Areas of Practice

Stephen G. Bell is a St. Louis-area law firm focused on Business Law, Estate Planning & Probate, Family Law, Personal Injury, Litigation and Real Estate. Review details on these practices below or contact us for more information.

Business Law
Every business needs legal assistance from time to time, from the formation of a business to contract review to purchase/sale. First and foremost, entrepreneurs and companies need to know that they have someone representing them whom they trust, and who will handle the matter for them in both a professional and a cost-effective manner.

We understand the needs of local businesses and provide a personal level of attention, exceptional legal experience, and years of business law expertise.From business formations to business counsel, we work closely with you to develop practical solutions and provide experienced guidance.

 

Our Business Services include:

·       Limited Liability Company (LLC) formation

·       Buy/Sell Agreements

·       Asset Purchase and Stock Sale Contracts

·       Corporation Formation

·       Preparation of Leases

·       Review of Contracts and Leases

·       Non-Compete, Confidentiality, and Non-Disclosure Contracts

·       Employment and Independent Contractor Agreements

·       Corporate Record Maintenance and Compliance

Steve Bell near pillars

Estate Planning & Probate

We approach your estate planning with an unprecedented attention to detail, specifically tailoring your estate plan to avoid the substantial time and expense of Probate Court. We protect your ability to control your own property during your life while providing for minor children or grandchildren upon your death. We protect you in the event of your disability.

In addition, we can administer your estate for your family.


Our Estate Planning & Probate services include:

·       Trust Creation

·       Trust Interpretation

·       Will Creation

·       Trust/Will Contests

·       Durable Powers of Attorney

·       Trust Litigation

·       Administration of Estates and Trusts

·       Probate Litigation

·       Living Wills

·       Healthcare Directives

·       Special Needs Trusts

Family Law

We offer a wide range of family law services. We handle all aspects of divorce, assisting our clients in resolving issues related to child custody, child support, property division, and spousal support. Our goal is to achieve the best results for you and your family. We recognize that most people simply want to reach an amicable agreement on potentially contentious issues in order to move on with their lives.

 

We first try to help you harmoniously deal with your spouse or ex-spouse regarding issues of divorce, child support, child custody, visitation, maintenance, and paternity. However, if you are dealing with an uncooperative spouse, we have the litigation experience that you will need.

 

Our Family Law services include:

·       Dissolution of Marriage

·       Modification of Divorce Judgments

·       Child Support

·       Child Custody

·       Child Visitation

·       Legal Separation

·       Paternity

·       Orders of Protection

·       Prenuptial Agreements

Personal Injury

An unexpected accident can have devastating consequences for you and your family. Often, accidents occur when another person or entity has been negligent.

We are the protectors of your rights as an injured individual. With 40+ years of experience, we can negotiate or litigate even the toughest, most complex injury claims. Whether a car accident has left you unable to return to work or a slip and fall resulted in extensive, costly surgeries, we handle every aspect of your case so you can focus on healing.


Our Personal Injury services include:

·       Auto Accidents

·       Medical Malpractice

·       Slip and Fall Cases

·       Workers’ Compensation

·       Wrongful Death

·       Truck Accidents

Litigation

We are skilled litigators with superior trial skills. We typically advise clients to first seek solutions out of court and, if possible, work toward the negotiation of fair and reasonable resolutions. Cost-effective solutions are most often the best possible outcome for you, so we offer negotiation, arbitration, and mediation services as alternate dispute resolutions.

However, we also know that the matter sometimes cannot be resolved through agreement. So when your rights and best interests are at stake, we tenaciously pursue the matter in court, including pre-trial motions, discovery, settlements, hearings, final trials, and appeals.


Our Litigation services include:

·       Business Litigation

·       Breach of Contract Litigation

·       Ownership Disputes and Dissolutions

·       Payment Disputes

·       Commercial Litigation

·       Enforcement of Non-Compete Agreements

·       Mediation

·       Arbitration

Real Estate

Our goal is to provide the best possible legal advice, responsive service, and clear and concise documentation in a timely manner.


We provide assistance in many areas, providing representation for real estate agents, sellers, purchasers, investors, and owners. In addition, our solid foundation and depth of experience in litigating disputes provides unique and helpful perspective and enables us to solve problems quickly and efficiently.


Our Real Estate services include:

·       Preparation of Contracts

·       Contract Review

·       Easements

·       Homeowners Associations

·       Leases

·       Litigation

·       Title Issues

·       Boundary Disputes

·       Disputes between Owners and Contractors

·       Easements