About Prior Law Firm

Robert T. (Bob) Prior, J.D. LL.M and team.

ROBERT T. (Bob) PRIOR, J.D., LL.M, is an experienced and skilled attorney whose practice focuses on estate planning and administration, elder law, business planning and taxation.

Bob was born and raised in Madison and graduated from Morgan County High School. His father was a local lawyer and is a long time Superior Court Judge. His paternal grandfather was a cotton farmer in Morgan County and his maternal grandfather owned a small grocery store and furniture business in Madison. The Prior family cemetery (located in Apalachee) has ancestors dating back to the Revolution.

From high school, Bob received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. Upon graduation from Annapolis in 1986, Bob followed a long family tradition and proudly served his country as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He spent 11 years on active duty as a Marine infantry officer and later as a Judge Advocate General.

Upon leaving the Marine Corps in 1997, Bob returned to Georgia and for the past twenty‑two years has been in private practice. He was the founding partner of the Athens firm Prior, Daniel & Wiltshire, LLC which he formed with his longtime friend and fellow JAG, Michael Daniel. Upon Mr. Daniel’s untimely death in 2018, Bob formed Prior Law Firm to continue his specialty.

Bob specializes in estate and trust planning and administration, elder law, and business and tax planning. Bob takes a unique approach to dealing with his clients and spends time getting to know them and their families on both a professional and personal level. He educates them on the estate planning process and carefully advises them regarding the decisions they need to make to have an effective plan. He uses his education, expertise, and years of experience to ensure that each client and their families have the best possible customized estate plan to meet their needs and objectives.

Bob has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Naval Academy. He graduated as valedictorian (magna cum laude) with a Juris Doctor from Mercer University Law School and as valedictorian (summa cum laude) with a Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Alabama. Bob is a member of WealthCounsel and ElderCounsel, organizations that provide a national professional support network to Estate Planning and Elder Law attorneys. He is also an active member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). NAELA attorneys are experienced and trained in working with the legal problems of aging Americans and individuals of all ages with disabilities.

Bob has been very involved in his community. He served 18 years as a Director at the Bank of Madison, 12 years on the Morgan County Board of Education (4 as chairman), 8 years on the Downtown Development Authority for Madison, as Chairman of the Madison Chamber of Commerce, as a Deacon at Madison Baptist Church, and as a Director of the St. Mary’s Highland Hills Retirement Village.

Bob’s interests include sports, reading, fishing, and traveling. He is married to his high school sweetheart Mary Ann (née Cunningham). They have four wonderful adult children and one grandson, who is their pride and joy.

Bob’s office is located near the Oconee Connector, off of Jennings Mill Road.

Please call us at 706-342-0606 or 706-389-9104 or email us at info@priorlaw.com to start the process.

Attorney Robert T. Prior

C.R. CHISHOLM, JR., J.D., joined Bob’s team to concentrate his practice on estate planning and administration with an emphasis on elder law, including Medicaid trust planning.

After representing the State of Georgia as a prosecutor in the Athens-Clarke County Solicitor-General’s Office for over 20 years, C.R. has now transitioned into the practice of estate planning. Although the two areas of practice are very different, his approach is still the same: to ethically apply the law to protect the people he serves and their property. When working with C.R., you can expect him to get to know you personally, learn what’s important to you, and understand your concerns and goals for your estate plan. Whether it is a will, trust, healthcare directive, power of attorney, or a combination of services, he will develop a plan that not only will achieve your goals, but it will also be convenient to use and will provide you with peace of mind.

If you are seeking an estate plan, it is because you have loved ones and even community causes you care about. Like you, C.R. is invested in his family and community. He and his wife Amy have two sons, Thomas and George, and have been actively engaged in both the Athens-Clarke and Oconee County communities. C.R. served Athens-Clarke County as an Assistant Solicitor for 5 years and as the elected Solicitor-General for 16 years. During his tenure as Solicitor General, he served as the President of the Georgia Association of Solicitors-General, was elected to the State of Georgia’s Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, was awarded Solicitor-General of the Year for 2016 and received the Milner Ball Social Justice Award in 2019. He has previously served as Co-Chair for the Athens-Clarke and Oconee County Domestic Violence Task Force and Chair for the board of the Clarke County Mentor Program, a program for which he has continued to volunteer as a mentor for over 14 years. C.R. also volunteered at Athens-Little League during the 10 years his boys played baseball there and he volunteered for 10 years as an attorney coach for the high school mock trial team at Westminster Christian Academy where his sons attend school. He currently fulfills the DJ responsibilities for Westminster varsity baseball games.

C.R. and his family are active members of Prince Avenue Baptist Church where he has been an usher for over 20 years. He has called Athens home since 1999 and is a native of Charlottesville, Virginia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law.

C.R. Chisholm

NATHANIEL (Nate) VICKERS CHITTICK, J.D., LL.M, joined Bob Prior’s team to focus on estate planning and administration with an emphasis in special needs trusts, business planning, and taxation.

After 25 years of military service, Nate returned to Athens to join Bob’s estate planning team. The son of a University of Georgia professor and a clinical psychologist, Nate was raised to value his community. He took after his maternal grandfather, Marion (Vic) Vickers, who valued fitness, good humor, and ingenuity. Vic fought in the Italian Campaign during WWII and served in Korea before retiring from the Army and later earning a second retirement from Burns Brick Company in Macon, Georgia. Nate followed in Vic’s footsteps, joining the Marine Reserves while attending Emory University. After graduating from Emory, Nate accepted a commission as a Marine infantry officer. He was twice decorated for valor in combat during his two tours in Iraq.

Nate later attended the University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law, in Louisville, Kentucky, where he met his wife, Annie. After graduating, magna cum laude, Nate accepted a commission in the U.S. Army JAG Corps. Nate’s military service took him to Alabama, California, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, as well as Iraq, Morocco, and South Korea. Along the way, he and Annie grew a family of four boys, including one they adopted from South Korea. After 25 years of military service, Nate returned to Athens to join Bob’s estate planning team. He looks for opportunities to contribute to the unique and beloved Athens-area community he always called home.

Nate is licensed to practice law in Georgia and Kentucky. He has a J.D. from the University of Louisville, LL.M. in International and Operational Law from the U.S. Army JAG School, and a LL.M. in Wealth Management from Texas A&M University. Nate was first attracted to Bob’s estate planning practice due to Bob’s emphasis on educating his clients. Nate believes effective estate planning requires insight into an individual’s values and life goals, not just the mechanical distribution of assets after death. He has a mind for numbers and enjoys solving complex business and tax problems. He also has an autistic son, who inspires his passion for special needs trust planning.

You deserve a personal and experienced approach to estate planning. Call 706-389-9104 or 706-342-0606 or email info@priorlaw.com to schedule your consultation today.

 Nate Chittick