Position: Member

TEL: 703-548-3699

FAX: 703-637-1325

Email: Click Here

Website: www.dmatthewslaw.com

Admitted: 1999, Virginia; 2000, District of Columbia and Maryland; 2002, U.S. Tax Court and U.S. Supreme Court

Law School: Catholic University of America, J.D.

College: Georgia State University, B.S.

Birth Date and Place: 

Practice Areas: Trusts and Estates; Probate; Wills; Guardianships; Conservatorship

Additional Information: Deborah Matthews is a distinguished and effective attorney devoted to working with her clients and their loved ones. Her law practice focuses on estate planning, trust and estate administration, probate, and guardianship matters. She is licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia, providing continuity of legal services throughout the region. She is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Tax Court. Ms. Matthews has been honored by her peers for her legal ability and adherence to ethical standards with an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell. Her significant publicly reported cases are Burwell v. Burwell, 700 A.2d 219, D.C., 1997 and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research v. Zaleski, 156 Md. App. 527, 2004. She received her J.D. from Catholic University of America and her B.S. from Georgia State University. Prior to that she worked as a journalist and a Congressional staffer. As a journalist, Ms. Matthews worked for CNN when it went on the air, moved to local TV news, and then The Atlanta Constitution. She served as press secretary for U.S. Representative Michael A. Andrews, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and U.S. Senator Wyche Fowler Jr.; and U.S. Senator John Heinz, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging. Ms. Matthews also served as Deputy Director of the Congressional Sunbelt Caucus and the Sunbelt Institute. Professional Associations * American Bar Association * Associations in: Virgina, Maryland, District of Columbia, City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, and Montgomery County * Co-chaired the Fairfax Bar Association’s Wills, Trusts, and Estates Section * Member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) * Member of the Virginia Estate Planning Council, the Virginia Women Attorney’s Association, and the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia Legal expertise Lectured to legal and accounting communities on legal issues including: D.C. Uniform Trust Act, Drafting for Religious, Cultural, or Ethnic Considerations, Probate 101 for the Non-Probate Practitioner, and The 2001 Tax Act. Community Service * Worked for the National Commission on Children, and for many years opened her home to foster children * Member, Board of Directors, United Community Ministries (UCM) * Founding Board member and officer, Friends of UCM * Development Committee for Burgundy Farm Country Day School, where her daughter attended * Graduate of the Leadership Alexandria Class of 2007 * Co-Chair of the Alexandria TRIAD, established by the Alexandria Sheriff to protect elderly citizens * Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Ivy Hill Cemetery Historical Preservation Society * Campagna Center, Planned Giving Advisory Council