Criminal Law

• Class A felony
  a term of years not less than ten years and not to exceed thirty years, or life imprisonment
• Class B felony
  a term of years not less than five years and not to exceed fifteen years
• Class C felony
  a term of years not to exceed seven years
• Class D felony
  a term of years not to exceed four years
• Class A misdemeanor
  a term not to exceed one year
• Class B misdemeanor
  a term not to exceed six months
• Class C misdemeanor
  a term not to exceed fifteen days

SIS means Suspended Imposition of Sentence. It requires a guilty plea to the charge, and as long as you successfully complete probation there will be no conviction on your record.

SES means Suspended Execution of Sentence. It requires a guilty plea to the charge so you will have a record of a conviction, but the sentence will not be executed.

If you fail to appear in court on your court date, the Judge may issue a warrant for your arrest.

FAQ Estate Planning

A will helps to ensure that your property transfers to a spouse, children, or relatives. A carefully drafted Will allows you to control the disposition of your property (called a probate estate) after your death. A Will provides the probate court with guidance regarding the distribution of your property and the payment of debts.

If you die without a Will, then the State will determine what to do your assets in accordance with the law.

Your estate includes all of the property and cash assets you own at the time of your death, including bank accounts, land, furniture, buildings, cars, stocks and bonds, proceeds of life insurance that are payable to the estate, and pension plan benefits payable to your estate.

Traffic

There will be tickets that have FCC as the court date or 30 days mail in. In order to obtain a court date, you must, plead not guilty, and request a court date. The FCC will send all your documents to the court. You will receive notice from the court of the court date.

You are only eligible to take defensive driving school once every 3 years to keep the points off of your driving record. Some courts will dismiss tickets upon proof of completion of DDS. However, other courts may send in the conviction to the Department of Revenue, but not report the points.

If your driving privileges have been suspended, you need to determine the date you are eligible for reinstatement as well as the requirements to reinstate your driver's license. To get reinstated, there will typically be a reinstatement fee as well as a requirement to maintain SR22 insurance. Depending on the circumstances, it can require a significant amount of time to get all the information required to get your license reinstated. Therefore, it is best to consult with an attorney in order to determine what is necessary to get your driver's license back and valid. It is important to remember that your driver's license will not be valid, until you receive notice from the Department of Revenue of reinstatement.

This is special insurance that is required to be kept on file with DOR after a suspension has been lifted. Sometimes it is required when a driver fails to provide proof of insurance as requested by the Department of Revenue. Typically, there is a time limit which this insurance needs to be kept on file at DOR. This insurance helps DOR keep track of whether or not the driver maintains insurance as required. Failure to maintain this insurance will result in a suspension of driving privileges.

Traffic Cont'd

Points are accumulated against your driver's license as the result of convictions for moving violations and for failure to maintain insurance. If you are unsure whether or not the violation is a point violation, you can contact the Department of Revenue at (573) 751-4475.

Your driver's license will be suspended for an accumulation of points typically as follows:

• 12 points in 12 months
  1 year suspension
• 8 points in 18 months
  30 days suspension first time
  60 days suspension second time
  90 days suspension third and subsequent After license is reinstated points will drop to 4.
• 10 year denial
  3rd DWI, 2 or more refusals to provide a breathalyzer, manslaughter, etc. (additional information can be found at the department of revenue)
• A third conviction for driving while intoxicated can be charged as a felony.

With every year of safe driving, the points on license will be reduced. Administrative actions will not be removed from your driving record. Convictions for point violations such as speeding will come off of your driving record after 3 years.

If you have an intermediate driver's license and you take a conviction, you must wait an additional year after becoming eligible for a permanent license before they will be issued one. Client is eligible for permanent license at 18. Client cannot take a conviction for seatbelt violation because it is against their restrictions. This point varies with courts so you may want to contact DOR to ensure that is still correct.

Worker's Compensation

The Missouri Worker's Compensation Law does not apply to, including:

• Farm laborers
• Domestic servants in a private home
• Occasional labor performed for a private household
• Qualified real estate agents and direct sellers per Section 3508 of Title 26 United States Code
• Unpaid volunteers of a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization who provide services purely on a charitable and voluntary basis
• Certain inmates, patients or residents of the state, county or municipality
• Persons providing services as adjudicators, sports officials, or contest workers for interscholastic activities programs or similar amateur youth programs
Will I be paid for time I miss from work as the result of my work injury?

You may be entitled to temporary total disability if you miss time from work as a result of a work accident or injury. The employer is required to pay an injured worker 66 2/3% of their salary when the employee is taken off work by the treating physician for an accepted case by the employer/insurance company. If the injured worker's claim has been denied and he or she is receiving medical treatment on their own, if the claim later becomes accepted, the employer may owe for the time the employee was taken off work by a physician as a result of the work injury.

What is Permanent Partial Disability and how do I get it?

If you suffer from permanent partial disability as the result of the work injury, then you may be able to receive a lump sum settlement for the nature and extent of the ongoing disability. The lump sum is calculated by applying 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage, which is not to exceed the state maximum for your date of injury.