Top best Elder Law Lawyers in ZIP 27511 | 4 available

Whenever someone asks me where I am from, I respond that I grew up in southeastern North Carolina on dirt road. Folks from the nearby town, Whiteville, which isn’t much bigger, used to say they had to pipe the sunshine into where I lived.. By growing up in a small rural township with economic hardships, I learned so many lessons about the power of community working together to lift one another up—particularly in times of need. In my professional experience, I find that people often seek out a lawyer when they are experiencing some form of suffering and searching for a solution. I believe compassion is the necessary foundation an attorney needs in order to become part of the solution. The power of compassion is a guiding principle in my life and has led me to my professional journey today.. After attending Wake Forest University and earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, I decided to attend law school after shadowing my uncle in his law firm for several summers. He had a thriving Social Security Disability practice which I admired and felt comfortable working in that area of the law. Although I had originally intended to work as a District Attorney, I discovered that was not my path. Instead, I accepted the challenge of leading a growing firm’s Social Security Disability practice where I remained at the helm for over 17 years. I feel privileged to have been able to help so many people navigate a very complex appeal process and secure the benefits they had earned.. Now, I am answering a call to continue helping people navigate other difficult and complex areas of the law known as Elder Law. I believe my knowledge, skills, values, and experiences will enable me to help seniors and their families find solutions for some of the most difficult times of life.. When not working, I enjoy exploring our beautiful state and taking photographs of nature and family. I also enjoy singing with my church choir, playing my trumpet and hanging out with my daughter, Ella, and our dog, Tilly.

When I play the gratitude game with my kids, I always list my educational opportunities near the top. Early in life, I learned that often, good things come from difficult experiences. College was like that. I was able to attend The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill because of a scholarship from the N. C. Veteran's Administration. This opportunity would not have been possible except for my father's lifelong disability from service in the U. S. Army Air Corps. I've always been a person serious about life. As an undergraduate studying psychology and religious studies, I enjoyed exploring some of the big, unanswered questions from my childhood: Is there a purpose and meaning to life? If so, how do we find it? Does suffering pay off? What happens after we die? After receiving my B. A. in psychology from UNC, I obtained a Master of Social Work from the  Southern Baptist Theological Seminar in Louisville, Kentucky. After graduating, I practiced clinical social work for five years before entering law school at Campbell University. I enjoyed practicing law in Wake County before my thirteen-year career as a court manager in state government. Most recently at the N. C. Administrative Office of the Courts, I worked as the Senior Manager of Court Programs where I supported court programs across the state: family courts, custody mediation, drug courts, domestic violence, and alternative dispute resolution. Like all of us, the formal hats I wear (social worker, lawyer, court administrator) and informal hats (wife, mother, divorceé, sister, friend, daughter) are integrated into all that I do. One reason I decided to return to the practice of family and elder law at this point in my life is so that I can wear the various hats I've collected over the years to help families grow and evolve through some of the tough transitions in life.

Brett Thompson is an Estate Planning and Elder Law attorney.  He focuses his practice on Medicaid planning and elder law, in addition to estate planning.. Brett earned his B.A. at the University of South Florida in Tampa where he majored in Mass Communications. After spending nearly a decade in the television news industry, including both working at CNN in Washington, D.C., and being part of the launch team for News 14 Carolina in Raleigh, he earned his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill.