Thomas J. Ray, Jr., is a principal and the Executive Editor for WealthCounsel, LLC, working out of its satellite office in St. Louis, Missouri. From 1992 until 2010, he was the founder and principal attorney for Ray Law Offices, P.C., a boutique estate planning and law firm in the St. Louis area. He has been an attorney for over 30 years, and is a member of the Missouri and Oklahoma Bars. Tom earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Oklahoma City University. He has received specialized training in charitable tax planning from the Tax Philanthropy Institute, Old Greenwich, Connecticut, and the National Institute for Planned Giving, Memphis, Tennessee. Tom has also received specialized training in financial planning through The College for Financial Planning, Denver, Colorado.

Attorneys nationwide consider Tom to be a leading authority in the areas of estate planning, 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. Tom is also much sought after as a lecturer, presenting on these topics throughout the United States to professional advisors and their clients.