J. Katherine Scott, Esq.
Founding Partner
Bar Admissions
- Rhode Island
- California (inactive)
- U.S. District Court Central District of California
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
Education
- University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, Los Angeles, California
- J.D. -1989
- Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas
- B.S. (Summa Cum Laude)
- Lecturer, Estate Planning and Estate Settlement, Elder Law and Medicaid, Guardianships
- Rhode Island Estate Planning Council, Member
- RI Bar Association, Probate and Trust Committee and the Elder law Subcommittee thereof
- Accredited by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- Vice Chair, Board of Trustees of Barrington Christian Academy, in Barrington, Rhode Island
- Board of Directors of Tockwotton on the Waterfront
- East Providence Chamber of Commerce
Attorney Scott did not follow the same direct path to the practice of estate settlement and estate planning that was followed by Attorney Handwerger. Indeed, Attorney Scott grew up in a family, in a town and in a time when there was no expectation that she would attend college; law school was simply NOT an option. However, after obtaining an Associates’ Degree in Secretarial Science, she worked as a legal secretary for an attorney in Hays, Kansas, whose practice was limited to estate planning and estate settlement. With two years of college behind her, she knew she had found her calling and she returned to college, while continuing to work to pay her way, and completed her Bachelor’s Degree, before moving to Los Angeles, California, where she continued to work as a legal secretary as she completed the application process to attend law school. Once accepted to UCLA, she pursued her legal education as a person with something to prove. After graduating from law school, Attorney Scott worked as a litigation associate in firms in both Los Angeles and New York City for approximately five years before moving to Rhode Island.
Once in Rhode Island, she accepted a position in a small boutique law firm that practiced almost exclusively in the field of estate planning and estate settlement with an emphasis on Medicaid planning and eligibility. After a few years at that firm, Attorney Scott accepted another position in a firm that also practiced almost exclusively in the field of estate planning and estate settlement, but with an emphasis on estate tax planning and settling taxable estates.
After approximately 17 years of practice in the State of Rhode Island, primarily in the field of estate planning and estate settlement, Attorney Scott joined with Attorney Handwerger to open their own office in East Providence, Rhode Island, Scott & Handwerger, LLP, to continue her practice primarily in the field of estate planning and estate settlement, including the practice areas of Elder Law and Medicaid, as well as estate tax planning.
