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Seymour Law Firm, 13524 Seymour Lane, Ocean Springs, MS (2026)

08/26/2026

Nobody Tells You This Until You Need a Lawyer: Your Estate Plan Has Four Legs, Too

We talk a lot about wills.

Who gets the house?
Who gets the bank accounts?
Who handles everything if you become incapacitated?
Who makes medical decisions?

But there may be another member of your family who needs to be in that plan.

The one currently asleep on your couch.

Or barking at the UPS driver.

Or staring at you from the kitchen because dinner was supposed to be served approximately four minutes ago.

Nobody tells you this until you need a lawyer: Your pets need an estate plan, too.

If you die or become unable to care for them, what happens to your dog, cat, turtle, bird, horse—or whatever assortment of creatures currently considers your house theirs?

“One of the kids will take them” is not an estate plan.

Especially when there are three kids and every one of them thought you meant one of the other two.

Your estate planning documents can address things like:

* Who you want to care for your pets.
* Who your backup person should be if the first person cannot do it.
* Whether money should be set aside for their food, veterinary care, medications, grooming and other expenses.
* Instructions about their veterinarian, medications, feeding schedules and special needs.
* What should happen if your preferred caregiver is unavailable.
* How you want multiple bonded pets handled.

And while we’re planning for the future, let’s talk about something particularly important on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Your pets need to be part of your disaster plan, too.

When a hurricane is headed toward the Coast is NOT the time to discover that the hotel you booked doesn’t accept your 85-pound dog.

Or that you can’t find the cat carrier.

Or that the dog’s vaccination records are somewhere in the filing cabinet underneath approximately eleven years of tax returns.

Or that nobody has considered exactly how we’re evacuating three dogs, two cats, four turtles, six ducks and whatever else you’ve accumulated since the last hurricane.

Before hurricane season—or before the next storm—have a plan.

Know where your animals are going.

Keep carriers, leashes and identification accessible. Maintain copies of vaccination and veterinary records. Keep medications and several days of food and water ready. Make sure microchip information and identification tags are current. Decide who is responsible for each animal if your family has to leave quickly.

And please have a backup plan.

Because if there is one thing those of us who live on the Gulf Coast know, it is that disaster plans rarely unfold exactly the way we pictured them.

Estate planning isn’t just about deciding who gets your stuff.

It is about taking care of the people—and creatures—who depend on you.

Your pets cannot call the lawyer.

They cannot read your will.

They cannot explain to your family that they take medication twice a day, refuse to eat the expensive food you bought but happily consume garbage, or sleep every night on the left side of the bed.

That’s your job.

Plan for them while you can.

Because sometimes the smallest provision in an estate plan protects the family member with the biggest place in your heart.

Seymour Law Firm, PLLC

The Little Law Firm on the Bayou

228-697-3476
seymourlawms.com

This post is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice.

08/26/2026

NOBODY TELLS YOU THIS UNTIL YOU NEED A LAWYER…

Nobody tells you this about dying without a Will:
Your family does not get to decide what happens to your stuff just because everybody “knows what you wanted.”

I hear some version of this all the time:

“But Mama always said I was supposed to get the house.”

“Daddy told everybody the truck was mine.”

“She promised her jewelry to the granddaughters.”

“He said I could have the land.”

Wonderful.

Did Mama write it down in a valid Will?

Because Mama saying it at Thanksgiving while passing the dressing is not quite the same thing as an estate plan.

When someone dies without a Will, Mississippi law has its own plan for who inherits.

And Mississippi does not particularly care what Daddy said while y’all were sitting on the porch drinking coffee in 2017.

That is when families discover something else nobody tells you:

Grief and money can make perfectly reasonable people lose their ever-loving minds.

Suddenly, the brother who hasn’t been around in six years has very strong opinions about Mama’s house.

The cousin who visited twice has developed an emotional attachment to the antique china.

Somebody has already taken the lawn mower.

Nobody knows where Daddy’s gun collection went.

And there is ALWAYS somebody who says:

“Well, Mama wanted me to have that.”

Apparently Mama wanted seventeen different people to have the same dining room table.

This is why estate planning isn’t just about deciding who gets your stuff.

It is about leaving instructions so the people you love don’t have to fight about what you meant after you’re gone.

A good estate plan can answer the questions before the family ever has to ask them.

Who handles the estate?

Who gets the house?

Who gets the land?

Who gets the sentimental items?

What happens if a beneficiary dies before you?

What happens if someone is incapacitated?

And, perhaps most importantly:

Who gets to make decisions when you can’t make them yourself?

Because nobody tells you this until you need a lawyer:

“Everybody knows what I want” is not an estate plan.

Put it in writing.

Do it correctly.

And preferably do it before your children are standing in my office arguing over a riding lawn mower and Mama’s Pyrex.

Seymour Law Firm, PLLC
The Little Law Firm on the Bayou

228-697-3476
seymourlawms.com

General information only. Every situation is different. Talk with an attorney about your specific circumstances.

08/25/2026

There are some people who become famous because of their talent.

And then there are people who use that fame to make the world around them a little better.

Dolly Parton has always been both.

Of course, there is the music—the unmistakable voice, the songwriting, the rhinestones, the hair, the humor, and a career that has touched generations.

But what I admire most about Dolly has very little to do with the stage.

It is what she has chosen to do with the platform she was given.

She has invested in her community. She has stepped forward when people needed help.

She has championed early childhood education and put books into the hands of millions of children through her Imagination Library.

She has supported music, education, healthcare, and people facing difficult times.

And she has managed to do something increasingly rare:

She lifts people up without needing to push someone else down.

She reminds us that success isn’t just measured by what we accomplish, what we own, or how many people know our name.

Sometimes the best measure of success is simply this:

What did you do with what you were given?

Who did you help along the way?

Did your community become a little better because you were part of it?

May we all strive to be a little more like Dolly—community-minded, willing to offer a hand to lift someone up rather than push someone down, and committed to giving the next generation a better start through early education, reading, and music.

You don’t have to have Dolly’s money, Dolly’s voice, or Dolly’s hair to make a difference.

You just have to look around, see where you’re needed, and decide to help.

May we all leave our little corner of the world better than we found it.

Thank you, Dolly, for showing us how beautifully that can be done.

08/25/2026

🚨 PRE-SALES OPEN TODAY AT 12:00 PM! 🚨
🐾🎄 THE 8TH ANNUAL PUSHARATAS FOR POSSUMS IS BACK! 🎄🐾
It’s officially time to get those Pusharata orders in — and eat something delicious while helping save Mississippi wildlife!
Pre-sales open TODAY at 12:00 PM!
This year’s 8th Annual Pusharatas for Possums is proudly sponsored by Seymour Law Firm, PLLC and The Demoran Realty Group, with ALL proceeds benefiting Wild at Heart Rescue, Inc. ❤️🐾
📅 Saturday, December 19, 2026
📍 St. Martin Community Center
15008 Lemoyne Boulevard
⏰ 8:00 AM — Pre-Order Pickup
⏰ 9:00 AM — Walk-Ins Begin
🥮 Fresh, hot Pusharatas — $12 per dozen!
🎅 We’ll also have coffee and Letters to Santa, so come enjoy a little Christmas fun while supporting an incredible local rescue!
📣 PRE-ORDERS CLOSE DECEMBER 11!
Every dozen you order helps Wild at Heart Rescue continue rescuing, rehabilitating, feeding, housing, and caring for wildlife that needs a second chance. 🦝🐢🐾
Last year was incredible.
This year, for our 8th Annual Pusharatas for Possums, we want to make it our BIGGEST fundraiser yet.
💚 Eat Pusharatas. Save Critters. It really is that simple.
📞 Questions? 228-697-3476
👇 PRE-SALES OPEN TODAY AT NOON!
Get those dozens ordered before December 11!
https://www.zeffy.com/.../2026-pusharatas-for-possums-pre...
Hosted & Sponsored By:
⚖️ Seymour Law Firm, PLLC
🏠 The Demoran Realty Group
Benefiting:
🐾 Wild at Heart Rescue, Inc.
# at Heart Rescue # Demoran Realty Group 228.382.0455

08/25/2026

🚨 PRE-SALES OPEN TODAY AT 12:00 PM! 🚨

🐾🎄 THE 8TH ANNUAL PUSHARATAS FOR POSSUMS IS BACK! 🎄🐾

It’s officially time to get those Pusharata orders in — and eat something delicious while helping save Mississippi wildlife!

Pre-sales open TODAY at 12:00 PM!

This year’s 8th Annual Pusharatas for Possums is proudly sponsored by Seymour Law Firm, PLLC and The Demoran Realty Group, with ALL proceeds benefiting Wild at Heart Rescue, Inc. ❤️🐾

📅 Saturday, December 19, 2026
📍 St. Martin Community Center
15008 Lemoyne Boulevard

⏰ 8:00 AM — Pre-Order Pickup
⏰ 9:00 AM — Walk-Ins Begin

🥮 Fresh, hot Pusharatas — $12 per dozen!

🎅 We’ll also have coffee and Letters to Santa, so come enjoy a little Christmas fun while supporting an incredible local rescue!

📣 PRE-ORDERS CLOSE DECEMBER 11!

Every dozen you order helps Wild at Heart Rescue continue rescuing, rehabilitating, feeding, housing, and caring for wildlife that needs a second chance. 🦝🐢🐾

Last year was incredible.

This year, for our 8th Annual Pusharatas for Possums, we want to make it our BIGGEST fundraiser yet.

💚 Eat Pusharatas. Save Critters. It really is that simple.

📞 Questions? 228-697-3476

👇 PRE-SALES OPEN TODAY AT NOON!
Get those dozens ordered before December 11!

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-pusharatas-for-possums-pre-order

Hosted & Sponsored By:
⚖️ Seymour Law Firm, PLLC
🏠 The Demoran Realty Group

Benefiting:
🐾 Wild at Heart Rescue, Inc.

# at Heart Rescue Demoran Realty Group 228.382.0455

08/22/2026

NOBODY TELLS YOU THIS UNTIL YOU NEED A LAWYER

Post #5: Powers of Attorney — You Can Wait Until It’s Too Late

Nobody tells you this about Powers of Attorney:

Waiting until someone has lost the capacity to make decisions means you’ve waited too long.

I hear some version of this conversation more often than I’d like:

“Mom isn’t able to handle her finances anymore. We need to get a Power of Attorney.”

Okay.

“Can she understand what she’s signing?”

“Well…no.”

And there it is.

The problem.

A Power of Attorney is something a person signs while they have the legal capacity to understand what they are doing.

Your adult child cannot simply sign one FOR you.

Your spouse cannot create one for you.

Your children cannot have one prepared after you’ve lost capacity and say:

“Don’t worry, Mama. Just sign right here.”

That’s not how this works.

And this is exactly why Powers of Attorney aren’t documents you should wait to think about until somebody is already in the hospital, experiencing significant cognitive decline, or unable to manage their own affairs.

Because by then, the simple solution you thought you had may no longer be available.

And what comes next?

Potentially a conservatorship or guardianship proceeding.

Now instead of privately choosing the person YOU trust to handle your affairs, your family may be headed to court.

There may be pleadings.

Hearings.

Medical evidence.

Attorneys.

Court costs.

All because everyone kept saying:

“We’ll take care of that later.”

Here’s another thing people misunderstand:

Giving someone a Power of Attorney does not necessarily mean you’re giving up control of your life.

You’re planning for the possibility that you may someday need help.

Think about it this way:

You buy homeowners insurance BEFORE the hurricane.

You don’t stand in the front yard after the roof blows off and say:

“Okay, I think I’m ready to get that policy now.”

Estate planning works much the same way.

You prepare while you CAN.

Not after the emergency has already happened.

And Powers of Attorney aren’t just for elderly people.

Accidents happen.

Illness happens.

People travel.

Military deployments happen.

Young adults turn 18.

Life has an impressive ability to become complicated without checking your calendar first.

A good estate plan isn’t only about what happens when you die.

It’s also about answering a very important question:

Who can legally step in and help me if I’m still alive—but I can’t handle things myself?

If you don’t have an answer to that question, now is a much better time to figure it out than during a crisis.

Because sometimes “later” really is too late.

We’d rather you know before there’s a problem.

This post provides general information about Mississippi law and is not legal advice for any particular situation.

08/21/2026

NOBODY TELLS YOU THIS UNTIL YOU NEED A LAWYER

Post #4: Child Support — “But We Agreed…”

Nobody tells you this about child support:

A verbal agreement between parents generally does not change a court order.

And yet, somewhere in Mississippi, somebody is saying:

“But we talked about it.”
“We agreed I could pay less for a while.”
“She said I didn’t have to pay while the kids were staying with me.”
“He told me not to worry about it.”
“We worked it out ourselves.”

That’s nice.

The problem?

THE COURT ORDER DIDN’T CHANGE.

If a Judge signed an order requiring child support, that is what you are generally expected to pay until the court enters a new order.

Not because your ex agrees.
Not because you shook hands.
Not because you texted “okay.”
Not because custody or income changed.
Not because it “made sense” at the kitchen table.

Life changes. And sometimes child support should change.

But there is a critical difference:

“We agreed it should change.”
vs.
“The court changed it.”

Those are not the same thing.

And that difference can get expensive.

Example: You pay less for two years based on an agreement. Everything seems fine—until someone goes back to court and says:

“You still owe the full amount under the order.”

And the response is:

“But we agreed!”

That’s exactly why court orders matter.

The same applies in reverse: an informal agreement does not necessarily change your right to receive support either.

And don’t confuse child support with visitation.

Generally:

• You can’t stop paying support because you aren’t getting visitation.
• You can’t deny visitation because support isn’t being paid.

Those are separate issues.

If circumstances change, the proper solution is to ask the court to modify the order—not rely on informal agreements.

Because “But we agreed…” is a very expensive sentence when it shows up in court after arrears have built up.

If a Judge signed it, it matters.

Because it does.

08/21/2026

I am incredibly humbled and honored to have been nominated for the 2026 Karen Sock Woman of Achievement Award in the Corporate category and to see my name listed alongside such an extraordinary and distinguished group of women.

Thank you to whoever believed enough in me, my work, and my commitment to our community to submit my name for this recognition. I am truly grateful.

This particular award means even more because of the woman whose name it carries.

Karen Sock left a legacy that will extend far beyond her own generation and will continue to inspire future generations of women and business leaders. She was an entrepreneur, a community partner, a leader, and, most importantly, an amazing person who understood that success means so much more when you use it to make your community better.

That is a legacy worth celebrating.

To be considered for an award created in her memory is an honor in itself. And to be included among women who are leading businesses, serving their communities, breaking barriers, mentoring others, and making a difference across the Mississippi Gulf Coast makes it even more special.

Congratulations to every woman nominated. Each name on these lists represents a story of hard work, perseverance, leadership, service, and probably more than a few very long days that nobody else ever saw.

Thank you, Lighthouse Business & Professional Women, for continuing to honor Karen’s memory and for recognizing the women who are working every day to make our communities stronger.

I am sincerely grateful, deeply humbled, and incredibly honored to simply be among them.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/198WqmxHYz/?mibextid=wwXIfr

08/20/2026

NOBODY TELLS YOU THIS UNTIL YOU NEED A LAWYER

Post #3: Getting Married When You Already Own the House

Nobody tells you this about getting married:

“I bought the house before we got married, and it’s only in my name, so my spouse can never have any claim to it.”

Wellllll…

Not necessarily.

And this is where people discover that owning a house before marriage and keeping the deed in your name does not always make the answer as simple as they think.

Generally, property you owned before the marriage begins as your separate property.

But then you get married.

And life happens.

You make mortgage payments during the marriage.

You renovate the kitchen.

You add a bedroom.

You replace the roof.

Your spouse contributes money, labor, or both.

Marital funds may be used to pay debt, make improvements, maintain the property, or increase its value.

Maybe you refinance.

Maybe you add your spouse to the deed.

Maybe you use the house as the marital home for the next twenty years.

And suddenly the answer to:

“But it’s MY house, right?”

can become considerably more complicated.

In a Mississippi divorce, simply pointing at the deed and saying, “See? My name,” does not necessarily end the conversation.

Courts may have to look at when the property was acquired, how it was used during the marriage, whether marital assets were invested in it, whether it was maintained as separate property, and whether the property—or some portion of its value—became subject to equitable distribution.

And here’s the other thing people don’t think about:

DIVORCE ISN’T THE ONLY REASON THIS MATTERS.

What happens if you die?

Owning the house in your name alone does not necessarily mean you can simply ignore your spouse when planning what happens to that property after your death.

Marriage can create inheritance and homestead issues that surprise people—especially when there are children from a previous relationship.

That’s how:

“I want my kids to get my house.”

can turn into:

“Wait. Why does my spouse have rights?”

This is why second marriages, blended families, significant premarital assets, and separately owned real estate deserve some planning BEFORE the wedding.

Sometimes that means a prenuptial agreement.

Sometimes it means estate planning.

Sometimes it means carefully deciding how property should be titled.

Sometimes it means doing absolutely nothing to the deed—but understanding WHY you’re doing nothing.

And sometimes it means sitting down with a lawyer before you say “I do” instead of sitting down with one ten years later saying:

“But I thought…”

Those three words can get expensive.

Marriage changes more than your last name and your Facebook relationship status.

It can change legal rights involving property, inheritance, debt, and what happens when the marriage ends—whether by divorce or death.

If you own substantial property before getting married, find out what marriage may mean for that property BEFORE the wedding.

The flowers will die.

The cake will be eaten.

But that deed may still be sitting in the courthouse twenty years from now.

We’d rather you know before there’s a problem.

Seymour Law Firm, PLLC
The Little Law Firm on the Bayou

This post provides general information about Mississippi law and is not legal advice for any particular situation.

08/20/2026

NOBODY TELLS YOU THIS UNTIL YOU NEED A LAWYER

Post #3: Custody — Congratulations, You May Have Just Created Exhibit A

Nobody tells you this about custody:

What you put in a text message, Facebook post, comment, DM, or email may eventually be printed out, marked as an exhibit, and handed to the Judge.

Yes. Even the one you deleted.

Yes. Even the one you posted at 1:17 a.m.

And yes, even the one you wrote because you were mad, had two glasses of wine, and your best friend said, “Girl, POST IT.”

Girl.

Do not post it.

Custody cases have a remarkable way of turning otherwise perfectly reasonable adults into amateur social-media publicists for the opposing side.

If you are involved in a custody case—or think you may be headed toward one—start looking at everything you put in writing through one very simple lens:

Would I be comfortable with the Judge reading this out loud in a courtroom?

Because I might.

“I hope you never see your kids again.”

Exhibit A.

“You’re not getting them this weekend because I’m pi**ed at you.”

Exhibit B.

A 37-message text tirade beginning with “Let me tell you something…”

Oh, honey.

Exhibits C through whatever letter we finally reach when you run out of steam.

And screenshots are forever.

Deleting the post later doesn’t necessarily mean the other parent didn’t already screenshot it, send it to their lawyer, print it, save it, and lovingly place it in a folder with your name on it.

Here’s another thing people don’t always understand:

You do not have to like your child’s other parent.

You don’t have to be friends.

You don’t have to spend Christmas morning together wearing matching pajamas and drinking cocoa while everyone sings Kumbaya.

But when you’re communicating about your child, act like the Judge is standing over your shoulder.

Keep it short.

Keep it factual.

Keep it about the child.

Don’t threaten.

Don’t insult.

Don’t diagnose the other parent with seventeen psychiatric conditions because you spent forty-five minutes on Google.

Don’t use your child as the messenger.

And please, for the love of all things holy, stop fighting in the Facebook comments.

Social media is not your courtroom.

Your followers are not the jury.

And the angry-face reactions from your friends do not count as legal authority.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your custody case is incredibly simple:

Put the phone down.

Walk away.

Cool off.

Then respond like you know somebody wearing a black robe may eventually read it.

Because they might.

We’d rather you know before there’s a problem.

Seymour Law Firm, PLLC
The Little Law Firm on the Bayou

This post is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice for any particular case.

Seymour Law Firm

08/26/2026

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