Hearing the news that Justice Antonin Scalia died came as a surprise. It made me think of the impact he had – on the nation as a whole and on me. As a young law school student, I was presented with several methods of interpreting the US Constitution. Scalia’s way of explaining his method was […]
One common question clients have is, “How much Estate Tax will I owe?” For most clients, the answer is “None.” As of 2016, the United States Estate Tax Exemption is $5.45 million ($5,450,000) per person. There is portability of the exemption between married couples so married couples effectively have an exemption of $10.90 million. That […]
When one’s estate passes through probate in Missouri, there are a number of fees that the estate will face. There can be (1) bond premiums, (2) cost of publication in a local newspaper, (3) court costs, and the largest expense (4) attorney fees. By statute, Missouri law establishes a minimum fee schedule for estates passes […]
One of the most common instruments I prepare for clients is a Beneficiary Deed. What exactly is a Beneficiary Deed? A Beneficiary Deed, allows an owner of real estate to execute a deed that names a beneficiary who will own the property after the death of the owner without going through probate. During the owner’s […]
Benjamin Franklin said, “but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” We all know that someday we are going to die. In that way, it is completely predictable. Yet, since none of us know precisely when we will, we often feel that death is very unpredictable. Often my […]
Often I have clients schedule an initial consultation to discuss having a Last Will and Testament drafted for them. While I am happy to do this for clients, upon further discussion, most clients realize that what they actually want is something different than a Will. A Will is great for nominating guardians for minor children. […]
In Missouri, each county has a courthouse, but some counties (like Cape Girardeau) have multiple county courthouses, plus a federal courthouse, as well as a municipal court. Here is the contact information for each of these courthouses as well as county courthouses in the surrounding counties. Cape Girardeau County Courthouse Locations Cape Girardeau County Courthouse […]
We have a public system of justice and Missouri has a great way to allow the public to access most court records: Missouri CaseNet (www.courts.mo.gov). CaseNet is Missouri’s online access to public court records. It is available to anyone seeking information on court cases at those courts that are part of CaseNet. From an attorney standpoint, […]
If individuals choose to organize their affairs while they are alive, it is called Estate Planning. If individuals fail to plan while they are alive, then the process to organize their affairs is called Probate. Either way, if an individual has assets, his or estate will be organized by someone. Estate Planning focuses on getting […]
My contact information is: Attorney Mark McMullin Law Office of Mark McMullin 2007 Independence St. Cape Girardeau, MO 63703 573-334-5125 – Office frontdesk@capegira.dal1.hostarmada.net
