Title: I really, really need help. I am being financially abused, Washington state. (x posting from personalfinance).

Question:
Hello there,

I got a couple of suggestions to post for advice here, so I'm just going to copy and paste my OP. This has been going on for an extended amount of time. He's never been an official "authorized user" on any account. He just steals my cards and I find out about the charges afterwards. He denies it or doesn't remember it a lot of the time. I tried disputing some charges once, but they essentially told me since it was my boyfriend I sorta gave him permission (I caved and said that I did). It's usually for living expenses that he'll pay behind my back for, so I feel stuck because we "need" to spend the money. Sorry if this isn't all clear - it's been a rough morning.

OP:

"I'm sitting in my living room in a daze. I don't know what to do anymore.

I'm trapped.

I have always been responsible. My mother is an emotionally abusive narcissist, but lucky, one of the things she did for me was instill a sense of finances. I had a 740 credit score and only about $4000 of credit card debt (with limits in the range of $50,000 total) when I financed my car two years ago. I had some debt on and off, but I always managed it responsibly. I managed to move myself across the country in 2015. I have (or I guess, had) a 100% payment record.

Just in the short time since then, everything has changed. I met a guy, who I thought would be a great match. He makes his money in social media (I know, not always sustainable long term), and we moved in. Things were going great...so I thought. My roommate situation was changing anyway, so moving in seemed right at the time.

I was working as a server back then, and would notice $20 here or there from my tips would go missing. I wasn't that great about meticulously taking note of how much I had since I always had extra and could always make extra, so I thought that I was just misplacing it.

Then I noticed credit cards missing from my wallet.

Then I noticed mysterious charges.

My boyfriend always straight up denied it...but I knew. I knew something was wrong. I noticed alcohol would also go missing much faster than I could recall anyone drinking.

He uses alcohol to feel better, detaches from reality and blacks out, and spends my (well, not really mine, but the bank's) money. He steals my cards, he lies about what they're being used for.

It's been him...this whole time. This has been going on for a solid 8 months.

He lied to me about paying rent and deliberately discouraged me from speaking with the renting office (he lived there before I moved in, so he always said he'd just go take care of it. I never questioned it because I didn't know how deep this went back then). There is SIX MONTHS of rent on my cards ($2200 a month...so. a lot.).

He got us almost evicted from both apartments we have lived in.

Our last apartment actually sent $5000 of unpaid rent/move out fees to collections.

Guess who was also on the lease?

Me.

So now that's on my credit, too.

He is suffering from PTSD and ADHD and has only recently gotten on medication within the last three months. He does have slips sometimes now, too, which is what prompted me to write this post. It had been getting better...it really was. He's on a business trip right now. He'd been paying our rent and all of the bills. I had been feeling better about everything. When he's medicated, he's a completely different person. We align on a lot of different values (I don't want to have children, I wanted a financially free life where we could travel). Seemed like a perfect match (to note though, I am 27 and he is 23...so there is a bit of an age gap when it comes to responsibility). Again, everything had been getting better. I was finally starting to look ahead to the future instead of feeling trapped in this cycle of debt.

Then I noticed a payment had been declined today on something that should absolutely not have been declined. I finally looked at my bank account for the first time in a month. Negative. My VISA for that institution was maxed out too...and not only that, $400 OVER the limit.

What did I see?

Uber charges.

ATM charges (the two that he and I go to, so not random ones).

Amazon.

Since the last week of September (the 22nd, to be exact), that card alone has increased $2500.

My total CC debt is now up to somewhere $50,000 (too afraid to do the real math). ALL BECAUSE OF HIM. I'm astounded. I'm overwhelmed. Again, I only make like $30,000 a year. This is literally impossible for me to pay off by myself.

I have a $22,000 car loan and about $105,000 student debt (on IBR because I will never have a high paying job, so that payment is less than $150), as well.

I only make about $2500 a month. He makes about $4000-8000 when he decides to actually work and not drink his life away into detachment. I am a music teacher. Not a lot of high income potential there. I always knew I wouldn't make a lot of money, but I didn't care. My plan was to responsibly manage my debt, live within my means, and maintain a high credit score with plenty of room on my cards for emergencies, and I was doing it. I was fine. I had money to splurge once in a while, always responsibly paid my debts, and always have a backup career plan (I have tons of customer service management experience, too).

I don't even know what my score is now. I'm too afraid to look.

All my hard work...gone. All that time being responsible...wasted. I feel trapped because I just can't just make a bunch of money, as I stated. My payment minimums have far exceeded my income. I keep giving him second and third and fourth chances because his income potential is so much higher than mine and he promises me that he's going to fix it...but he keeps putting us (OR MAYBE JUST ME) further into the hole every time he gets sad and decides to have a beer.

I can't just move out...how would I afford an apartment?

What do I do?

Where do I go?

I'm just another trapped woman. Again. How could I be so stupid?

Sorry if this is jumbled...I just don't know where to turn. Please don't emphasize how irresponsible I've been. I tried. I was lied to for 8 months, I know I don't make a lot of money. Where can I even go from here?"

&#x200B;

Answer: Break up with the bastard. Cancel your credit cards and get new ones. Don't let him near you again.


Title: USCIS Help, or 'Give me advice on if and how to screw over my soon to be ex wife'

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >or worsen her chances at getting the conditions of her green card removed

Your can report your crime to USCIS. I'm sure it'll go over well.


Title: NEED HELP ASAP! husbands old job won't give him his check!

Question:
hi everyone. this is in Georgia, USA.

they are not giving him his check. they 'can't find it'. he gave them all the things he needed to give them, they actually gave him a check for one of his 8 hour days. it has been 2 months since he has stopped working there. we called the corporate office and they said that the gas station has the check. we go by there almost daily asking for his check, and still nothing.

personally, I think they're holding it because my husband handled his last day horrible. he tried to call in sick 30 minutes before his shift and they said if he didn't come in then he was fired so he just didn't go in. I don't like how he handled it and I do not condone it. but he still worked there for a month and never got a check besides that 8 hour one. can anyone please give us some advice about this? maybe some terms we can use to scare the gas station into giving us the check.

we just don't want to take them to court or anything, we would spend more money in court costs then the actual check is worth, but we don't want to just lose 300+ dollars! we really need that money and this whole thing is so stressful :( if anyone needs anymore details I can provide more.

Answer: File an unpaid wage complaint with the Georgia Dept of Labor.


Title: Google is facing a class action lawsuit for tracking Incognito data. I use Incognito very frequently. How do I join the lawsuit to get the settlement money?

Question: I saw an [article](https://nationalinterest.org/blog/techland/do-you-use-google-chrome%E2%80%99s-incognito-mode-you-may-be-eligible-5k-160556) titled "**Do You Use Google Chrome’s Incognito Mode? You May Be Eligible for $5K.**" A [lawsuit in California](https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/5:2020cv03640/360315) is seeking damages for Google's behavior in collecting information about browsing history in Incognito mode, which clearly states that it will not be kept. The article says that victims can get $5000 as part of the settlement. I am 18 and have never been involved in lawsuits or anything legal. Do I need to talk to an attorney to get involved?

Answer:
 You don't "join."  If there is a settlement (which there isn't yet; don't know where the $5k came from) then you will either be notified or notices will be posted in the media about how to submit a claim.Answer #2: standard clickbait "article"

there is nothing for you to do. in the massive longshot that there actually is a settlement you would be notified to sign up as a member of the class then the money gets distributed to the eligible members. 5K is pulled completely out of their ass. Close to 0% chance that happens


Title: [FL] Going to loose health insurance because BMI is too high

Question:
I work in IT for a fortune 400. I don't know if this policy applies equally across the company.

Just received notice that we have until the end of Jan to get a physical (no biggie) and that the doctor must report our BMI and if its over "20" then we will loose all health benefits. If our BMI is over "20", we must have a waist no larger than 35.

Well, I have crohns and my BMI is 26 for my height/weight. (5'7, 171). I asked HR if there medical exemptions and I was told there are not and I should work on loosing 40 lbs within 30 days of my physical.

Is this legal?

Answer: If this is a fortune 400, it surely has at least 50 employees. Under the ACA, employers with at least 50 employees have to offer group health insurance. I am reasonably certain there is not an exemption for overweight employees (and of course, merely over 20 bmi isn't overweight).


Title: Ex-fiancé refuses to pay for rent over the past year.

Question: (SC) I recently broke things off with my fiancé and she is trying to get me to pay for everything from the wedding that was already mostly paid for. I don't have an issue paying for what I actually owe but my question is this. She was on my lease for the last year and never paid anything towards the rent. Now she was in Florida (her state of residency) for about 8 of the 12 months. Since she is attempting to get about 10k from me I was wondering if there was anyway I could have her pay for those 12 months of rent. Come out to around 5.5k. She recently said that since she could prove she wasn't there she could get out of it. I am a PA resident but was active duty military in SC during that time. (I am on terminal leave and have no access to the base legal office at this time)

Answer:
 If you were both jointly on the lease and you can demonstrate that you agreed to split the rent equally, you can take her to small claims court to recover the money you're out.

The fact that you haven't already taken her to small claims court and [by your narrative] are interested in getting the money back because she's trying to collect money from you isn't really helping your argument/case here.Answer #2: Don't do this. You didn't have any agreement that she would pay. I am assuming you lived as husband/wife and expenses were shared across the board. Even if you were the only earner, she committed herself and her works to the home. You can't go back and demand rent from someone you never asked for rent from out of spite. Answer #3: Am wondering if everything was alright?

Or was it an afterthought?


Title: Scammed people on Backpage pretending to be an escort. Am in for a world of hurt?

Question:
A few days ago I was bored and was browsing escort ads on backpage.

More than half of the ads are obviously fake and most of them asked for a deposit transferred via interact e-transfer (a Canadian electronic money transfer, you don’t straight up wire to someone’s account, money goes to 3rd party account then deposited into the receivers. Can’t see bank account numbers etc). I laughed at how obvious this scam was.

So I tried it out.

I went to another cities backpage escort section, pretty much copied the ads and made a few burner emails as well as grabbing a few texting apps to get burner phone numbers and posted the ads.

and boy did it work.

Within moments guys started messaging me (some of the requests were pretty terrible. One guy had hiv and wanted bareback full sex - no condom) some backed out when I mentioned a small deposit, but some didn’t. Some sent their addresses and even pictures (drivers licenses wtf) instead of the deposit. But some sent money, I had them send the e-transfer to my fake email and then changed my e-transfer public name to whatever persona I was using (as far as I understand it and witnessed it, all that’s shown is your name - fake one I changed it to - and that you accepted it). One requirement on etransfer is that there’s a security question to make the transfer safer (you can’t reverse them). I’d get the guy to make the question really sexual as well as the password equally so (which he gave me via text).

They’d send the etransfer notification to my burner emails and I’d accept it, deposit it, burn the texting app number and abandon the email. Then repeat.

I did this about 4 times and got a couple hundred dollars.

But it seemed TOO easy. I reasoned that these men won’t go to the police (obvious self-incrimination) or their banks (how do you say it was fraudulent when you gave them the password and then what’s with the sex proposition questions sir?). It’s technically possible to track me down, but if they never report it... then what?

I stopped because it’s just too easy, too scummy and I actually feel terrible after it all. I can’t even return the money.

I may still get caught. It’d fuck my life up. But if I am I deserve it.

So now I’m paranoid. Always conscious of what I did and that I wronged people - some did sound pretty reprehensible, like hiv guy. But I still wronged them.

Not worth it.

I know there’s aaaa lot of charges a creative judge can throw at me. I am seriously just going to the police and admitting it all.

In short how fucked am I?

Answer:
 Legally: it's fraud you dope, and while the fear of being prosecuted for soliciting prostitution may stop your smarter "clients" from calling the police, eventually someone's going to be dumb (or ballsy) enough to call this in.

Not legally: it's technically possible for your victims to track you down and inflict extrajudicial punishments, which is what I'd be more concerned about in your shoes. I hope you have spare kneecaps.Answer #2: dont turn yourself in for the love of godAnswer #3: Take a deep breath. I don't know how long ago this was but it's obviously fraud at least here in the states.

Despite this I would say the chances of anything happening to you given the circumstances are extremely low. Keep your head down and don't do this again. You'll probably be fine.

If the police contact you don't say anything until you have an attorney.Answer #4: You will probably spend at least a couple years behind bars and a few more on probation. Lay low and don’t talk to anyone about this without an attorney present.


Title: Driver claiming against me in cycle collision

Question:
While I was cycling (pedal bike not motor bike) I accidentally scraped down the side of a girl's car which was my fault. The damage estimate is $3000, which seems a lot for a scrape though I was told that even repairing a small scrape can be a costly job.

The girl says she will be claiming the cost of repair from me. I didn't have any cycle insurance that might have covered me so without that, does this mean her intention is suing me? State:CA

Answer: Yes.  She will inform her insurance company, who will sue you if you don't have insurance that covers this incident.Answer #2: She won't have to sue you if you do the right thing and pay for the damage you caused.


Title: I don't know why I decided to ask here, but I figured some of you might have good advice for me. What is the best way to drop off the grid? I think there is someone watching me, and I need to go completely dark with no trace. I need to get rid of everything, even my identity. How can I do this?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 Everyone else here is right.  Especially about checking your carbon monoxide detector.

For the sake of answering the stated question, however, "dropping off the grid" is not inherently illegal or particularly difficult.  You can do things all day long that don't require that you don't disclose your identity.  You can buy a Greyhound bus ticket or hitchhike or walk.  You can stay in low rent hotels that don't ask to see an ID.

What is a bit more difficult is earning money without establishing your identity.  Even when you can do it (working odd jobs for cash) you are likely committing income tax evasion when you don't ultimately report and pay taxes on that income.  At least assuming you earn enough to be required to declare it, which either you do or you're reduced to an extremely low level of existence.  Answer #2: You're going to throw your life away because you think, not know, someone is watching you? If someone is actually watching you to the point you think this is necessary file a police report.


Title: Denied police job for a criminal record I don't have.

Question: I recently applied to be a police officer at a department in the state of Texas. I had done well in all the written and physical tests, but received a letter in the mail today stating I had been disqualified for "having been convicted of a class A or class B misdemeanor in the past 10 years OR having an ongoing criminal investigation". I can say with certainainty that neither of these are true. At this point my main issue is Police Departments share background investigations with each other, so not only am I being penalized in applying for this department, but all others in the state of Texas as well until this is resolved. I have tried getting in contact with my background investigator about the issue and have recieved nothing back. What should my next step be?

Answer:
 You can file an open records request with the department, to see if that gets you anywhere. As an applicant, I doubt you have rights to a hearing.

The letter you described sounds like a form letter. Odds are the department found something in your background they didn't like, and that could extend to your activities in high school and college. Even if you never had a negative interaction with police, there could be a note in your file from school.

Also, consider running a background check on yourself to see if anyone with a similar name can be confused with you.


Title: Apparently I didn't stop for a school bus?

Question:
Hi, lawyers.

I just got a truly dire letter in the mail - apparently, "a vehicle currently registered in (my) name was observed violating Statute "FAILURE TO STOP FOR SCHOOL BUS."

Obviously, this is horrifying, I feel horrible. It's absolutely plausible that this was me; I am a teacher, this was around school-leaving time, and it was certainly my Beetle. The form has I guess a place for me to explain myself - my only excuse is that I have absolutely no recollection of this happening. How does that shake out, legally?

Certainly I've seen school buses in the neighborhood, but I know the law; I'm a teacher, for God's sake, I adore kids (mostly), I'd never intentionally FAIL TO STOP. But I guess I did - my theory is that the camera on board caught me doing it? I just have absolutely no memory of the incident, and there's nothing enclosed other than the address and time where I apparently violated the law. I was dead sober and have a totally clean driving record (I'm 26). (Edit: this is in St. Paul, Minnesota.)

I am super sorry, but I am also, being a teacher, super broke. I'm not sure what I can say that might make them forgive me. What's going to happen here??

Answer:
 What, exactly, did you receive in the mail?

Is it a traffic citation?  Or is it just an ominous letter?

Who is it from?  Your local police department, or somebody else?


Title: Friend was charged with trafficking more than 400G of cocaine in South Carolina. What can he expect?

Question: As the title states a friend was charged with trafficking 400g of cocaine. I believe it may be two of those charges. He has no prior criminal history. What can he expect? Thank you.

Answer: Trafficking 400g or more of cocaine in South Carolina is punishable by 25-30 years in prison and a $200,000 fine, if convicted.


Title: [Cali] Is my teacher allowed to do this?

Question:
So today was my last day of high school and as I was walking out I decided to let out a cloud with my juul. Next thing I know I get grabbed by a teacher and my juul is taken. He calls my parents and takes my juul. Now he wants to fine me for this and he also still has my juul. Is there any way that I can get it back and is he legally allowed to fine me? It was outside of the school and school was over.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer: Teachers probably can’t fine you, but tobacco on school property is almost certainly prohibited.  If you are under 18 you also committed a crime of possession of tobacco.  The school can absolutely refuse to give the vapeing thing back to you, though they would likely need to give it to your parents.


Title: Asked to register for Selective Service...again.

Question:
I already registered for selective service a year ago when I turned 18. I just got a letter saying I did not register-what should I do? Is this a scam or something?

I live in Pennsylvania and I am 19 years of age.

Edit: I have the little card thing that says I am registered.

Answer:
 I got a similar letter even after

A) I had already registered; and

B) Was actually on active duty in the military at the time

Sometimes the database makes a small mistake. Just [look up your registration number](https://www.sss.gov/Registration/Check-a-Registration/Verification-Form) online, and reply back to the number listed on the letter. Answer #2: Just call and double check.  Probably a glitch.  But, do get it sorted, either way.  Failing to properly register can bar you from federal employment.  I panicked when I saw that, because I honestly could not remember if I had done it 20 years prior.  That said, it is easy to check online, as well.Answer #3: If you have the registration card, then simply contact the Selective Service people and tell them that.


Title: (Washington, DC) My co-worker filmed me through the door window in my office. Is that legal?

Question:
Hey folks, thanks in advance for your advice. Here's my story.

So I work as a contractor in a government building in Washington, D.C. Because our group got the contract instead of someone else's, there's some tension between us and those employed directly by the government. Recently, one of the GS (government) employees stood outside of my office to film me 'not doing my job'. He stood just outside the door and used his phone to record a video.

Most of the information I'm seeing on the internet is that most video recordings are legal, but that audio requires one-party consent (which would have been given by him). I was wondering if the government setting might have changed things, but I'm not sure. Can you guys shed some light on the situation? Thanks!

edit- thanks for the replies, everyone. I've told my (contractor) boss and she plans on bringing it up to the head of our dept (on the GS side). Important to note that he's not in charge of the contract, but those that **are** in charge are big fans of ours.

Answer: While it is legal, I wonder if it might not run afoul of workplace harassment laws...


Title: [Nevada] Car dealership is withholding my car and will not give me the monetary value that they appraised my car for.

Question:
Last Thursday I purchased a car from a dealer. It was a 2010 dodge ram 3500. I test drove it and loved the truck. I traded my 2010 Jeep wrangler for a down payment. I signed the papers at around 9:00 pm. I drove off the lot and was heading home when I hit a bump. After hitting the bump the vehicle suffered from what is refereed to as death wobble. I had to come to a dead stop on the freeway almost got in an accident because of it. I immediately contacted the sales rep and informed him of what happened.

Following the sales reps orders I came in the following days after work and told the head mechanic what happened. He told me that there was no death wobble in the 5 days that he drove and asked multiple times if I know what I was talking about. I informed him that I am a ASE certified diesel mechanic and would like him to just look at it and see if his guys could find anything wrong with it.

About 20 minutes later I get the truck back he apologizes and says that they fixed the issues. As I am leaving the lot again I hit a bump and the issue is still there. I immediately return but the mechanics are gone for the weekend. This is all under 24 hours of owing the vehicle. I requested that they void the contract and unwind the deal. They refused to do so. They say they can not give me my car back and they cant give me the money they valued the car at. Im really at a loss of what to do I am meeting with an attorney this afternoon and plan on filing a complaint with the OBL. Im just looking for some extra advice on how to go about it because I am so stressed from this situation Im having to take time off work to try and get this figured out and could use all the help I could get. Thanks in advance.

TL;DR: Traded my car in for a truck, truck has a saftey issue. Notified the dealer of the issues within 30 minutes of signing the papers. They wont fix the truck, wont give me my car back and wont give me the cash value for the car.

Answer:
 How did you get here:
 >They wont fix the truck

 from here?:

 >About 20 minutes later I get the truck back he apologizes and says that they fixed the issues. As I am leaving the lot again I hit a bump and the issue is still there. **I immediately return but the mechanics are gone for the weekend**.

 What happened when you again consulted the mechanics after they returned to work?


Title: NYC AirBNB - Landlord (not living in apt) airbnb'ing rooms in my apt while he tries to sell it

Question:
Reddit friends -
I have been living in a Brooklyn apartment (the building is a *co-op*) since March 2017, month to month lease. In September 2017 my landlord decided to sell the unit, and said we could stay in the apartment until he sold it or move with 30 days notice. My two roommates have moved out but I remained as I was under the impression I could stay if someone bought it that wanted to continue renting it out (found out today from realtor that co-op rules wont allow for that but landlord never mentioned it in our convos). Apartment isn't selling because it's overpriced and spatially a bit awkward (but beautiful IMO, I love it).

In the past week things have gotten weird. My landlord's father (grandlord/landpa as I am calling him) has shown up to the place a few times unannounced to clean, and most recently, add furniture. I kept asking him what was going on and he initially said *he* was moving in and that *some friends of his* were going to stay in the apartment. This weirded me the f* out and I called my landlord to complain and say I wasn't comfortable with it and wanted out by the end of the month. Landlord said I would be forfeiting my deposit if I tried to do that, because it wouldn't be a full 30 days.

Fast forward four days and grandlord has returned to continue cleaning and add a ton of ugly paintings. An hour ago I decided to check my intuition on Airbnb and lo-and-behold the two rooms were there.

There are four violations I see: 1) Entry without consent; 2) Airbnb without living there; 3) Airbnb without the consent of current tenants; 4) Airbnb in co-op is against the co-op rules / hasn't been passed by the board.

I am confident I can find a new place by the end of the month but don't want to lose my deposit. Wondering if I have any additional legal reprise against landlord for when I confront him about it this week.

Thank you!

Answer: Are you renting the whole apt or just a room?Answer #2: If you are only renting out a room, then there is no legal issue here as far as you are concerned.  The landlord has the right to enter the apartment, and the other rooms, without your consent.  He may be violating city laws or co-op rules by listing the place on AirBnB, but that has nothing to do with you.


Title: [Georgia] American Airlines deleted half of my sons round trip in error, still charged me and sold the seat to someone else. Didn't find out until we got to the check-in counter.

Question:
Edit: step son, not son in law

Edit #2: booking agent was a customer service representative of the airline

I'm traveling with my wife, father, and step son to Hawaii for vacation. We get to the airport today and find out when we attempt to checkin that my step son has no ticket on record, and his record locator doesn't exist anymore, despite having an email with the seat assignment for him, and all of the details for the flight.

After about an hour of them trying to figure out what's going on, the customer service agent informs us that the booking agent with whom we booked the ticket with via phone accidentally deleted our sons outgoing fights, but kept his return trip. We were still charged for the entire trip.

Initially they tell us that the flight is sold out, but they were eventually able to issue him a ticket for the outgoing flight, except the flight was 20 minutes from taking off at that point and they could not allow us to check our bags.

The only thing they would offer was to rebook a route with a ton of layovers, the first one 650 miles away and not even closer to our destination. We're now in the process of 24 hours of traveling, either in an airport or on an aircraft. We're losing out on a day at our resort, and the cost of two rental cars for a day.

They offered to break the flights up so we would fly to the west coast today and then fly out to Hawaii the next morning, but refused to pay for the hotel on the west coast, which was ridiculously expensive when I checked.

Everyone we have called or talked to in person pretty much just tells us we should be happy that they rebooked us.

I feel powerless and feel like there should be some type of compensation for this. I specifically chose the flights that I did to ease the travel on my father who has health issues. I would have never paid what I did for the trip we now have.

Do I have any legal recourse here?

Answer:
 Unfortunately probably not. Your SIL *may* have some recourse (unlikely though) but as far as the airline and the law is concerned the rest of you voluntarily incurred the expenses you have by skipping out on the flights you had tickets for to stay back with SIL. Answer #2: Best bet is to file a DOT complaint and see if this falls under any sort of compensation you may be entitled to. However, I'm guessing only the stepson would be entitled to it as the other three people "voluntarily" chose not to travel on the original flights.

Also, I have to ask why you didn't check-in online or at least double check your reservation online in the days before going to the airport. I feel like that would have saved you from this whole ordeal.

As a side note, your reservation number is different from your ticket number. Even if you cancel your reservation, the ticket number generally stays active for up to a year, while the reservation number is deleted.Answer #3: File with the DOT. The airline is legally required to respond within a certain # of weeks. Answer #4: If you booked the flights with a credit card, see if the card includes travel insurance. This would fall under "trip interruption" and you would be able to submit your expenses for reimbursement.


Title: Pennsylvania wants to charge me $600 because I changed car insurance and apparently had to inform the state (first I'm hearing of this)

Question:
http://imgur.com/a/QbPrF

Do you think if I just send proof of insurance now I'll avoid the $558 fine? To be clear I changed to Geico the same day I quit Esurance, I guess Geico just didn't inform the state

Answer: So you just didn't respond when they requested you prove you had insurance coverage?


Title: In-laws died in June, mortgage company is threatening to foreclose on their house and throwing on massive late fees

Question:
Hello. So both my in laws passed away in June. At the time they had a mortgage they were paying, which was fully up to date at the time of their passing (even paid through July).

There is no one else’s name on the house, just theirs, though it was left to us in a will. We called to mortgage company to let them know that it was going through probate so there was no one alive legally responsible to pay it, and we planned on selling the house once we were legally allowed to do so.

They came back and said that was sad and all but someone needs to pay it. We obviously can’t afford a surprise $2700/ month payment right now. They were unwilling to work with us in any way.

Yesterday we got a letter addressed to my in laws (not the estate of, them) saying that if we didn’t pay the mortgage up to date they would foreclose on the house. Not only is August and September’s mortgage due, but they slapped about $1000 in fees on for delinquent payment.

As far as I know, right now there isn’t anyone responsible for this until it goes through probate and is inherited by us. However I’m worried that with probate taking as long as it does (we aren’t even being named executors of the estate until December) that they will come take the house from us or just continue with these horrific $1000 late fees.

Just paying it isn’t an option. We weren’t really expecting this financially so budgeting for a $2k mortgage when we have our own house and bills is rough.

what can we do?

Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 The executor of the estate needs to pay the estates bills. They may need to sell off assets to do that. If the mortgage can't be covered they could put the house up for sale or surrender it to the bank.

At this point the house being willed to you is irrelevant, the estate needs to cover its debts before assets can be distrubuted.

Edit In MA you have a 'Personal Representative to the Estate' rather than calling them the executor. This possition can be created on the next court day as part of starting the probate process.


Title: Someone is threatening to pursue legal action against my YouTube channels name.. what do I do?

Question: I am located in the US. I have a YouTube channel that I run for fun with 2000 subscribers, and I thought of a catchy name for the channel I've used for seven months. Today someone messaged me on Facebook demanding I change the name of my channel because his company owns the trademark for those words. If I do not he will pursue legal actions. I do not want to be sued over a stupid YouTube channel name, what can I do, and am I really entitled to change the channels name? Thank you in advance

Answer:
 Your post doesn't really contain enough info for anyone to determine if you are violating someone's trademark or not.  A lot of the answer would be determined based on whether or not it is being used in a similar field or if a reasonable person could misconstrue your thing as the trademark owner's thing.

[Here](https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/BasicFacts.pdf) is a PDF from the US Patents and Trademarks Office, which contains a good amount of information.  Skim through and see if you think it applies to you or not.  If it is close, maybe consider changing it.  If not, don't worry about it unless something meaningful comes from this.

YouTube has a pretty strong DMCA/trademark claims process, so the fact that this person hasn't even done that makes me suspect they are just blowing smoke.  I wouldn't reply to anything that isn't a mailed letter or formal claim.  Facebook messages just don't mean all that much.Answer #2: Did you verify that the person contacting you has a federally-registered trademark for those words?  If so, what areas of commerce is it limited to?  Is there any similarity between the goods & services that they offer and the content of your videos?


Title: got my wisdom teeth removed 2 weeks ago.. coughed this tooth out 2 days ago. What do I do now?

Question:
I had 4 wisdom teeth surgically removed about 2 weeks ago.  Ever since that day I had been coughing and wheezing, and had even ran a little fever. My mom made me promise I would take myself to the doctor today if I wasn't any better by Monday (today). However.. on Saturday, while at home alone with my 2 young children, I started to cough until I was literally gasping for air when all the sudden this.. almost half of a tooth shoots into my mouth. So.. during my dental procedure I aspirated a large portion of tooth. The dental professionals never notified me of any of this. I went to the doctor today for chest x-rays to confirm there was no more foreign bodies in my lungs.

I feel as though I have been wronged and don't really know what to do now. Can any one give me a little advice here?
Edit: I live and had the procedure in Louisiana.
Edit 2: picture of the tooth   http://imgur.com/ZmBXktZ

Answer:
 That is impressive, you coughed that up? It looks like a whole tooth! Anyway, I'd contact the dental office where you had the procedure and let them know what happened, and ask if there is anything else regarding the procedure you need to know about. Ask if they will cover the cost of the chest x-rays you had to have as a result. If they refuse, you may to consult a medical malpractice attorney in your area.

The thing you have to prove in a med mal case is that the dentist acted unreasonably and did something outside of the regular professional standards for the procedure. For example, if the tooth just slipped out and he couldn't retrieve it, well shit happens sometimes but it doesn't make it malpractice. For example, if he tried to use a ballpoint pen to grab it instead of a dental tool, and the tooth would not have slipped if he used the proper tool, and there was some way to retrieve it and he failed to do so, then that may be malpractice. However, you need to have damages to make such a suit worthwhile - and the cost for having to get a few xrays may not be worth the cost and hassle of a suit to you.


Title: Rental Car Company Tells Me the Wrong Fuel to Use. Where Do I Stand?

Question:
Hi there, so this is a bit of a story, but I'll try and keep it brief.

So, I'm from the UK and I was over in the states for a 3 week camping trip, which I just returned from.

We would be doing quite a lot of driving, so I hired a car, under the impression that it was a diesel (which would be more fuel efficient given the distance we'd be covering).

I arrived at the rental company (sixt) and I was informed that they didn't have the car I wanted, but they had another.  I asked if it was still an SUV and still a diesel to which the teenager behind the counter responded "uh huh".  Now, I'm Scottish, and if spending anytime in the states has taught me anything, it's that people can hardly understand a word that I say.  With that in mind however, I reason that anyone who has to deal with issues of any kind of importance would have the sense to ask for clarification if they don't understand a question.  I guess I was wrong.

So, after a few hundred miles, we're running out of fuel, so I pull into the nearest gas station.  I hop out to the diesel pump and go to fuel up, but the nozzle doesn't fit properly.  Me and my girlfriend discuss it for a few moments, and I go inside to ask the attendant if she's encountered this before.  She hasn't.  So I go back, we speak for a few minutes and notice that there's a lot of trucks around and decide that our pumping station must be for trucks, with bigger holes for the nozzle (in retrospect, this was pretty silly, but I have literally never encountered such a thing, and being sure that the vehicle was a diesel, that seemed the best option).  So I fuel up and we set off on our merry way... for about 5 miles, then the engine starts rattling and I know something is wrong.  I pull over and having a bit of mechanical knowledge figure that it must be the fuel.  So I check everywhere, fuel tank, documents, everywhere that I can think of looking for a sticker that tells me what kind of fuel to use and there's not one to be found.  Finally, I crack the bonnet and see the engine cover reads GDi (Gasoline Direct injection).  I politely phone the company, tell them what has happened and they send out a new car.

Now comes the fun part of trying to get my $1000 dollar deposit back.  So, just before I drop off the car, I call them and read them off my rental agreement.  The girl on the phone then asks me to confirm that I'm (insert girlfriends name).  I tell them no, that it was me who rented the car and my lass is the second driver.  Then I look closer at my rental agreement and guess what? My girlfriend is the renter AND the second driver, with me being the signatory.  I get a bit annoyed, and ask the girl if I'm even insured to drive  this car, she ducks the question and tell me that it'll be sorted out when we return the car (it wasn't).

So, my questions are:

How good a chance do I stand of getting back my deposit, given that the type of fuel was wrongly confirmed to me at the time of renting?

Is the agreement with the company even valid, given that I signed the document, but my girlfriend is written as the hirer?

Answer: How did you get the fuel in the vehicle if the nozzle didn't fit? It's designed that way so **you don't do the thing that you did**.


Title: [SC] How do I either force a titled vehicle owner to remove his vehicles from my land or claim them for myself?

Question: I'm a landlord with rental houses and am familiar with evicting tenants from houses but am now in new territory. I own land that I bought at a foreclosure sale with a livable singlewide mobile home on it that I do not own. The mobile home owner also has about 10 unlicensed cars on my land that were also on the land before I bought it at the foreclosure sale. How do I force him to remove them or, if he will not do so, claim them for myself?

Answer:
 - Contact the owner, and ask him to remove them by a reasonable date.

- If he fails to remove them, call a tow company and have them take the vehicles to their impound lot.

EDIT: Here's your state statute: http://law.justia.com/codes/south-carolina/2013/title-16/chapter-11/section-16-11-760


Title: Oregon: Macy's won't let me acknowledge my giftcard although I am 100% sure it is valid. What to do?

Question: I have a Macy's giftcard for $100 which my parents gave me for my birthday. Their company policy says they never expire and I am in Oregon which says they don't either. There associate and manager could not bring up the card because they said they can only go 5 years back. It's probably 6 years old. I called a 800 number of on the back of the card which they told me to call to get someone to confirm there is money on it but I cannot get ahold of an actual person. I am going to talk to the higher manager about it on Monday. The law and their store policy entitles my credit. Assuming the manager will not nothing and I cannot get ahold of a real person through their 800 number to back my claim, what legal options do I have? I don't want to spend a lot of money but I am willing to do what it takes for them to acknowledge they owe me $100. I am 100% sure that is the value of the card and it is valid. Or, what is a tactful way for them to work with them?

Answer: Macy's giftcard system is wonky, have you tried emailing their customer service?  I had a giftcard issue that they fixed with 24 hours after I wasted a week trying to get someone on the phone to fix it.


Title: [PA] Need to get off parents' insurance to get on boyfriend's, but they refuse to file paperwork that would allow me to make the switch.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Why is your bf's insurance company not allowing you to be on both policies? Is it because you need a major life event to qualify for enrollment right now? If your parents refuse to do this, can you wait until your bf's insurance has open enrollment?


Title: [CALIFORNIA] My dog got another dog pregnant, owner coming after me for "dog support"?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 IANAL but think these might be relevant:

Why isn't your dog fixed?

Why isn't the other dog fixed?

Why did you let your dog have sex with a stranger's dog?Answer #2: If he sues, don't ignore it. Also  *obviously* get your dog neutered Answer #3: Not a lawyer. I've never heard of puppy support or whatever he's demanding but most cities have dog park rules that your dog has to be spayed or neutered and no dogs in heat allowed so you both may get tickets if law enforcement end up being involved. Answer #4: Paging Dog Law Expert, /u/SorthumAnswer #5: Dog advice - you are not responsible enough to own an intact animal. Get him neutered, immediately, so this doesn't happen again. Answer #6: Before anything, it would seem like a [paw-ternity test](https://vetdnacenter.com/dna-tests/canine-dna-testing/canine-parentage-testing/) is in order.Answer #7: >I have a dog that still has his junk

Yeah this signifies to me that you should not own a dog. Not only your irresponsibility in failing to neuter your dog, but also the way you talk about it. Answer #8: It takes two to tango.

I'd wait until you are served.


Title: So today i got pulled over by the police while traveling through the us for speeding. He took my id and gave me a warning (no ticket) and now hes added me on facebook...

Question:
I dont live in that town (not even from the us). Is it legal for him to get my info from my id amd add me on fb? Im a 22 year old female and kinda think this is a bit creepy...
Edit: Louisiana

Answer:
 It's not *illegal* per se, but it would be wise to complain to the department. This sort of behavior is extremely unprofessional.

edit: despite the name, IANAC.Answer #2: Just to be clear, he did give back the ID?

If you want to raise a stink, file a complaint.  If not, block him and move on with your travels.Answer #3: Even though you don't live there, he's probably done this to other local girls who have more to lose by reporting it. Please report this creep now. Answer #4: Are you sure this is an actual police officer and not someone impersonating one? I would call the police department in that area and just try to verify that he works there.


Title: Police taking K9s through school and parking lot looking for drugs under the guise of a "drill"

Question:
My buddy, who is a teacher, is telling me that they are on lock down for a "drill", but he said really all the police are doing is having K9s sniff lockers for drugs. The "drill" also extends to to the parking lot where the K9s are also sniffing cars. Thus far, one car has been searched and weed confiscated.

While I can be more understand of the locker searches, what legal grounds do they have to search students' vehicles based on nothing more than K9 alerts? Also, in Ohio. Thank you.

Answer:
 The courts have held a K-9 alert is probable cause to search a car and the automobile exception means they don’t even have to get a warrant.  Maybe don’t bring illegal drugs to school?

Nothing here has violated your rights in any way shape or form.Answer #2: It is not an illegal search to walk a german shepherd past a car.  If the dog alerts, the cop now has probable cause to search the car.  Totally legal.Answer #3: Its school property, im willing to bet my last dollar somewhere in all the paperwork students sign in the beginning of the year there is a clause allowing them to search cars. Plus a k9 hit is probable cause so that alsoAnswer #4: The same as the lockers. Frankly, they are wasting time calling it a drill. They can just say "we doing a drug sweep today, hope none of you brought drugs to school"


Title: Romanian authorities stopped a friend of mine who is a refugee from going back to Germany where he has political asylum

Question:
Location: Romania

What can we do about it?

Answer:
 If he had political asylum in Germany, why did he go back to Romania? Normally, those seeking political asylum from a country don't return to that country.

He needs to go to the German embassy in Romania and ask for help.


Title: Just moved out of an apartment in anger, need to break lease quick.

Question:
So, to make a long story short, the girl I've been living with recently broke up with me, and I walked in on her fucking some dude. That's not important, I'm just still pissed. What is important, is that we have a lease until about May or June, and I refuse to pay another cent on that place.

Now, I know that it's going to be difficult, but I've already moved a majority of my stuff out and am planning on getting the rest in the next two days. I also recognize that despite how furiously I refuse to pay for the hole I punched in the wall, I am going to have to repair it.

Overall, what am I looking at having to do? I will be going to the office and assorted billing places Tuesday to take my name off, but what should I be prepared to do, especially in terms of money?

Edit: [Missouri]

Double Edit: I apologize for any bunnies that may have been harmed in my anger.

Answer:
 >I will be going to the office and assorted billing places Tuesday to take my name off, but what should I be prepared to do, especially in terms of money?

As long as you're still on the lease, you're on the hook for your half of the rent.Answer #2: I empathize with your situation. The only advice I can possibly offer is speak to the landlord and figure out if you guys can come to a sound solution. They’ll likely have a copy of the lease and you can figure out terms from there. Good luck man.


Title: Landlord threatening illegal eviction, what can I do to pre-emptively stop him?

Question:
I know you can sue after the fact, but that doesn't really help much with an animal involved.  In any case, I told the landlord from http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2wdo3p/landlord_refusing_my_rent/ that if he wanted anything from me in the future he had to put it in writing.

He basically got pissed and said, if I didn't pay all the fines in the next three days, he was going to throw all my stuff out onto the street.  I came home today to a notice to pay or quit taped to my door, saying that I owed him $150 in "late rent" and had 3 days to either pay up or get out.

I don't own anything worth money but I have a cat who doesn't go outside and it's very cold.  I can't afford to board her for who knows how long and I don't know anyone in the area who could care for her.  What can I do here to make sure he doesn't come in and throw her out onto the street while I'm gone?

Answer: There's really nothing you can do to stop him from doing anything. If he does it though, then you will have all kinds of recourse. Hopefully he will just try to evict you through the courts, then you can offer your defense and watch the judge slap him around a bit. Answer #2: IANAL You might want to start researching extended stay hotels. Some take pets, and their weekly or monthly rates can be pretty reasonable. Also try La Quinta. Not officially extended stay, but *is* pet friendly and might have weekly/monthly rates.


Title: Advice on reclaiming my dog from ex girlfriend

Question:
I am looking for advice on how to regain possession of my dog, Bodhi from my ex girlfriend. To start, my ex and I went to adopt this dog in September of 2012 around the time we both moved in together. I have documents in my possession including the adoption form with only my signature which also includes the microchip number label and many medical documents from the first few vet visits (some have both of our names on them).

We lived together for exactly two years with the dog. I was always the one taking him out to the bathroom on the leash, bringing him for walks, bringing him to the dog park, meeting with neighbors dogs for play-dates, and generally being his best friend. I even made my employer at the time allow me to stop home for an hour to let him out in the middle of the day every shift so he wouldn't be cooped up the entire day.

Things started going south at the end of July of 2015 and upon finding out she cheated on me with a mutual friend, I moved out in August. I was unable to bring the dog with me back to my parents home because they already had two dogs, it wouldn't have been a good fit given one of the two dogs was very dominant and Bodhi is a little rebel. This would have caused problems in the home for my parents in the long term so I decided I was unable to take possession of him at that given time. For the first month that I moved out I was pretty depressed/heartbroken. I attempted to have a semi regular swap so I would still be able to see my dog as often as I could (I've always seen this dog as my own child and have not gone a day I haven't missed him). Upon a few occasions I asked to keep him a little longer or over night, my ex got frustrated and said it wasn't going to work out keeping joint ownership of Bodhi. She wasn't responding to my texts unless I pandered her and from that point on I haven't been able to see him.. After some time I gave up on trying to see him as it would only cause me to get more upset about the break up and she was very defensive about the whole situation.

I've been feeling much better about life in general and have since gotten over my ex and am pretty happy living the single life. About 3 weeks ago I moved in with some buddies I've been really good friends with since High School and have been loving the living situation as they are cleanly and organized unlike she was. I'm now feeling I have a case to get Bodhi back and have him live with me here. I'm just not sure what legal obstacles I will have given that it's been 8+ months since he has been living with me :/  I am trying to look through text messages to make sure she doesn't have a case on me but it's pretty hard to take the time to look through because they bring up old scars. As far as I know I never let down the fact that he is my dog and that I miss him incredibly. I just haven't made any further attempts to see him because she doesn't respond to my messages and until now I wasn't sure where she was even living (I found out from a mutual friend I ran into at my place of work who works at the leasing office for the place we were staying together).

Any professional advice I can get will be greatly appreciated!! I am considering going to small claims court if I have to but I don't know how this whole representing myself thing could go.. If you have questions that would help just let me know.

Answer:
 You need to find a small perky blonde law student with a pink suit to deliver this speech to your ex.

"Well, due to habeas corpus you and Mr. Adamize had a common law marriage... which heretofore entitles him... to what is legally referred to... as equitable division of the assets. Due to the fact that you've retained the residence... Mr. Adamize is entitled...to full canine property ownership...and will be enforcing said ownership right now."

EDIT: But in all seriousness we need to know what state you're in before we can give you insight on local small claims.


Title: How do I get off my commitment order ASAP?

Question:
My commitment order forces me to be drugged (i.e. involuntary medication) and also requires me to see a therapist. If I don't, they will throw me in the hospital despite consequences to my academic performance. Funny how that works.

I don't want to be on the commitment order because I find my medication unhelpful (actually makes my situation worse), plus counseling and seeing a psychiatrist is time-consuming and expensive.

EDIT 1:
Location is Wisconsin in the United States. The court order started in August 2015.

Answer: Get a lawyer, also most people on medication think they don't need it, some people are forced because they clearly do.


Title: Is it a HIPAA violation to take a client to court following a dog bite?

Question:
I am a home health aide/CNA, and was bit by a dog while on the job last year. I was then fired from the home due to the injury, thus losing my income and becoming behind on my bills.

In the state of injury (Missouri,) it was not my fault. I didn't provoke the animal (I was working with my client,) and was obviously in the home legally. I'm requesting compensation for pain and suffering, as well as lost wages.

Is this a HIPAA violation?

Answer: No, but if you were working for a company you should file a workers comp complaint for any medical bills


Title: Road closures for events

Question: What gives local governments the authority to close roads and deny access to public spaces for events such as football games, concerts, bicycle races, etc., and in general how are such decisions made?

Answer:
 In most US states, city governments have broad powers to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.  Within parameters set by state law, a city can open or close or abolish a street at will, as long as it is at least arguably in furtherance of legitimate municipal objectives.

For example, a festival or other event could be a means to promote the economic well-being of the community.

And where cities don’t have this broad power, states always do, so instrumentalities of a state government (Highway Department, say) can open or close thoroughfares practically at will.

When a closure is not intended to further a legitimate goal (for example, when New Jersey officials closed lanes to deliberately *cause* traffic problems in Fort Lee), then it is subject to challenge.


Title: my ex won't take my name off of the lease

Question:
     I the summer of 2017, I moved cities and into an apartment with my boyfriend at the time. We separated and I moved out in the summer of 2018 and now live two hours away in another city. All of these cities are in Arizona. He told me he was going to live in that apartment for another month after I left. I carried on with my life. A few months ago I get a call from my our old landlord saying that we are on the verge of getting evicted. It turns out he still lives there and my name is still on the lease. My landlord says that I will have to send them an email of my intent to vacate the apartment and get my name taken off of the lease. I do that, and they say they need my ex to simply come in and sign a paper acknowledging the removal of my name from the lease. At this point I had deleted his number so I contact him through Snapchat and he said there was a problem at the bank and he had taken care of the rent so there would be no eviction. I ask him to take my name off of the lease and he opens the message but doesn't reply. I ask him a few more times if he could go to the office and remove my name because it's affecting my credit and nothing, no reply.

Is it in my best interest to file something through small claims court? How would I go about that being that we are two hours apart? What would my case argument look like? Thank you.

Answer:
 He doesn't have to take your name off of the lease. You are equally liable and bound to the terms of the lease you signed.Answer #2: He has no requirement to remove you from the lease. You owe rent for the period you agreed to pay rent. It was up to you to handle your lease before you left.

There is nothing to file.


Title: School hand searches everyone on entry Mi

Question:
Is my school allowed to do this? It feels like a prison every time I enter. First they make you turn off your phone and put it in a bag. You get it at the end of the day ( what's stopping anyone from getting a nice upgrade?) Second they make us put all metal objects or bags on the tabke next to the metal detector. They then search the items. Then we walk through the metal detector then get searched again. The full thing putting our arms open and having the security guard feel all around you for anything. Is this legal? Can they do this? A kid once said no and they just said go home then if you don't agree with it.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: It's legal. And you can leave your phone at home or in your car


Title: [MN] I was fired for "poor performance" when my performance was complimented the day before. What do I do now?

Question:
I showed up to work yesterday, and I was called into the office and given a termination letter. I was pretty shocked, because the day before I was commended for doing a great job with my work.

I had started in May at a call center type job for customer service for a food delivery company (the company delivered food for restaurants that didn't have a delivery service.) In July, I got promoted to work in their catering department with more specialized clients/larger orders. In my position I answered calls, responded to all the catering dept's emails, and did live chats, and I acted as receptionist for drivers who were there for training or interviews.

In August, we had a coworker in the regular customer service leave. Her full-time job was going through all the future orders (the majority of our orders were ASAP orders) and found large orders and emailed them to the restaurant. She left and I was asked to fill in while they trained people to do it. I was told somebody would also look over them after I left. This was not my department.

2 weeks ago, I was working on a complicated issue that lasted 45 minutes. I missed a large $1,000 order that went in at 7pm. We were able to get it replaced and the client ended up spending $2,000 on another restaurant and were happy. I had to sign paperwork about that order and closing procedures. I paid more attention to the other orders in times when it was less busy with calls and emails.

I wasn't getting all of it done but I was told multiple times by that department's manager that other people would check on it after I leave for the night, and they never did, so I was responsible when stuff happened. And then the other department's manager is mad because "nobody knows how to do that".

I was given a letter that it was "performance issues" and was verbally told it was "more missed orders" that were the issue when I was fired, but it wasn't clear. All my teammates were shocked because they never saw me slack off. One even cried.

After all this, am I eligible for unemployment insurance? In Minnesota it says it's only if it's not my fault, but I feel like they said, "performance issues" so they won't have to pay for me. They have fired a dozen or so people in the past month, so I'm not shocked.

Answer:
 File for unemployment, appeal if you're refused, and get another job. "Performance issues" won't be enough to deny you unemployment, on appeal, unless they can substantiate it. However, an initial rejection is common, and many people give up at that point when they really shouldn't.

Minnesota's an at-will jurisdiction, so you have no other recourse unless you were in a union (in which case talk to your union rep) or covered by a contract which controls termination (in which case talk to an attorney).


Title: [PA] If there are two tenants in an apartment, but a search warrant only lists one of the tenants names, is the search warrant invalid?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 No, it's not.  A search warrant is for a **place**, not a person.  So the police aren't searching "John Smith's House" they're searching "123 Fake Street".  The warrant may be predicated on the fact that it's John Smith's house, but the warrant is for the specific location.

Answer #2: Not at all, and if you try to argue that and get in their way you will be in a lot of trouble. Now depending on what the warrant says can be seized that *may* limit them taking the property of the roommate not on the warrant. Answer #3: No. Answer #4: There are a few issues here -
1.) If distinct living areas are present, and "controlled"(e.g. externally locking bedroom doors) then officers may usually not have authority with the search warrant to search that specific place. There are exigent circumstances, such as officers believing that the person they are looking for is in that room. You can not give consent to search the room, but if they do anyway, the time to fight it is in the courtroom.
2.) Anything out in the open "common areas" such as drugs or paraphenalia, may lead to PC to search other areas of the house ("in plain sight" doctrine), including the second tenant's room. This is known as a "search incident to arrest" and opens up the scope of the search now that illegal activity has been detected. Especially if the first roommate says "That's not mine." Also actively resisting the cops search efforts may invoke this as they need to make sure you won't go in your room and grab a shotgun.


Title: Would a Facebook admin be legally responsible if a member joins and breaks the law in their life in the United States?

Question: Would a Facebook admin be legally responsible if a member joins and breaks the law in their life? Especially allowing members from other countries which have other laws.

Answer:
 Wut? Can you give an example, becausr I've read your post 3 times and don't understand it.

The answer is most likely "no".


Title: I fucked up bad and now I need advice

Question:
hello there. I recently ordered something off the darknet (1000 xanax bars) to a friend of mine and told her that if anything goes wrong I will be the guilty one.. and guess what.. the package I ordered got seized by the police and the friend got a letter to show up to the police station in a month..

Obviously I will be the one who carrys the responsibility but how do I defend myself? Ordering illegal substances to a wrong address?

I really need advice here..
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer: You need a criminal defense attorney. Since you are the one who put your friend in jeopardy, you might also foot the bill for her attorney, too.


Title: My organization explicitly states that they are not responsible for Lost and Found items. Would creating and maintaining a database of L&F items mean that we start to assume responsibility for said items?

Question:
Hello,

(TL;DR at bottom if not wanting to read context)

To start out, I'm going to say that I'm a mid-level supervisor for a transit system that carries millions of passengers annually. We get *a lot* of lost and found items. On days with inclement weather, we may get 100+ items in a single day. This is besides the point, though.

It has recently been decided that we are going to create an electronic log of Lost and Found to log every item that gets turned in by a driver. This log will generate a number that we are to tag the item with and then store the items. The item is to be inspected, logged, and tagged with the unique identifier created by the log, then stored in the same manner as the current system.

Our current system is to leave the items in a locked cabinet, unless they are higher value items, then they get locked in a room before the closing supervisor goes home for the night. We do nothing else with it except put the date on it and if it was possible to contact the owner, we will, mainly for customer service reasons. Nonvaluable items get donated after 2 weeks of not being claimed, higher value items get sent to the police department. It is extremely simple and efficient.

There are several reasons why the new system isn't sustainable, and I'm generally not hesitant for organizational change. But one large problem that stuck out at me is that our organization explicitly states that "[Organization] is not responsible for items lost or left on the bus."

So to my question: if someone lost a phone on a bus and sued our organization for it, would a judge see that we're putting a lot of effort into logging, tagging, and categorizing these items, and possibly side with the plaintiff if they were to initiate a claim? We're putting so much energy into creating maintaining this database and would it be a stretch to say that we're now starting to assume responsibility of these items now that each item has a unique identifier and is indicated in a log?

**TL;DR: Current L&F system is a "dumb" system. Item comes in, items gets tagged, item goes out or gets donated after 2 weeks. New L&F system item gets turned in, it gets inspected, gets logged into a database with a description of the item, database generates unique identifier for L&F item and item gets tagged with that. Item goes out or gets donated after 2 weeks.**

Answer:
 That's a great question, but I feel like a transit system that carries millions of passengers annually must employ at least one lawyer whose job it would be to answer questions like this and assume professional responsibility for the legal consequences of the decision. Right?Answer #2: if someone lost a phone on a bus and sued our organization for it.

That still would still not be a reason to implicate the organisation. It could have been a pickpocket just as well, or a person that found it and didn't leave it with the driver.

Personally the only way I could see this resulting in a valid claim is if the person lost something expensive, it was found, logged in the system, person comes to try and retrieve the item, item is suddenly gone.

(but I'm Dutch, so jurisdictions, laws, etc.)


Title: Adam Walsh Law may ruin my life. (CO)

Question:
When I was 10, I committed a sex offense. I did it, I confessed. I was taken out of my family home. After years of treatment, I petitioned the Junior Review Board for parole and it was granted. Then, I was slapped with another charge. Another sex offense. This one, I did not commit. I wanted to fight it, Public Defender advised against it. The prosecutor offered 6 months of parole concurrent with my nine. My Public Defender said I would be virtually unaffected. So I take the deal, plea guilty. Plea deal was somehow reneged. I was sentenced to 0-2 Years with Division of Youth Corrections. Not parole, but in a secure facility. On top of that, a few months later the Adam Walsh Law passed. Part of it is an offender with 2 charges is never eligible to petition the court to discontinue registration  a sex offender. My Public Defender should have known about this. I should have been warned. I could have fought and IMO had a good chance of winning. I was a minor making an uninformed decision. I really feel like my case was poorly, if not entirely unethically, handled. Is there any chance for appeal, almost 10 years later? Is there any way my worst moment in life won't follow me forever?
EDIT: JFC Did I break a rule or something? All the downvotes.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 >EDIT: JFC Did I break a rule or something? All the downvotes.

No but unfortunately you admitted to doing something pretty bad once and the lurkers around here have no concept of the word "reform". Most of them probably stopped reading after your first sentence.

I'm actually surprised you're not also getting nasty PM's.Answer #2: were you a minor at the time of the second offense?Answer #3: How was your PD supposed to know/warn you about the Adam Walsh law that hadn't been passed at the time of the deal?  Even if you could win a malpractice claim against the PD, that isn't going to change the results.  I don't know what the statute of limitations is in CO, but after 10 years it may be too late to raise this issue.


Title: Received a summons for my eviction.

Question:
I am currently a tenant in Boulder, CO. Towards the end of last month I sent a check with my rent on the mail, but apparently it was never delivered (I've had trouble with mail since I moved in, none of the mail I knew I should be getting was getting here, but I thought sending mail would be fine, and that's another problem entirely). The cold weather recently hit the city and not being used to it I got sick and stayed in bed for the last few weeks, due to that I didn't notice until Friday 13th that they had posted a notice on my door that I hadn't paid rent. Along with that notice were 2 thick bundles of papers that are labeled as "SUMMONS IN FORCIBLE ENTRY AND UNLAWFUL DETAINER". Since I noticed that late at night on Friday I called the company first thing in the morning Saturday.

On my call on Saturday I was told that no one that could help me was available, and asked me to leave a message. I left a message explaining the situation and saying that I was willing to pay the rent and the late fee asap, and that I just wanted this resolved.

I called again in the morning on Sunday, and I was told I should speak to the manager, who would be there on Monday at 11am.

I called again at 11am on Monday, asked for the manager, and was told that they were not there, but that they could hear out my situation. I explained it to them and I was told that I could pay rent in person and a $500 legal expense fee to get rid of the eviction, and I was also told that they recommended I go to court instead. They also said they would tell the manager to return my call ASAP.

I called again on Tuesday, asked for the manager again, and again I was told that they were not there but that I could leave a message. I told them that I had left a message the 3 prior days and have yet to receive a call back. They then asked me if I had talked to my attorney, and told me where to find their contact information.

I called my attorney that day and it went to voice mail, and I haven't gotten a call back yet.

Today, Wednesday, I called the attorney again and left another message.

According to the summons I received the hearing is this Friday, but the bundle of papers doesn't have anything written down on the "Case No:", "Div:", or "Ctrm:" fields.

I want to know if this is a real courts summons or merely a scare tactic, and what steps I should take from now on. I don't have any problems with paying the rent or the late fee, but the $500 legal fee is pretty hefty and I'd like to avoid it if possible, but ultimately I just want this resolved.

Answer:
 You should contact your local county courthouse/clerk and ask them if they have an eviction hearing scheduled for you.Answer #2: Call courthouse. Then go to your landlord in person today to see if they will actually accept the rent and late fee. If you think the $500 is extreme, check your lease to see if the $500 legal fee is listed as the late fee. My guess is that it is included in your lease, so you have to pay it. Put a stop payment on the rent check that you put in the mail.

It's 60 degrees in Boulder, get a jacket.


Title: my ex-employer is sending me e-mails after my termination

Question: (CA) I was summarily fired almost a year ago from a transcription company for questioning my boss who also with-held my last 2 weeks pay.  I have finally filed a complaint with the DOL because I was actually paid 7.50 an hour and never allowed lunches (threatened to be fired for taking them).  I reported them to the DOL and now have been sent 2 retaliatory e-mails saying OPEN THIS NOW.  When I put that address into google and ask.com, it came up as virus.  Do I have any recourse?  They sent me those after I reported them and it came from their HR Dept.

Answer:
 > I reported them to the DOL and now have been sent 2 retaliatory e-mails saying OPEN THIS NOW. When I put that address into google and ask.com, it came up as virus.

What do you mean? Are the emails addressed from your ex-employer? Or are they from an unknown address, and you just **think** they are from your ex-employer? The fact that you put the address into a search engine makes me think that they are not sent to you from an email address known by you, or you wouldn't search.


Title: Nurse coworker arrested for DUI- what is going to happen

Question: [deleted]

Answer: A DUI conviction could also have implications for her nursing license. She should seek representation from an attorney to help her mitigate the impacts of this arrest.


Title: Friend was murdered in his home Sunday. Questions about "Preliminary hearing" and what to expect from here on out?

Question:
Like the title my good friend was murdered this last Sunday. The man who shot him lived next door and its still unclear as to why. I lived in the house with my friend till about last year when I moved out to live with my brother. The guy called his girlfriend and told her that he had shot my friend.

Anyways the Preliminary hearing is next thursday. My question is can I or go or who is allowed and what to expect at this hearing. Also what to expect from here on out after this hearing takes place.If it helps this is Iowa.

Answer:
 A preliminary hearing is typically open to the public as any other court proceeding would be, unless the judge orders it closed for one reason or another.  You could attend to watch if you want.

It's a chance for the judge to review the evidence after a formal charge has been filed, to decide if there is enough there to proceed with a trial.  It has much looser rules of evidence and a very low standard of proof and is primarily a safeguard against prosecutorial misconduct or overreach.

Most of the time, these hearings are waived by the defense because the outcome is a foregone conclusion.  There's a very good chance this hearing won't actually occur.  Answer #2: No legal advice, I'm just sorry to hear about your friend. My condolences


Title: college will not let me buy something because I am a student there... Isn't this legally discrimination?

Question:
Can anyone think of the formal law that this violates. I want to buy football tickets to my college's games, the expensive ones in the vip section sold by the school and they told me students cannot buy them however it doesn't state that anyone on the order form or anywhere. He insisted I buy tickets and sit in the student section and said I am not allowed to buy the VIP tickets. Isn't he violating my civil rights/doesn't all universities that accept federal money/funds have to abide by some guideline. what approach, lawsuit/court/how can I make him sell me the tickets I want to buy.

Edit:: breach of contract !!!

Answer: Nope. As long as they are not denying you for a being part of a protected class (race, sex, origin etc.) anyone can deny you sale of anything at any time. They don't want their students in anywhere but the student section, thats their business.


Title: (Dupage Co., IL) Is it legal for our old apartment to charge us to replace carpet, if they are switching to hardwood floors?

Question: We just got our final bill which includes a carpet replacement charge. We lived there for 3 years so it isn't out of the question that the carpet should need to be replaced. However if they intended to switch to hardwood floors anyway should we be obligated to pay for new carpet?

Answer:
 I would say that it is out of the question that you should have to pay for the entire cost of replacing the carpet.  Carpet has an expected life span, so generally the cost to replace it is pro-rated based on that.  So if the carpet was new when you moved in, and the expected life span is eight years, you owe five eighths of the cost to replace it.  If it was two years old when you moved in, you owe three eighths of the cost to replace it.  This is assuming you trashed the carpet above and beyond ordinary wear and tear.  You are not responsible for ordinary wear and tear.  Answer #2: [765 ILCS 710](http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2202&ChapterID=62)

> If estimated cost is given, the lessor shall furnish the lessee with paid receipts, or copies thereof, within 30 days from the date the statement showing estimated cost was furnished to the lessee, as required by this Section.

Sounds like Illinois requires the landlord to actually perform the replacement.


Title: We will likely lose almost everything.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I doubt you have any legal avenues to change what's happening. Get a job and provide financial support for your family. If you don't want to deal with the rest of your family, don't deal with them. Ignore the calls. Don't talk to them. Answer #2: I think your family may be not giving you all the facts.

~~There is no way your mom paid $200,000 Canadian for a lawyer who then didn't show up in court. I will tell you, knowing nothing else, that that did not happen.~~

~~There is no way your mom is found responsible for someone else's suicide. The fact that your mom didn't have proof isn't the issue - "X" would have to prove responsibility.~~

see below.

Basically what I'm saying is that this story doesn't make sense. I strongly suspect that you aren't being told what is going on.


Title: Pregnancy Discrimination in School District?

Question:
My wife WAS a 6th grade math teacher in our town 2 years ago. She's been teaching in the district for 9 years and always got excellent evaluations. For 2015 she had the highest standardized test scores in the district.

We got pregnant in the summer of 2015. My wife taught most of the 15/16 school year until we had our daughter in March 2016. Obviously she used her leave for the rest of that school year and then was off for the summer. She also had sick time accumulated and put in for additional to use it at the beginning of the new year (she was breast feeding and wanted the longest amount of time possible to do it). Over the summer she got a letter saying she was being given an in class support role and no longer having a classroom/grade of her own. In an offhand comment the principal said something to the effect of it being easier to find a sub for the new position and they didn't want kids starting off with a sub for 6 weeks.

My wife didn't like this but gritted her teeth and took it. She did her job flawlessly even though she didn't enjoy it.

Now it is the 17/18 school year and she is in the same position, but we had been trying and found out in February that we are pregnant again (yeah!). She again wrote to the district letting them know and that she would be taking time off next school year (18/19).

This past Friday, just weeks after putting in the request for leave she just received a letter stating that she will now b free moving positions yet again. She's being moved to a different "campus" in town which is just a collection of combined trailers that services only a single grade. 3rd.

She has now gone from being the top math teacher in the district with the best standardized test scores and her own classroom, to a glorified school aid in the boondocks without an opportunity to better the students that could benefit most from her skills. And all of this seems to be because she has become pregnant and they feel it's easier to push her to these lower tier positions so they can find substitutes .

To me this seems like pregnancy discrimination, as the moves would not have happened in the first place without her taking leave, and it seems counter productive to the goals of the school district which should be to give the students the best opportunity to learn.

Anyone think this is discrimination?

Answer:
 This is *probably* not discrimination. She can, of course, talk to her union or a lawyer about it.

The law requires they hold a position for her. It doesn’t prevent the district generally from making moves to minimize the burden to the district or improve the situation for the students. You and the district may disagree on the impact of 6 weeks with a sub but the district is entitled to an opinion.

If they cut her pay or assigned her to custodial duty there might be a problem. I guess there could be some arguments raised here but they seem moderate at best.


Title: Most complicated custody battle ever.

Question:
So this is a tricky one.

My wife's ex-husband has primary custody of her daughter who is 10. We live in Oregon, he lives in West Virginia with his new wife and three more kids under 10. We lost custody about four years ago so now we only see her every other holiday and for summers. They have a custody agreement made by a court in Southern California. My wife and I just found out from our daughter, who is here for summer, that her biological father lost his job and his wife doesn't work, so they are selling their cars to pay their mortgage. My question is, is this enough grounds to get emergency custody of our daughter? It doesn't seem safe to send her back to someone who is unemployed and has 4 kids and a wife to support. Should we get a lawyer? We financially couldn't afford a lawyer right now so I'm at a loss.

He would never admit to US that he lost his job but could there be a way for the courts to make him prove it? I'm seriously concerned about safety of the child if we start this process and she has to go back at the end of summer.

Answer:
 This isn't even the most complicated custody situation I've heard about this week.

> My question is, is this enough grounds to get emergency custody of our daughter?

No.  Absent evidence they can't feed, clothe, house, or keep her safe, there's no grounds.  Answer #2: >It doesn't seem safe to send her back to someone who is unemployed and has 4 kids and a wife to support.

What? Why? That doesn't sound like a safety concern. People lose their job all the time, and it sounds like he is making an income selling cars and probably living off savings. Answer #3: Financial hardship is probably not enough especially since there must be some history with your wife to lose custody in the first place.


Title: Massachusetts, Neighbor dug out property pin and we found it lying on the ground

Question:
I recently purchased a house in western Massachusetts. I was trying to get a clear sense of one of the property lines that I share with my neighbor. The neighbor removed a number of trees on my property before I bought with the former owner's permission and so there is an area that had some heavy equipment on it. I met with my neighbor and shared my plot survey that I got for the mortgage (not a more expensive, legally authoritative one). She agreed to walk the property line with me and show me the pin.

We found the pin, dug up and lying on the ground. It was clearly on my property. I assume it was either moved or dug up by the excavators, etc when the tree work was completed. Should I report the fact that the pin was moved and to whom should I make such a report?

Answer:
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter266/Section94

Section 94. Whoever wilfully, intentionally and without right breaks down, injures, removes or destroys a monument erected for the purpose of designating the boundaries of a town or of a tract or lot of land, or a tree which has been marked for that purpose, or so breaks down, injures, removes or destroys a milestone, mileboard or guideboard erected upon a public way or railroad, or wilfully, intentionally and without right defaces or alters the inscription on any such stone or board, or wilfully, intentionally and without right mars or defaces a building or signboard, or extinguishes a light or breaks, destroys or removes a lamp, lamp post, railing or post erected on a bridge, sidewalk, public way, court or passage, or wilfully, intentionally and without right defaces or otherwise injures, removes, interferes with or destroys any traffic regulating sign, light, signal, marking or device lawfully erected or placed under public authority on any public way, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than six months or by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars. Any person convicted under the provisions of this section shall, in addition to any imprisonment or fine, make restitution.Answer #2: Have the property surveyed. They will reset the missing pin and submit the plat to the county. You can have them mark the property line as well.


Title: Mom and I are traveling back from Korea to U.S (San Francisco) and she's transporting over $10,000 in cash to bring to my dad. Do I need to fill out the transportation of currency form too?

Question: My dad has several bank accounts in Asia and has asked my mom to withdraw over $10k during our vacation in Korea and bring it back to the states. (We aren't doing anything illegal.. I promise.) So my mom printed out the form of transportation of currency but I'm still unclear whether or not I SHOULD fill out the form. I definitely know that my mom is supposed to fill one out because she's the one who's holding the money but do I also have to because I'm traveling together? I wont be in possession of the money in any way but Im just with her. I've already asked r/personalfinance but I was recommended to come here just in case of legal issues. Thanks.

Answer:
 That's such a stupid thing to do, why aren't they just wiring the funds.

Sure, go ahead and fill one out too.  You are travelling with your mother and the money so it's not a bad idea to have your bases covered if the customs people decide to take the money.


Title: [NY] Never returned marriage certificate?

Question:
My husband and I got married at a New York City courthouse on November 21, 2017. During that same period, we ended up moving, had some family issues, and were traveling a lot. Somehow in the commotion, we didn’t think about returning our marriage certificate, assuming, I suppose, that since it was done at the courthouse, everything was taken care of.

Today, as I was reorganizing our important documents, I came across our marriage license and a pre-addressed envelope that is addressed to the city clerk and says “this license must be returned within 5 days of the ceremony.” Everything I’ve read says that it is the officiants job to send in the marriage certificate, but now I’m thinking we should have? Are we even legally married at this point? Do we have to go to the court and do another ceremony?

Answer:
 Honestly? Call the clerk of the court.

My parents ran into this problem when my pops retired, they wouldn’t pay out his pension because the marriage cert wasn’t signed properly and filed. Literally 30 years after the fact.

They ended up having a phone conference with a Judge, the old clerk (who remembered them), got signed affidavits from the witnesses (my uncles) and had to get a new certificate made up. Their officiant was doing his first wedding and didn’t file it right. She was out of reach 30 years later...due to a name change...


Title: What does decriminalization of marijuana mean for teachers?

Question:
I'm a teacher living in Philadelphia, where they are about to decriminalize marijuana. I haven't smoked for a number of years, but my wife has some anxiety and stomach issues that could really be helped by this.

[Here](http://articles.philly.com/2014-09-10/news/53735740_1_nutter-marijuana-arrests-compromise) is the most recent article

If marijuana is decriminalized, could I still lose my job if I get caught? It looks like it will essentially just be a ticket. I'm still just going to wait and see how it pans out, but just curious if there's any legal insight here.

Answer:
 > If marijuana is decriminalized, could I still lose my job if I get caught?

Yes, unless specific protections are written into the law to prevent this.


Title: DHHS workers has called stating that someone filed a complaint for "abuse or neglect". I have a meeting with her at my house today. What do I do?

Question:
She stated that yesterday while I was at work and without my knowledge she went to my sons Daycare and checked in on him. I mean, I guess that doesn't really bother me because this is completely unwarrented and my baby is not abused nor neglected. I don't know what to do. Let's start with my theory.

His father and I co-parent. We both love this child. His father and I are not together due to him being a violent alcoholic. This information I feel is important because he calls me and texts me at all hours of the morning and it's horrible. I used to use my phone for an alarm and he would call 30 times in the middle of the night after i told him to stop because I had work in the morning. it's harrassment. I told no one. Who can I tell? I'm afraid to go to the police because they've never believed me before about any of this. Well, on Friday night he's with our little guy for the weekend and he sends me a text saying that he's worried about J beign abused and that J is petrifried of me. He always drops "J cries so hard when he hears that he has to go back to your house". This  kid is 4. His father lives with his parents so of course he loves it there but this kid is really really independant. He's so awesome and smart. I just find it hard to believe that he sobs when told he has to come home. I'm not saying it's never happened but I truely feel like he's blowing that out of proportion so I just let it roll of  my back. This man is really dramatic and when he gets something in his head he's unwilling to even listen to anything else.

Anyway, Friday night he texts me with this and I responded with anger this time. Texting me at 1am telling me that our son is abused I told him I do not appreciate his drunk texts. This pattern happens every single time and I'm truely sick of it. I did lose it. I know I did but he drunk texts and calls me all the time. On Sunday when I went to go pick up the baby we talked. Apparently J had a bad dream about me and woke up crying. When he told me this his texts made much more sense. he definitly didn't mention that J had a bad dream. We talk it out amicably and decide to move on. I listened to his concerns. He stated that he's concerned about J. He gave me this look like "what are you gonna do about it" i told him that kids have bad dreams and sometimes they make up stories. If you're trying to lead a child into saying something then they will. I feel like this is what happened. He also brought up that J was sitting on grandmas lap and said exact words "there are problems at home but i can't talk about it because Mommy will get mad." Okay. He's 4 and very smart but this does not sound like my son at all. At all.

I get home from work on Monday and there's a note from DHHS lady to call. I leave a message for her voicemail. She calls me back here today at work to tell me that she needs to meet with me about this concern. She did not give any details only that it's an abuse and neglet concern. I don't know what to do. Our son got taken away by DHHS because his father failed to bring him to a mandatory doctors appointment while I was working at the time. If I was not working he would have went. Kid didn't go, he got taken away for 3 weeks. I finally left with my baby soon after that and lived in a womans shelter for awhile.

I am finally financially stable to be able to afford ( just barely but that doesn't matter) a life for my son and I without any type of government assistance what so ever. His father can't keep a job and pays bare minimum in child support. I don't ask for anything. I don't understand why this is happening and I don't know what to do about it. I feel like he said something because he's done and said things before to me like "If you leave I'll take the baby away from you" It's horrifying. Please give me advice.

EDIT: Tuesday she never showed up and never called. I left a message 10 minutes after the time she was supposed to be there telling her that since she did not show up and it was election day I was getting on with my errands and going to vote and that she should contact me tomorrow while I'm at work. I said if I am not able to answer then she can text me and we should meet in the evening at the same time, 5:30. It's almost 9am here and I have yet to hear from her. I feel like it's okay if she couldn't meet with me yesterday evening. However this is my life and I kind of feel like this is completely rude to just keep me stressed out over something so big. Anyway. When and if she contacts me again I will be far more calm and prepared. I got this. I will edit with what actually happens when it happens.

Answer:
 First, take a deep breath.

If she received a report, she will have to investigate it--especially since your child has been under their care before.

Clean your house best you can and be cooperative and polite.  If you're not doing anything wrong, she won't find anything to be concerned about.


Title: Am I legally required to respond to the US Census Bureau?

Question:
I have had a field representative from the US Census Bureau knock on my door (and my sliding glass door in the back) several times in the last week. They left a notice on the door:

Hello,

Sorry to have missed you. This address has been selected for a very important U.S. Census Bureau survey. These surveys are a positive use of your taxpayer dollars. Making unnecessary visits to contact your household is a negative use of taxpayer dollars. I am obligated to return to this address until contact is made. It would be helpful if you would call me with your name and phone number as soon as possible. We can arrange a mutually convenient time to complete a brief interview, either in person or by phone.

I have not attempted to call them and never answered the door but I am wondering if I am required to do so by law. The notice does not say which survey they are conducting (I think there are several different ones they have). If I continue to ignore their attempts at contacting me are there any consequences?

If I am required to fill out the survey, do I have to answer all of the questions or can I decline to answer most of them? Many of the questions they tend to ask make me uncomfortable so I would prefer to only complete the mandatory ones.

Answer:
 >Many of the questions they tend to ask make me uncomfortable

What? How? You think you've seen it all, and then you meet someone who was made uncomfortable by the census...Answer #2: Yes, yes you do.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2010/03/count_me_out.html