

• Karen R. Mills to Share Estate Planning Insights for Veterans and Service Members in DCBA/DAWL CLE Program

• Karen R. Mills Offers Seniors Legal Guidance in 2022 Healthy, Wealthy and Wise Senior Conference

• Karen R. Mills to Guide Up-and-Coming Attorneys in the DuPage County Bar Association's Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentorship Program

• Legal Documents: The Item Missing from Your College Packing List

• Karen R. Mills Advances Through DuPage County Bar Association Leadership as Second Vice President

• Four Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys to Share Guardianship Insights at DCBA 2022 Mega Meeting

• Karen R. Mills Coached Industry Professionals on Trust Structures and Legal Ethics in National Business Institute Online Seminar

• Karen R. Mills to Serve as Judge in DCBA's 2022 High School Mock Trial Invitational

• Karen R. Mills to Explore Estate Planning and Elder Law Concerning Dementia in DCBA Webinar

• Karen R. Mills to Expand on Guardianship and Estate Issues Concerning Veterans in a DCBA and DAWL Joint Veterans Day Program

• Karen R. Mills Honored with 2021 Directors Award from DuPage County Bar Association

• Why You Should Consider Having Your Child Sign a Power of Attorney Before They Leave for College

• Aronberg Goldgehn's Estate Planning Practice Shares Insights with Crain's Chicago Business in Wealth Management Discussion

• Karen Mills Elected Third Vice President of DuPage County Bar Association

• Aronberg Goldgehn Opens New Wheaton, Illinois Office and Adds Karen R. Mills as Member

• Eighteen Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys Named 2021 Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars