Straight answers to common legal questions

The firm is located at 100 North Spring Street, Searcy, AR 72143, in the former Plaza Theatre, a 1920s movie theater that has been revitalized and turned into office space.

Based in Searcy, the firm serves White County, Cleburne County, and clients throughout central Arkansas and statewide, including Little Rock, Conway, Cabot, Heber Springs, and Batesville.

Consultations are by appointment. Call the office at 501-268-4420 (toll free 866-930-2441), Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, or complete the online contact form at gibsonlaw.co/contact/. The firm will contact you as soon as your message is received.

The firm reviews your situation, explains your options in plain language and recommends a path forward. If you go ahead, the firm handles the legal work and keeps you informed at every step until your matter is resolved.

A closing attorney is especially valuable if you are purchasing your first home, handling a long-distance transaction, buying a bank-owned or short sale property, purchasing an estate sale property, buying or selling a commercial building, dealing with judgments or liens on the property, or you are concerned something could go wrong with the deal.

The firm handles closings, remote closings, and document preparation and filings for residential and commercial transactions in Searcy and throughout Arkansas.

Yes. Buck C. Gibson, P.A. offers remote closing services, which are especially convenient for out-of-state buyers and eliminate the need to travel to town to sign paperwork at the title office.

Common deeds include warranty deeds, special warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, and beneficiary deeds. Each gives a different level of protection, and the right one depends on the transaction.

Yes, before you sign. A purchase agreement sets the deadlines, contingencies, and costs for both sides, and it is far easier to change terms before signing than to fix a problem afterward.

Often, yes. Arkansas allows a beneficiary deed, which names who receives the property at the owner's death while the owner keeps full control during life.

The firm helps business owners choose and form corporations, S-corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), partnerships, and nonprofits, and handles the necessary paperwork while considering the potential taxation consequences of the entity selection.

Yes. The firm brings over 50 years of combined experience helping clients buy or sell a business and can handle all aspects of the transaction, from drafting purchase agreements to negotiating acquisitions.

The firm advises on employment contracts, lease agreements, noncompete and nondisclosure agreements, independent contractor agreements, purchase and sale contracts, partnership agreements, commercial real estate contracts, and breach of contract matters for small to mid-sized businesses throughout central Arkansas.

The firm educates business owners on asset protection, corporate structure, corporate succession, contracts, commercial real estate matters including lease agreements, insurance, permitting, and working with general and independent contractors.

File a Certificate of Organization with the Arkansas Secretary of State, adopt an operating agreement, obtain a federal tax ID, and set up the company's records and bank account.

Arkansas does not require one to be filed, but a written operating agreement helps show the LLC is separate from its owner and settles what happens if circumstances change.

Yes. An LLC can elect S-corporation tax treatment with the IRS. Whether it saves money depends on profits, so it is worth reviewing with your accountant.

The firm prepares wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and living wills, handles estate administration and probate, represents clients in estate litigation, and assists with charitable giving.

A revocable trust is established during your lifetime and can be modified at any time until your death, at which point it becomes irrevocable. Buck C. Gibson, P.A. assists clients with both revocable and irrevocable trusts.

Yes. A trust can help you avoid probate and eliminate the possibility of will contests or other disputes over your estate, while also allowing the value of your estate to be disbursed over time and assisting in the minimization of estate tax implications.

Beyond outlining how assets pass to your heirs, a will can leave assets to a favorite charity, help avoid estate taxes, or create a testamentary trust for a family member. A will is usually created as part of a larger estate plan that may include a living will, power of attorney, guardianship for minor children, and a trust for a spouse or minor children.

A will names who receives your property, who serves as your executor, and who would care for minor children. It can be simple, or it can leave gifts to charity or create a trust for a family member after your death.

A typical Arkansas will must be signed by the person making it and by two witnesses, under Ark. Code Ann. section 28-25-103.

Arkansas recognizes handwritten (holographic) wills in limited circumstances, but they invite disputes and are no substitute for a properly prepared document.

No. A will takes effect through probate, which is public and usually takes six months to a year in Arkansas. Assets with a named beneficiary, property held in a funded trust, and real estate passed by a beneficiary deed generally transfer outside probate.

A will costs less to set up. A trust costs more but can save probate costs later, and it only controls the assets actually transferred into it. Many Arkansas families use both: a trust for major assets and a pour-over will as a backstop.

Probate may not be necessary at all. Sometimes probate can be completely avoided by using a series of estate planning documents to pass property from one person to another outside of the probate process. Buck C. Gibson, P.A. can help you explore your options.

The process starts with locating all of the decedent's assets, assisting with valuation if necessary, distributing assets to compensate creditors of the estate, and passing the remaining assets to heirs according to the will or, if there is no will, according to Arkansas law.

Your family may need to petition a court for a guardianship to manage your finances or health care, a process that is slower, more costly, and public.

No. A power of attorney ends at death. After that, your will or trust and your personal representative or trustee take over.

Yes. As long as you have capacity, you can revoke it or sign a new one. Let your agent and any institutions holding a copy know.

The firm handles contested and uncontested divorce, child custody and parenting time arrangements, child support establishment, enforcement, and modification under Arkansas guidelines, and spousal support (alimony).

Yes. Whether a divorce is contested or uncontested, the firm's attorneys focus on reaching resolutions in property division, parenting matters, and financial support, and work to make the process as smooth as possible.

Your children's well-being is the top priority. The firm helps parents establish custody and parenting time arrangements that serve the best interests of the child while respecting parental rights, from initial custody determinations to modifications, with courtroom advocacy when needed.

Child support is calculated under Arkansas's child support guidelines. The firm guides clients through those guidelines to ensure accurate calculations, and handles support establishment, enforcement, and modifications as circumstances change.

Spousal support can be one of the most complex and contested parts of a divorce. The firm advocates for arrangements that consider each spouse's financial situation, contributions to the marriage, and future needs, as well as other contributing factors.

Associate Eliza Jennings focuses on family law, including divorce, custody, and child support.

No. An LLC is a legal entity formed under state law. An S-corp is a federal tax election that an LLC or corporation can make with the IRS.

Arkansas LLCs and corporations file an annual franchise tax report with the Secretary of State, due May 1.

Usually yes. A pour-over will catches any assets left outside the trust and names guardians for minor children.

Generally six months from the date the notice to creditors is first published, under Ark. Code Ann. section 28-50-101.

A personal representative appointed by the court, called an executor when named in a will and an administrator when there is no will.