CHAIR – DIVORCE AND FAMILY LAW | ADOPTION & ASSISTED REPRODUCTION

Dimitra S. Scott

Dimitra is the chair of both the Divorce & Family Law and Adoption & Assisted Reproduction practice groups at Beresford Booth PLLC where she brings compassion and a balanced perspective to clients. She is also a fellow for the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA), a leading organization that sets the highest standards for its members.

Divorce & Family Law covers a broad array of family conflicts and planning needs.  When guiding clients through some of the most challenging and emotionally charged life events, Dimitra draws upon more than twenty years of experience negotiating and litigating family law issues.  With such experience comes understanding and empathy for the client’s need for a plan during a season of uncertainty.  Dimitra enjoys connecting with clients to explore and understand their goals and offering creative, family-focused pathways to meet those ends.   

Through two decades of litigating family law disputes, Dimitra also brings practical solutions to planning relationships, whether the parties plan to marry or not.  Dimitra finds great satisfaction in educating clients about the potential legal consequences of their future plans and offering recommendations in line with their goals and objectives.  Whether drafting or reviewing cohabitation, prenuptial, or postnuptial agreements, Dimitra’s background and experience provides a solid foundation for creative, practical solutions to real life problems.

The Adoption & Assisted Reproduction practice group is proud to help form families and provide children stable, loving homes.  As an Adoption Fellow, Dimitra guides families through various adoption processes and pathways to form families.  She advises prospective adoptive families through their match process, decisions regarding the best choice of law for their situation, and through all the hurdles that may arise along the way. Dimitra understands families may be legally formed through various legal processes and works with each client to understand and meet their unique needs, including: 

a) Independent, voluntary placement adoptions

b) Finalization of a DCYF foster-to-adopt placement or other Agency placement

c) Providing stability to children through Step-Parent Adoption

d) Clarifying legal parentage for children conceived by Assisted Reproduction (Second-Parent Adoption)

e) Guiding individuals to confirm their chosen family through Adult Adoption

As an Assisted Reproduction/ART Fellow, Dimitra represents clients who wish to form a family through an Assisted Reproductive process, such as Surrogacy, or Ova, Sperm, or Embryo donation.  Dimitra advises intended parents through the legal process of their journey, including preparation and review of legal agreements and Legal Clearance Letters required before their medical processes may move forward.   Dimitra also aids individuals who wish to give the gift of life to a family, through donation of ova, sperm, or embryos, or by carrying a child as a Surrogate.  Understanding the end goals and mutual expectations of the parties, Dimitra advises them on the most effective legal process to confirm parentage, securing a parent’s legal rights within Washington state and beyond.  Dimitra recognizes that no two clients are the same, no two families are the same, and she strives to understand and support each client’s goals to guide them through the process.

Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Dimitra graduated from Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek where she enjoyed playing soccer and fastpitch softball. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Menlo College in California while continuing to play fastpitch. Dimitra joined Beresford Booth in 2004, after graduating Cum Laude from Seattle University School of Law, and became a partner in 2016. Outside of the office, Dimitra resides with her family in Snohomish. In her free time, you will find Dimitra cheering at her children’s sporting events, enjoying the outdoors with family and friends, and volunteering to support individuals with special needs.