Katherine C. Thompson

Henry County, GA Attorney

Kate Thompson has been an attorney in Henry County since she graduated law school in 2013. From 2013-2016, Kate served as Staff Attorney to Judge Kelley S. Powell and Associate Judge Katherine E. Fagan of the Probate Court of Henry County. Following her time working in the Henry County Probate Court, Kate served private clients at another Henry County law firm, Meadows, Macie, and Sutton, P.C. where she was able to concentrate her practice in her favorite areas of the law: probate of estates, guardianship/conservatorship, and family law.  

Since entering private practice in 2016, Kate has been appointed to serve as either guardian ad litem or court-appointed attorney for a proposed incapacitated adult or minor child in over 200 cases pending before the Probate Court of Henry County.  In 2022, Kate began taking appointments to serve as guardian ad litem in Rockdale County Probate Court as well, having been appointed in over 50 cases in that Court, to date.  Kate has also been appointed GAL by the Probate Courts of Pike and Upson Counties and the State Court of Henry County.

Additionally, in 2019 Kate was appointed by Judge Kelley Powell to serve Henry County as County Administrator and County Conservator. In this capacity, she is appointed to administer estates and manage conservatorships for minors and incapacitated adults when there is no interested party to serve or when the family or the judge determines a disinterested third party is needed. This work gives Kate additional insight into the duties and challenges that her private clients may face in serving as executors, administrators, and conservators and allows her to give practical, real-world advice and suggestions to her clients.

With the knowledge and experience she gained working in the probate court, as well as over ten years practicing law, Kate has a unique perspective when representing individuals in all types of cases over which probate court has jurisdiction: decedent’s estates, guardianships and conservatorships of incapacitated adults, and guardianships and conservatorships of minors. Over the years, Kate has helped hundreds of individuals and families through the probate process both in uncontested probate matters and contested probate matters which resulted in litigation. As a result, she is experienced in managing the discovery process, pursuing settlement options with opposing counsel and through mediation, as well as representing clients at trial if a settlement cannot be reached.

Kate also offers general estate planning through drafting Wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney, and Georgia Advanced Healthcare Directives. Estate planning clients receive the benefit of her experience in handling contested estates when she identifies potential issues with a client’s estate plan and offers practical solutions to minimize the chances of issues arising in the future.

While Kate’s practice is primarily concentrated on probate and guardianship work, she also has extensive experience representing clients in all types of domestic relations cases, including, divorce, child support, child custody, adoptions of children and adults, and separate maintenance and enjoys helping clients achieve their goals in these cases, through settlement, mediation, or trial.  

Kate earned her law degree, cum laude, from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in 2013. In law school, she also earned a certificate in Advanced Legal Writing, Research, and Drafting; the CALI Award for Excellence in Legal Research; was a member of the Mercer Law Review; received a merit scholarship; and was recognized on the Dean’s List. Kate earned her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in History and Political Science from Georgia State University in 2008 where she was recognized on the Dean’s List and received the Faculty Scholarship Award.  

A lifelong Georgian, Kate grew up in Suwanee, Georgia and moved to McDonough in 2013 following her graduation from law school. Kate is a proud graduate of Leadership Henry, Class of 2018 and over the years she has enjoyed volunteering in the community by drafting estate planning documents for first responders at several Wills Clinics sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia and by serving as an attorney coach for local mock trial teams through the State Bar of Georgia’s High School Mock Trial Program.  

Client Testimonials

Kate Thompson helped our family get through a very difficult time handling the estate of our mother. She was compassionate and answered all of our questions regarding the probate process. Kate patiently walked us through the whole ordeal, step by step, and we were extremely grateful. I will definitely reach out to her practice again for legal advice.

Laura W.

Our family had a very successful experience with Mr. Emmett Arnold. When a family member needed legal services, Emmett Arnold came highly recommended and he did not disappoint. He and his staff were prompt in returning calls and emails, and kept us abreast on the progress of the case throughout. When mediation and negotiations broke down, and court was the only remaining avenue, Mr. Arnold argued the case strongly, was well prepared and , thankfully, our family prevailed. Mr. Arnold and his law firm will continue to be our first choice whenever legal services are needed.

Donna T.

Kate! What an awesome human being firstly, and an even better representing agent! No one wants to deal with the hardship that comes with losing a loved one, much less when the probate court is involved, but Ms. Kate does such a great job of easing the burden that is having to deal with the court system. I very much underestimated the gravity of the circumstances I was dealing with when I initially went through the probate process. I soon realized it would be best to seek legal advice and representation and I can 100% say that I would not look any further than Ms. Kate.

Bryan M.

Emmett Arnold is an amazing attorney. He and his staff not only have the knowledge of the laws, but their compassion is wonderful. In situations that involve family law, it can be increasingly stressful, but Mr. Arnold kept me updated every step of the way; more importantly he was able to ease a lot of the emotional nervousness. Thank you Mr. Arnold and staff for the great job you did for me!

Monica P.