Karen Marie Thompson is a 1977 graduate of the University of Washington School of Law. She has been in private practice since 1980 and is a partner in the law firm of Thompson & Howle. Throughout her practice she has emphasized elder law and disability law. This includes representing individuals and professionals in all aspects of complex guardianships, probates, long-term care planning, estate planning, drafting and representing Trustees and beneficiaries of special needs trusts. She mediates contested guardianship, trust and probate matters.
She has been designated a top lawyer in Seattle by the publication Seattle magazine for the past several years based upon a peer survey. She is a frequent speaker at legal seminars, law school classes and conferences on various aspects of guardianships, ethical issues in elder law and special needs trusts. She is a member of the Washington Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Washington State Bar Association Elder Law Section and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Karen is married; she and her husband have two young adult children. She is an avid soccer fan and she and her husband enjoy the theater, opera and boating.
Suzanne C. Howle was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1980 and the Washington Bar in 1982. Since 1984, Suzanne Howle's practice has emphasized guardianship, probate, estate planning, and representation of fiduciaries in various roles. She is the managing partner of the firm.
Suzanne Howle is widely recognized as one of the top lawyers in Washington in her practice areas. The publication WASHINGTON LAW AND POLITICS named her a “Super Lawyer” in every year from 2003 through 2019. She has also been listed as one of the “Top Lawyers” published by SEATTLE MAGAZINE. When SEATTLE BUSINESS MONTHLY polled 5000 attorneys in the Puget Sound area, Suzanne Howle was chosen as a “Top Lawyer” by her peers. She was named Best Lawyers® 2016 Trusts and Estates Litigation "Lawyer of the Year" and Best Lawyers® 2017 Elder Law "Lawyer of the Year" for Seattle.
In addition to representing individual clients, Suzanne Howle has authored and co-authored several widely-used practice manuals for lawyers and is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars. She co-authored the guardianship section of the King County Probate and Guardianship Manual, published in 1995, and edited updated chapters of the King County Probate Policy & Procedures manual in 2002, 2009 and 2011. She has been lead co-author and editor of "Chapter 10: Probate and Guardianship" of the Washington Lawyers Practice Manual for many years.
Carol Vaughn has a litigation practice (trial and appellate) focusing on trust, probate, guardianship and vulnerable adult protection cases. She is a graduate of Smith College (1983; magna cum laude) and Harvard Law School (1986). Ms. Vaughn was a legal aid attorney with Evergreen Legal Services and Northwest Justice Project before joining Thompson & Howle. In 2003, she was awarded a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellowship from Harvard Law School. She previously served on and chaired the WSBA Amicus Brief Committee. Her reported appellate decisions include: Estate of Kessler, 95 Wn. App. 358 (1999) (will contest upholding validity of will); In re Custody of Halls, 126 Wn. App. 599 (2005) (contempt); Estate of Haviland (Haviland I), 162 Wn. App. 548 (2011) (will contest invalidating will for undue influence); and Estate of Haviland (Haviland II), 177 Wn.2d 68 (2013) (interpreting slayer statute amendments relating to financial exploitation of vulnerable adults).
She was named to the Washington Super Lawyers list from 2014 through current, as well as the Top 100 Lawyers in Washington State and the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Washington State. In 2019, she was named Best Lawyers® 2019 Probate and Trust Litigation "Lawyer of the Year" in Seattle.
Florence K. Deleranko has been in private practice since 1988. Her practice includes guardianships, trusts, estates, probate and real estate law. She also serves as a probate Guardian ad Litem. Florence graduated cum laude from Gonzaga University in 1984 and was a law clerk to the Honorable Alan A. McDonald, (United States District Court Eastern District of Washington) from 1985-1987.
She is also a member of the Idaho State Bar. She has spoken at legal seminars on the areas of her practice; guardianship, real estate and probate. She and her husband are parents of a lovely and active daughter.
Carrie Williams has represented individuals and families in King County for over 20 years. Her practice has focused on litigation, parenting issues, division of assets, and all forms of protection orders, including Domestic Violence and Vulnerable Adult protection orders.
Carrie graduated cum laude from the University of Arizona in 1992, and spent 23 years as a legal aid attorney at the Northwest Justice Project in Seattle, where she represented vulnerable clients in complex family law cases. For two decades, Carrie has trained attorneys and domestic violence advocates in family law issues. Outside of her legal practice, Carrie is a longtime volunteer with the Girl Scouts of Western Washington.
