Gayle F. Tarzwell has been practicing law in Rhode Island for over thirty-five years. She received her B.A. with highest distinction from the University of Rhode Island and her J.D. from the University of Richmond where she graduated magna cum laude. Gayle also holds a Masters in Taxation with Honors from Bryant University. Before entering private practice Gayle served as a law clerk to the Honorable Alfred H. Joslin of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
In 1983 Gayle opened her law office on Woodruff Avenue in downtown Wakefield. She focuses her practice on helping clients achieve their estate planning goals and tailoring their plans to their needs. As the mother of a young adult with an intellectual disability, Gayle is intimately familiar with the legal and day-to-day challenges of parenting a child with a disability through adulthood and offers other families her knowledge and expertise. You can read more about Gayle’s daughter, Allison, under the Special Needs Planning tab.
In addition to private practice Gayle spent several years teaching Business Law at the College of Business Administration, University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI and as Probate Judge of the North Kingstown Probate Court.
Gayle is an active member of the Rhode Island Bar Association Probate and Trust Committee, the Elder Law Sub-Committee, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Academy of Special Needs Planners. Gayle has been published in the Rhode Island Bar Journal and co-authored the chapter entitled “Planning for Incapacity – Special Needs and Guardianship” with Attorney Nancy Chudacoff in A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Rhode Island published by MCLE in 2012. Gayle is admitted to both the Rhode Island state and federal bar as well as the U.S. Tax Court.
In addition to her professional affiliations Gayle is a founding member of the Rhode Island non-profit organization, Personal Lifetime Advocacy Networks of Rhode Island, Inc. (Plan RI). Since 2005, this organization has assisted families with persons with disabilities with futures planning and to create and maintain personal support networks to assure persons with disabilities can enjoy “A Good Life” both while immediate family members are living and after their demise. As the parent of a child with special needs Gayle passionately believes in providing a child with an intellectual disability with a reassuring answer to the question: “What will happen to me when you die?”