Cole County Elder Law Lawyers

Melissa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a member of the Missouri and Illinois Bar Associations. Melissa is a Certified Elder Law Attorney as designated through the National Elder Law Foundation. She is a Board Member of the Missouri Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a member of Elder Counsel, and a member of the Greater St. Charles Chamber of Commerce. Melissa is also a VA-accredited attorney.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Melissa served as the Uptown Coordinator...

Rachel Fortenberry is the founding attorney at Fortified Elder Law. Rachel specializes in protecting her clients' life savings from the nursing home and Medicaid. Rachel also helps clients ensure that they have their affairs in order to ease the burden on their families if they pass away unexpectedly.

Kara N. Ransom is an attorney at Parks & Jones, Attorneys at Law, a law firm of Estate Planning and Elder Law attorneys in Southwest Missouri. We understand the importance of caring for your family in the event of disability and upon passing away.

Cassie Rocha attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2015.  From 2015-2021, Ms. Rocha practiced as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney at the Clay County Prosecutor's Office where she litigated 27 criminal and civil trials and successfully argued a case before the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.  Ms. Rocha is the designated probate attorney for Northland Elder Law and is a member of the Missouri Bar Elder Law Committee, Missouri Bar Estate Planning and Probate Administration Committee, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the Missouri Chapter of the National...

Cameron G. Jones is an attorney at Parks & Jones, Attorneys at Law, a law firm of Estate Planning and Elder Law attorneys in Southwest Missouri. We understand the importance of caring for your family in the event of disability and upon passing away.

I have been an attorney since 1988 and am licensed to practice in Missouri and Illinois. I have been a partner at Rebman, Linhares & Beachem, P.C., since 1998. I have tried a number of cases in State and Federal Court over the years, but the primary focus of my practice is now concentrated in three areas: 1) Estate Planning and Elder Care/Disability Law. I draft traditional estate planning documents such as Revocable Trusts, Wills, and General Durable Power of Attorney documents for financial and health care decisions. I also draft specialized estate planning documents that can help protect assets...

Ken Caldwell is an attorney and former Texas Certified Public Accountant with over twenty-five (25) years of legal, compliance and corporate accounting experience in both domestic and international positions. His prior business and legal experience includes over eight (8) years with a Fortune 50 oil, gas and chemical company, where he concentrated on and provided oversight to internal control evaluation and Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (“FCPA”) compliance for approximately eighty-five (85) worldwide companies. Mr. Caldwell subsequently became a partner in a Nevada law firm where he practiced in the areas of corporate and securities litigation, trademark and copyright protection, business...

. Michael Murphy founded The Murphy Law Firm as a solo practitioner in 1972. He was joined by his sons Mark J. Murphy in 2000, and Timothy J. Murphy in 2003. He is a former Clay County, Missouri, Assistant Prosecutor, former City of Liberty Prosecutor, and former Judge for the City of Pleasant Valley before serving as its City Attorney and Prosecutor. To date, he has litigated more the 50 jury trials to verdict. He has argued cases at every court level, including the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Supreme Court of Kansas. Mike Murphy's legal roots run deep, as...

Samantha L. Shepherd JD, LLM, CELA
Samantha practices exclusively in the areas of Elder Law, Estate Planning and Special Needs Law. She received her undergraduate degree in 1990 from Tulane University in New Orleans, cum laude. She earned her law degree from Boston College Law School and received an LL.M. in Estate Planning from the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
Samantha currently serves on the Board of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and as Chair of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association Trust and Estates Committee. Formerly the Chair of the Missouri Bar Elder Law Committee and past President of...