Top Guardianship And Conservatorship Lawyers in Seattle | 11 available

Sheila Ridgway has extensive experience in the litigation of trust, probate and guardianship matters. For more than 20 years, Ms. Ridgway has lead clients through complex challenges in the care of elderly family members and their estates.. Ms. Ridgway is a recognized leader in the state of Washington in the practice area, serving on a special committee to guide legislators in updating TEDRA, Washington's law governing trust and estate dispute resolution. Ms. Ridgway frequently participates in educational programs for lawyers practicing in the field.

My practice is limited to estate administration and related estate litigation.  I accept appointments as a professional fiduciary for difficult estates or when the previous fiduciaries have been disqualified during the course of litigation within the estate.  I also serve as an expert witness in fiduciary litigation.

Mary Anne Vance focuses her practice on estate planning, trusts and probate. She is the co-author of the Probate and Estate Planning Chapters of the "Washington Civil Practice Deskbook". She chairs and speaks at legal seminars sponsored by the Washington State and King County Bar Associations. She was voted "Super Lawyer" by Washington Law and Politics Magazine and voted one of Seattle's Top Attorneys by Seattle Magazine.

After being in private practice for 6.5 years, Lisa W. Gafken has returned to the Washington Attorney General's Office, where she began her career in 2001. Her initial assignment with the AGO was with the Utilities and Transportation Commission Division, where she spent four years representing Commission Staff in rate proceedings, telecom proceedings, and compliance proceedings.  In addition, Ms. Gafken represented the Commission in court proceedings to enforce Commission orders. She left the AGO in 2005 to enter private practice.  During her time in private practice, Ms. Gafken focused on litigating trust and estate matters under TEDRA, protecting vulnerable adults under Chapter 74.34 RCW, and representing clients in both contested and uncontested probate and guardianship matters. She began as an associate attorney, and then opened a law firm with a partner.. Ms. Gafken returned to the AGO in April 2012, and now serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Counsel Section, where she represents customers of investor-owned utilities in proceedings before the Utilities and Transportation Commission.. She is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.  Ms. Gafken served as a board member of MAMA Seattle, the Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Seattle, from 2008 to 2014. In addition, she was a founding member of the Lawyers Fostering Independence team, a group of lawyers offering legal assistance to foster children aging out of the foster care system, and she served as a board member for a nonprofit child care center.. Ms. Gafken obtained her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Politics and Government (political science) from the University of Puget Sound.  She graduated cum laude from Seattle University School of Law in 2001.