John Griffing

John Griffing focuses his practice on business, tax, and estate issues. He has over 30 years of experience in planning transactions and resolving and litigating controversies with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and North Carolina Department of Revenue.

John graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in accounting, then received his law degree cum laude (top 10% of graduating class in grade point average) from Wake Forest School of Law in 1987, and his Masters in Business Administration degree with distinction from Wake Forest’s Babcock School of Management in 1988.

After beginning his career at Price Waterhouse, John switched to practicing law and practiced most of his career at a 10+ lawyer law firm in Gastonia. Since 1998, John has also taught the estate planning course at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Masters in Accounting program.

John is a member of the North Carolina and South Carolina state bars and is a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. He was admitted to the United States Tax Court in 1989. He didn’t try his first case in Tax Court until 1993, but is happy to report, he won. He is also a North Carolina CPA, Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Published Writing

• Co-Author with Emily Leazer, “Collaboration Tools for Lawyers”, 19th Annual North Carolina/South Carolina/Georgia Tax Section Workshops (May, 2020)
• “Business is Terrible: How Can We Keep What We Have?”, 10th Annual North Carolina/South Carolina Tax Section Workshops (May 29, 2011)
• “Health Care Choices for the Disabled are Clouded by Complexity,” October, 2010 Estate Planning Journal (© 2010 Thomson Reuters/RIA)
• "Breaking up is Hard to Do: A Tax Guide to Changing Partners and LLC Members,” 15 Tax Management Real Estate Journal 291 (October 6, 1999)
• Technical Reviewer, STRUCTURING AGREEMENTS FOR TAX SAVINGS, AICPA Continuing Professional Education Course Book (1994)
• “Bankruptcy and Taxes,” 10 Tax Management Real Estate Law Journal (October 5, 1994)
• Co-Author, “Owning Assets in Trust Results in Tax and Non-Tax Benefits,” Estate Planning (September/October 1992)
• “The Living Trust vs. Probate: Which is Right For You,” NCACPA Interim Report (September 1991)

Professional Affiliations

• Gaston County Bar Association
• North Carolina Bar Association
• North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants
• Association for Investment Management and Research
• Graduate Faculty of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Board Certified Specialists in Estate Planning and Probate Law, NC State Board of Legal Specialization

Community Involvement

• YMCA Coach (t-ball, soccer, flag football, and basketball) 2012-
  (John is still working on his first YMCA league championship)