Craig Reaves

Adjunct Faculty

Contact Info

Biography —

Craig C. Reaves, CELA, is an attorney with Reaves Law Firm PC, in Kansas City, Missouri. He practices law in Kansas and Missouri with major emphasis in the areas of estate planning, elder law, special needs trusts and planning for persons who have a disability. He has been an adjunct professor of law and teaches an elder law course at both the University of Kansas School of Law and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law since 2002.

Reaves was one of the first attorneys to become a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation, and has continued to be certified since 1995. He is listed in Who's Who In American Law and Who’s Who in America. He has been selected for inclusion on the Kansas and Missouri Super Lawyers list for every year since 2005 and has been included in the current editions of The Best Lawyers in America since 2007.

Education —

J.D., University of Kansas, 1978

B.A., University of Kansas, 1975

Teaching —

Introduction to Elder Law

Selected Publications —

“My Approach to Teaching Elder Law,” 40 Stetson Law Review 301 (2010).
Update Chapter 3 – "Using Trusts for Persons Who are Elderly or Disabled," Missouri Elder Law (Missouri Bar 2004 and 2010).
Chapter 1, Sections 1.11 – 1.15, "Planning for Incapacity" (all sections dealt with various aspects of Special Needs Trusts), Kansas Long-Term Care Handbook, 2nd ed. (Kansas Bar Association 2008).
Special Needs Trust portion of Chapter 16 - "Supplemental Security Income Eligibility and Special Needs Trusts, Advising the Elderly Client," Thomson-West, 2003.
Chapter 3 – "Using Trusts for Persons Who are Elderly or Disabled," Missouri Elder Law (Missouri Bar 2002).

Selected Presentations —

Many continuing legal education presentations, including for Stetson University College of Law, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, University of Missouri Kansas City, Missouri Bar Association and Kansas Bar Association.

Memberships —

Founding Board Member and Past President, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (Missouri Chapter), Kansas Chapter of NAELA; President, LifeCare Planning Inc.; Special Needs Alliance; WealthCounsel; USB Attorney Network; Kansas City Metropolitan, Kansas, Missouri and American Bar Associations; Past President, Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City; Charter Member, Council of Advanced Practitioners, NAELA; Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).

Admitted

Kansas 1978, Missouri 1980, United States District Court Kansas 1978, United States District Court (Western District) 1980, United States Tax Court 1984