EDUCATIONAL PREVIEW — Ty McDuffey is a J.D., not yet licensed in Missouri. Nothing on this site is legal advice. Practice opens 2027.
ELEPHANT ROCK LAW Ty McDuffey · J.D. · Lake of the Ozarks · Dirt Law
The Guides

Plain English.
Free forever.

Everything here is educational — general information about Missouri law, written the way a newspaper would write it, not the way a brochure would. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it creates no attorney-client relationship. It will, at minimum, help you ask any lawyer better questions.

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Tract · Real Estate

Hiring a Lake of the Ozarks real estate attorney

What a lawyer actually does in a Lake deal, when a title company alone is enough, and the five red flags worth a legal read.

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Tract · Construction

Missouri mechanic's lien deadlines + the Lien Clock

The six-month rule, the notices that trip people up, and a free calculator that runs the Chapter 429 clock.

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Tract · Shoreline

Docks, Ameren & shoreline disputes

The 662-foot boundary, the permit every dock needs, the $2,000 enforcement fee, and the transfer trap inside every lakefront closing.

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Tract · Real Estate

Contract for deed in Missouri

The new Contract for Deed Act rules, the old risks that burned buyers for decades, and the checklist for either side.

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Tract · Construction

Contractor not paid in Missouri

Every remedy in order: the lien, the prompt-payment interest, and the contract claim — with the deadline that decides everything.

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Tract · Defense

BWI at Lake of the Ozarks

The no-probable-cause stop, the rocking-dock field tests, what a Class B misdemeanor actually costs, and the Monday-morning checklist.

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Tract · Real Estate / STR

Short-term rental rules at the Lake

The four stacked layers — county zoning, city ordinance, lodging taxes, and the HOA covenants that outrank city hall — owner-side.

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Tract · RE Litigation

Quiet title & boundary disputes

Fixing what the Lake's 1930s plats and quitclaim chains broke — the ten-year rule that moves lines, and the survey-first playbook.

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Statewide Hub · Records

Missouri expungement, all in one place

Eligibility, the petition process, real costs, and what the 2026 Clean Slate law automates — the full statewide hub.

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Article · Just signed

Missouri's new Clean Slate law (SB 1421)

Automatic expungement arrives no later than January 1, 2027. Who it clears — and who still needs a petition.

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In the works

Construction contracts that actually protect the builder · Easement and lake-access disputes · Transfer-on-death deeds · The title-company-vs-attorney question, settled. Join the Launch Letter and you'll hear when they land — along with exactly one email when the practice opens in 2027.