THOMAS R. CRAWFORD, Sr. practices primarily in the area of Estate Planning, Elder Law, Estate and Trust Administration, Wills, Trusts, Elder Law, Asset Protection, Gift and Estate Taxation, Charitable Giving and Taxation. Tom is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law.
Tom is a native of Franklin, North Carolina and is a 1965 graduate of Franklin High School, a 1969 graduate of Davidson College (B.A. Economics) and a 1972 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law (J.D. with Honors). In law school, he was a member of the Order of the Coif and served on the Board of Editors of the North Carolina Law Review.
Prior to starting his own firm in Western North Carolina, Tom was a research assistant to Chief Justice William H. Bobbitt of the North Carolina Supreme Court and subsequently served as an Infantry officer in the United States Army. Prior to moving back to the mountains near his hometown of Franklin, Tom practiced law for over 25 years with an large Eastern North Carolina law firm.
Tom served on the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization (2001-2007) and also served as Chairperson of the Estate Planning and Probate Law Specialty Committee of the North Carolina State Bar (1998-1999) and past Chairperson of the Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association (1998-1999). He is also a member of the American Bar Association, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), the North Carolina Bar Association, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Estate Planning Professionals Network , the Land of the Sky Estate Planning Council and the National Association of Tax Professionals. Tom is a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars on topics in his practice area.
Tom has been recognized by his peers as one of the members of the "Legal Elite" in the Taxes and Estate Planning Area by Business North Carolina publication and as a Super Lawyer in the Estate Planning and Trusts area by North Carolina Super Lawyers publication.
