PMCW Law

The Law Offices of  Phillips, McElyea, Carpenter & Welch, P.C . have the  best attorneys in the Lake of the Ozarks  area and a top notch support team to help you with most legal issues.  We want to feature the outstanding members of our firm via a series of Blogs where we ask some questions and get some insight on why they went into Law, learn about them as individuals, and feature what they do when they are not at work helping others.  We hope you enjoy this series, and we will feature a different team member every other week. Question - Why did you become a lawyer? Answer -   That is a good question because I almost didn’t become one.   I was in Forestry School at the University of Missouri scheduled to graduate in 1970 and it became apparent to most of us that there were no jobs in that field due to a recession that we were then going through.   I could have accepted a Fellowship in the Department of Plant Physio...

At Phillips, McElyea, Carpenter & Welch, P.C. our real estate lawyers have many years of experience in handling a wide variety of real estate problems and title issues. To better meet your real estate and title needs, we work closely with Phillips & McElyea Land Title, Inc. which provides complete title insurance, escrow and real estate closing services. Title Insurance Land Titling can be complicated and understanding Title insurance can be difficult.  When you purchase Real Estate, you are also purchasing the right to occupy and use the land.  There can be can be claims by others to the land, and the title may limit the usage of the land.  If you are not aware of these limitations or claims, you may not be able to use the land the way you want and this can cause you financial loss.  Title insurance is a protection against these type of problems. Phillips & McElyea Land Title, Inc ., helps provide peace of mind by conducting a thorough and e...

Default Judgments defined A default judgment is a  judgment in favor of the plaintiff based on the failure of the defendant to respond to a law suit or appear in court.  This failure to respond or appear results in the court awarding a default judgment.  The default judgment is relief that is requested by the plaintiff. In other words, if someone files a lawsuit or other legal action against you and you do not respond, you are essentially "forfeiting" the case.  In a civil trial involving damages, the court will likely give the person filing the action the amount they are looking for.  This can be bad for you in several ways: 1) A judgment against you will most likely affect your credit report, and not in a good way! 2) You can have your wages garnished, affecting your employment. 3) You can have your bank account garnished. 4) If you don't have the judgment paid immediately, it earns interest.  This interest can caus...

The Law Offices of  Phillips, McElyea, Carpenter & Welch, P.C . have the  best attorneys in the Lake of the Ozarks  area and a top notch support team to help you with most legal issues.  We want to feature the outstanding members of our firm via a series of Blogs where we ask some questions and get some insight on why they went into Law, learn about them as individuals, and feature what they do when they are not at work helping others.  We hope you enjoy this series, and we will feature a different team member every other week. Question: Why did you become a lawyer? Answer:  As an undergraduate, I had no idea what my career path would be. I was a political science major (with no particular interest in politics). My junior year I had to interview a lawyer for a class assignment and his passion for what he did really had an impact on me. I decided then and there that it was what I wanted to do. Question:   Where did you...

The Law Offices of Phillips, McElyea, Carpenter & Welch, P.C . have the best attorneys in the Lake of the Ozarks area and a top notch support team to help you with most legal issues.  We want to feature the outstanding members of our firm via a series of Blogs where we ask some questions and get some insight on why they went into Law, learn about them as individuals, and feature what they do when they are not at work helping others.  We hope you enjoy this series, and we will feature a different team member every other week. Charles McElyea   Question: Why did you become a lawyer?   Answer:   In Junior High School in Campbell, Mo. we were given an achievement test which also pointed out various occupations that best suited us. One area on my list was the law. At that time I wasn’t really sure what a lawyer did, but it sounded interesting so from that point forward I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. Question:  Where ...

Jury Service:  Hallmark of the American System of Justice Few activities in our civic life provide such a direct contact with our democracy as does jury service. Besides voting, nothing is so active and participatory in nature. In fact, Thomas Jefferson believed that serving on a jury is more important than voting. He said, "I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution." Jury Service during the Trial process In earlier Blogs, we described how jurors are chosen, trials procedures for jurors, and answered some frequently asked questions about Juror service at the Lake of the Ozarks .  In this Blog, the Law Offices of Phillips, McElyea, Carpenter & Welch, P. C. would like to give some further information about the jury deliberation process and what to expect after the verdict.  Information for this Blog was gathered from www.courts.mo.gov . Jury Deliberations ...

Guide to finding helpful information about Missouri laws The Law Offices of Phillips, McElyea, Carpenter & Welch, P.C. would like to provide you with some helpful resources about Missouri law.  These resources are great places to find information about criminal laws, family law, business law, estate planning, and other general Missouri legal information.  If you have any questions about Missouri law, please feel free to contact one of our attorneys by dropping into the office, contacting us through our website at www.PMCWLaw.com or give us a call at (573) 346-7231. The Library of Congress - State of Missouri page   This informative site has several areas that provide information on the Missouri constitution and the 3 branches of Missouri government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial).  http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/states/us-mo.php Missouri Lawyers Media - Missouri Nice website for info on cases, verdicts, opinions, and sp...

Jury Service:  Hallmark of the American System of Justice Few activities in our civic life provide such a direct contact with our democracy as does jury service. Besides voting, nothing is so active and participatory in nature. In fact, Thomas Jefferson believed that serving on a jury is more important than voting. He said, "I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution." Jury Service during the Trial process In an earlier Blog , we described how jurors are chosen, and answered some frequently asked questions about Juror service at the Lake of the Ozarks .  In this Blog, the Law Offices of Phillips, McElyea, Carpenter & Welch, P. C. would like to give some further information about the trial process itself.  Look for future Blogs that will cover Juror conduct during the trial, Jury deliberations, and finally what to expect after the verdict.  Information for th...