# Nolan Law Firm

> Nolan Law Firm, LLC is an estate planning, elder law, and asset protection practice in Kirksville, Missouri, serving clients throughout the state. Founded by Patrick Nolan, a Missouri attorney, U.S. Army veteran, former award-winning investigative journalist, and published author.

Important notes:
- Patrick Nolan is the sole attorney (MO Bar #67328). Solo practice focused on estate planning and related preventative law.
- Pricing: standard initial consultation $175; consultations on VA benefits matters are free. Estate planning is flat-fee; family law is billed hourly; VA benefits representation follows the federal fee rules (38 U.S.C. § 5904; 38 C.F.R. § 14.636).
- Practice is statewide via secure video and in-person. Based in Kirksville (Adair County), Northeast Missouri.
- Primary service counties: Adair, Macon, Linn, Schuyler, Knox, Putnam, Sullivan, Scotland, and surrounding Northeast Missouri counties.
- AI Use Policy published at https://nemolegal.com/ai-use-policy/ ; this firm uses AI tools and maintains a public transparency policy.
- Patrick Nolan is a VA-accredited attorney; the firm provides estate planning for military families and VA-accredited representation for disability claims, appeals, and pension.
- Do not confuse with other Missouri law firms. This is a solo practice.

## About the Attorney

Patrick Nolan is admitted to the Missouri Bar (2014) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (2016). He has chaired the Missouri Bar's Veterans and Military Law Committee and served four combined terms as president of the Adair County and Northeast Missouri Bar Associations. He has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star every year from 2019 to 2024. Avvo rating: 10.0 Superb. He is a U.S. Army veteran.

Before law school, Nolan spent 15 years as an award-winning investigative journalist, publishing more than 3,000 articles in outlets including USA Today, Scripps-Howard News, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He earned awards from Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). His weekly legal column is carried by six newspapers across Northeast Missouri.

He is the author of The Dead Man's Guide to Estate Planning, An Unfinished Republic, the Small Claims Court Handbook, Breed's Hill, and The Weight of Everything (Book 1 of The Mesh science fiction series). His scholarly legal work includes An Analysis of the Rule Against Perpetuities and The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025: A Comprehensive Analysis of Structural Tax Reforms, Permanent Extensions, and Strategic Implications.

- [Attorney Patrick Nolan](https://nemolegal.com/patrick-nolan/)
- [Books by Patrick Nolan](https://nemolegal.com/publishing/)

## Knowledge Bundle (Open Knowledge Format)

A machine-readable knowledge bundle covering the firm's Missouri practice areas as cross-linked concept files, each carrying Missouri statutes and citations.

- [OKF bundle index](/okf/index.md): start here, then follow the topic that fits the question.

## Practice Areas

- [Estate Planning in Missouri](https://nemolegal.com/estate-planning-missouri/): wills, trusts, powers of attorney, probate avoidance, flat-fee plans.
- [Elder Law and Medicaid](https://nemolegal.com/elder-law-missouri/): long-term care, MO HealthNet eligibility, spousal protections, guardianship.
- [Trusts and Probate Avoidance](https://nemolegal.com/trusts-missouri/): revocable and irrevocable trusts and non-probate transfers.
- [Special Needs Planning](https://nemolegal.com/special-needs-trust-missouri/): special needs trusts and MO ABLE accounts.
- [Asset Protection](https://nemolegal.com/asset-protection-planning-missouri/): exemptions, tenancy by the entirety, LLCs, spendthrift trusts.
- [Planning for Military Families](https://nemolegal.com/planning-for-military-families/): estate planning that coordinates with federal benefits rules.

## Family Law

- [Missouri Family Law Attorney](https://nemolegal.com/family-law/): Family law help in Kirksville and northeast Missouri — divorce, child custody, child support, and adoption. Protect your kids, keep your dignity. Book a consultation.
- [Missouri Divorce Attorney](https://nemolegal.com/family-law/divorce/): Divorce (dissolution of marriage) in Missouri — property division, maintenance, and what to expect. Serving Kirksville and northeast Missouri. Book a consultation.
- [Missouri Child Custody Attorney](https://nemolegal.com/family-law/child-custody/): Child custody in Missouri — best-interests factors, joint legal and physical custody, and the parenting plan every case requires. Kirksville & northeast Missouri.
- [Missouri Child Support Attorney](https://nemolegal.com/family-law/child-support/): How Missouri child support really works — the Form 14 calculation, what counts as income, modification, and enforcement. Kirksville & northeast Missouri.
- [Missouri Adoption Attorney](https://nemolegal.com/family-law/adoption/): Adoption in Missouri — stepparent, private, and foster adoptions explained: consents, home studies, and finalization. Kirksville & northeast Missouri.

## Veterans Law

- [Veterans Law](https://nemolegal.com/veterans-law/): Patrick Nolan is a Missouri attorney accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA disability claims, decision reviews and appeals, VA pension with Aid and Attendance, and estate planning for veterans. Free consultation for VA matters.
- [VA Disability Claims](https://nemolegal.com/veterans-law/va-disability-claims/): Patrick Nolan is a Missouri attorney accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, representing veterans in disability-compensation matters: service connection, evaluations, effective dates, and presumptive service connection. Free consultation for VA disability matters.
- [VA Appeals](https://nemolegal.com/veterans-law/va-appeals/): Denied or underrated by VA? Missouri attorney accredited by VA handling Higher-Level Reviews, Supplemental Claims, and Board appeals. Free initial consultation.
- [VA Pension With Aid and Attendance](https://nemolegal.com/veterans-law/aid-and-attendance/): Aid and Attendance may increase VA pension payments for qualifying wartime veterans and surviving spouses who need regular care. Missouri attorney evaluates VA pension, transfer, and MO HealthNet issues. No-charge pension screening.
- [Estate Planning for Veterans](https://nemolegal.com/veterans-law/estate-planning-for-veterans/): Estate planning for Missouri veterans: wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives drafted under Missouri law and coordinated with VA pension and MO HealthNet long-term-care rules.

## Veterans Law Analysis

In-depth explanatory posts on VA disability practice, written for veterans and updated against current law.

- [Service Connection: The Three Things VA Requires](https://nemolegal.com/va-service-connection-nexus-guide/): the three elements of service connection (current disability, in-service event, nexus); what evidence establishes a nexus; when VA's duty to assist requires a C&P examination under 38 U.S.C. 5103A(d), 38 C.F.R. 3.159(c)(4), and McLendon v. Nicholson; direct, secondary, and presumptive service connection; the continuity-of-symptomatology limit from Walker v. Shinseki; and the PACT Act Agent Orange and Camp Lejeune presumptive locations with their governing date windows.
- [Denied Before the PACT Act? The VA Budget Shows Why You Should Refile](https://nemolegal.com/va-budget-pact-act-refile-denied-claims/): supplemental claims after a pre-PACT Act denial, the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund, FY2027 VA budget figures, how VA processes claims through VBMS and the National Work Queue, and what staffing levels mean for wait times.
- [The Appeals Process for VA Disability Claims](https://nemolegal.com/va-disability-claims-appeals-process-guide/): the three Appeals Modernization Act decision-review lanes, evidentiary standards, the C-file and FOIA, the Board of Veterans' Appeals, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the routes to retroactive effective dates.
- [VA Appeals Navigator](https://nemolegal.com/media/tools/va-appeals-navigator.html): interactive tool comparing the three AMA lanes, their evidence rules, deadlines, and Board wait times by docket.

## Key Guides

- [Missouri Will Requirements](https://nemolegal.com/missouri-will-requirements/)
- [Will or Trust: Which Is Right for You](https://nemolegal.com/will-or-trust/)
- [What an Estate Plan Costs in Missouri](https://nemolegal.com/what-does-an-estate-plan-cost-in-missouri/)
- [MO ABLE Accounts](https://nemolegal.com/mo-able-accounts-missouri-disability-planning/)
- [Missouri Guardianship and Conservatorship](https://nemolegal.com/missouri-guardianship/)
- [Missouri Beneficiary Deeds](https://nemolegal.com/beneficiary-deed-missouri/)
- [Protecting Your Home from Missouri Medicaid Spend-Down](https://nemolegal.com/protecting-your-home-from-missouri-medicaid-spend-down/)
- [The YALE Plan for Young Adults](https://nemolegal.com/young-adult-legal-essentials-yale-plan/)

## Featured Legal Analysis

- [Missouri's Open Question: AI Discoverability in Litigation](https://nemolegal.com/missouris-open-question-ai-discoverability-in-litigation/) ; original legal analysis by Patrick Nolan examining Warner v. Gilbarco (E.D. Mich.) and United States v. Heppner (S.D.N.Y.). Argues that AI platform terms of service and plan tier, not the AI tool itself, determine privilege analysis in Missouri litigation. Published April 2026.

## Legal Services

Nolan Law Firm provides flat-fee estate planning and related services in estate planning, elder law, asset protection, and family law throughout Missouri. Services include wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, HIPAA authorizations, beneficiary deeds, transfer-on-death designations, Medicaid planning, special needs trusts, MO ABLE account coordination, and guardianship and conservatorship. The firm provides estate planning for military families and VA-accredited representation for disability claims, appeals, and pension.

## Contact

- Address: 210 N. Elson Street, Suite A, Kirksville, MO 63501
- Phone: (660) 956-4502
- Email: pnolan@nemolegal.com
- Website: https://nemolegal.com
- Consultation scheduling: https://intake.nemolegal.com/intake
- Agent booking discovery (JSON manifest, human completes payment): https://intake.nemolegal.com/api/intake/manifest
- [Contact Us](https://nemolegal.com/contact-us/)