ESTEP LAW FIRM - Key Persons
Thomas J. Ray, Jr. is a principal and executive editor / legal support manager for WEALTHCOUNSEL LLC, working out of its satellite office in St. Louis, Missouri. He has been an attorney for over 30 years, and is a member of the Missouri and Oklahoma Bars. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Oklahoma City University. From 1992 to 2010, Tom was also founder and principal of RAY LAW OFFICES, P.C., a boutique estate planning law firm in the metro-St. Louis area.
Attorneys nationwide consider Tom a leading authority in the areas of estate, charitable tax planning, and IRA distribution planning. In 2006, the American Bar Association published his 800-page treatise Charitable Gift Planning: A Practical Guide for the Estate Planner. In addition, he is the author of two technical training manuals for attorneys on Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Lead Trusts, Private Foundations and Supporting Organizations. His articles on charitable planning have appeared in Lawyer's Weekly, Charitable Gift Planning News, and Family Foundation Advisor. He is also much sought after as a lecturer, and makes presentations throughout the United States on these topics to professional advisors and their clients.
Tom and his wife, Linda, maintain homes in rural Barnhart and Monett, Missouri. The couple has two adult sons, David and Daniel.