Title: Being sued for my deceased Mother's mortgage

Question:
I'll update this later tonight when I get home from work but this is what I know as of now.

I'm 46 years old and I haven't lived with my mother since I was 10 when my Father won custody of me. In July of 2016 my Mother died from influenza. She was on Social Security Disability and was very poor. So poor, in fact, that she died because she couldn't afford the cost of an emergency room visit and was too proud to ask me or my much younger half-siblings.

I have been given 20 days to file a written response in order to avoid a default judgment. My siblings are being sued as well.

We are in Indiana as was my Mother.

Is this just an equity claim?

What is the proper type of lawyer for this kind of thing?

I appreciate any advice.

Thank you.

Answer:
 Are you being sued or is your mother's estate being sued?  Is your name on either the mortgage or deed? You and your siblings are not personally responsible for your mother's debts.Answer #2: Are we talking about a home owned by the deceased, and a mortgage on the home that isn't being paid?

If so, then you can watch https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/5xn6wg/no_executor_all_parties_being_sued/ to see what people say there because it's a somewhat similar situation (the presumptive heirs of a deceased homeowner are being sued by the bank who holds the mortgage on the deceased's home due to lack of payment).
Answer #3: Mortgage lenders sometimes notify all possible heirs of the foreclosure suit. It doesn't mean they're actually suing you, but rather notifying you in case you were planning to keep the property.Answer #4: Definitely just consult with an attorney likely one who handles Estates. My guess if the bank is suing you as they believe you're inheriting the property etc...


Title: Conflict between HIPAA and name change background check? (Virginia)

Question:
So I ran I to this problem when I was applying for a job. I am transgender and had my name legally changed a few years ago. My previous name was obviously male, and my new name is obviously female *(I don't want to say my name here)*.

My appearance is 100% female and nobody can tell visually or listening to me that I'm trans.

The problem started when I did not list my previous name on a background check form with my employer. I did not list it because it reveals that I am transgender.

Trans is listed in the ICD-10 and is considered a medical diagnosis. It falls under the classification of protected health information under HIPAA.

**Here's the dilemma:** If I list my previous name on the background check form, it will inadvertently reveal my private health information.

Since I did not list it, the background check revealed it, my employer found out, and now knows my private medical diagnosis of being trans *(it's very likely I won't get the job now, they're being unusually silent and unresponsive to calls and emails)*.

What can I do about this, if anything?

Answer:
 > What can I do about this, if anything?

Nothing.  Your name change is not PHI, so HIPAA wouldn't apply.  HIPAA also doesn't apply to inferences.Answer #2: HIPAA applies to medical professionals.  A background check will not reveal any medical information that cannot be inferred on its own in regards to your situation.


Title: [MI] Would placing a nazi flag on helium ballons and letting it go in a high ceilinged room qualify as a misdemeanor Vandalism?

Question:
The state law on Malicious and wilful mischief and destruction (aka Vandalism) is incredibly vague for michigan, as such im looking for advice on the legality here, this scenario would be a senior prank if executed.

Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: If you’re going to make the custodial guy have to bust out a ladder to pull something down, at least have it be funny. A nazi flag is not funny.


Title: (MA, USA) Got hit by a car while jogging to school, not sure I have a civil case.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >it looks like I can't join the millitary, and that's been my main idea of a career path

 How on earth did you arrive at this conclusion?


Title: Almost died in a private prison.

Question:
My brother was sent to a private prison for 30 days, while he was there, he was constipated and couldn't have any bower movements. He was taken to a private doctor outside of the prison who prescribed him suppositories and instructed the prison to give it to him once a day. They refused and said that he didn't need it. During week 3 he was found on the floor foaming out the mouth and near death. The assigned doctor that was supposed to be in prison wasn't there so he had to be taken to the ER in the town. The doctor told him that if he was to eat another meal before that incident he was going to be dead. He has physical damage in his intestines and since he got out he has a huge bump that is shaped like a deflated football where the injury occurred that is visible. He lives in Kansas and has all the paper work of the injury. After he was released the prison sent him a medical bill from the trip that they took him to the hospital. Is there any chance that he can sue the prison for the way he was treated and almost died? No lawyer in town that we tried/were referred to (near Kansas City) seems to want to take the case. This happened almost two years ago. Thanks ahead of the advice and I can answer any questions via PM.
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer:
 Your brother may have a case under section 1983. There are attorneys who specialize in violation of prisoner healthcare rights.Answer #2: we don't do PMs here.Answer #3: Contact the ACLU and see if they can provide any advice.Answer #4: As someone else said, your brother may have a section 1983 claim. But depending on the statute of limitations in Kansas, he may not have a ton of time to file suit. 1983 prisoner cases also have special prerequisites that your brother may or may not have met, which may or may not have something to do with why attorneys have rejected his case so far. Talk to someone who does 1983 cases specifically, a civil rights lawyer, because they'll be versed in all of this and can let your brother know if they think he's got a case and if not, why.

If the liability is evident in the medical records, that's a plus for your brother. Damages are a separate issue. Just so you're aware, in 1983 cases you can't sue for what almost or could have happened, just for what did. So the fact that your brother was close to dying may be important for other reasons, but it's not a claim all by itself.

There should also be a state agency that oversees the prison and the medical care. You can look into filing a complaint. If your brother gets a lawyer though ask him/her before doing that.

Good luck. I'm glad your brother's alive.


Title: MA Meal Break - When is the latest time into shift break must be taken?

Question:
I know this is a bit of an odd question, so I'll give some examples to help further explain it. First, some background. I HAVE to take a 30 minute break, as I work for 8 hours (7:00 AM to 3:30 PM, break included). I'm being told that my break can't occur at the last half an hour of my shift, meaning I can't take it from 2:59-3:29. My employer is telling me HR is requiring it to be during "normal lunch hours," and there's a certain amount of hours into the shift that it has to be worked. I'm trying to take it as late into the day as possible.

I know that a shift over 6 hours is requires an employee to take their break. Legally would I be able to work 6 hours, then take my break, or could I work 7:30 hours and take my break. Or is it "retro-inclusive" meaning if I work a 6:01 hour shift, I would have to take my lunch 5 hours in?

Could I work from 7:00AM, work for 7 hours, and take my break at 2PM? Or would it have to be taken at 12PM?

Hopefully that all makes sense. I can clarify further if it's not clear enough. Thanks in advance!

Answer: Massachusetts has no law specifying.  So you take your break when your bosses allow you to.


Title: Hostile work environment??

Question:
Reddit peeps I need your help... What would you do??
Backstory..my hubs got this good paying job a few years back. Life was good until he got laid off. Okay 5 years go by and every year he is laid off in winter until early spring. Its only a few guys that get laid off. But this year so far it is only him that’s laid off. The problem is every time they have new hires you would think that workers with more seniority would fill open jobs and NOT be the ones who get laid off. Wrong not at this family owned business. My hubs is a good worker never complains always goes with the flow does what is asked of him he’s not a snitch or an ass kisser. We don’t get it. Guys with less seniority have permanent jobs and no lay off whereas my hubs does not have a set job and laid off after being employed there for almost 6 years. There are workers who do some of the stupidest things and no one bats an eye. My hubs was put on a job that he was not trained well on and hadn’t done consistently for months to really learn the job he messes up and gets taken off of the job “youve been here long enough” was a comment made by a supervisor on that job when he even knows my hubs had not done that job in a long long time and hubs even expressed concerns about it but was reassured it would be fine. So much favoritism and nepotism at this place its so hard if you are not one of the good ole boys. My hubs doesn’t feel good about talking to the supervisors or owner. He’s seen people let go for speaking up. He’s inquired about open jobs but has been told “ill let you know when the dust clears” this was after 4 new hires started. Supervisor never followed up with my hubs and guess who’s working while my hubs is laid off? Yep those 4 new hires. The only thing we can thinking is that the new hires aren’t top rate yet so its more cost effective to keep them working and lay off my hubs?? Honestly my hubs and myself are both stressed out.  He's having sleep problems and pain in his neck.  He's applied for other jobs and we feel like when the employer looks at his resume they toss it because of who he presently work for- no one would want to leave this job.  Its a highly sought after job/employer.  Hell it took many years for my hubs to get hired.
We may never know because there is such a lack of communication from that supervisor.

Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: That's not a hostile work environment. If he doesn't feel like he's getting what he deserves, he can find a new job.


Title: NH - Well Running Dry After Home Purchase

Question:
I recently purchased a home in NH that was a flip. The previous owner bought the home from an auction and then fixed it up and sold it to me. About a month after purchasing the home, I woke up one morning and noticed I had no water pressure. Upon having a well contractor come out he told me I was only getting 9 gallons per hour refresh rate in my well when you would normally look for a minimum of 5 gallons per minute.

Am I able to take any action against the previous owner for not disclosing the low flow well?

The previous owner did not live on the property so he could argue he didn't know. We did have him shock the well before we moved in due to bacteria, which means they would have had to drain the well to get the chlorine out. It's my thought that there's no way they couldn't have known the well had a low refresh rate while running the water to drain the well.

I did get a home inspection prior, but not a well inspection. This is my first home and neither the home inspector or the real estate agent mentioned that it could even be an issue.

What do you think?

Answer: No, you don't have any recourse because they never loved in the home. That's the negative about buying from an investor.


Title: Coworker attacked me

Question:
Short and sweet is that a coworker, who has a 5+ year history of belittling/abusing/harassing both coworkers and patients, has actually physically attacked me, leaving a mark (that looks like it is going to be a scar) both admitting fault to my boss and myself (with us both being in the room), stating that she "didn't think it would leave a mark."  she has  a history of tormenting people and mentally abusing them, but this is the first time she has actually hurt anyone.  I said I didn't feel comfortable being in a room alone with her, and that I was not wanting to press charges at this time.  My job is pressuring me to forgive her, and most past the incident, with no apparent repercussions for my coworker.

Basically, boss is saying he feels uncomfortable/the attacker feels uncomfortable that I do not want to be left in a room alone with her (where it is her word against mine, she being a known liar).  I have a very large scar from where she scratched me, and she is still going about her day to day business.

Is there a recommended course of action I should take, or should I not agree to anything?  It feels like they are trying to sweep this under the rug and not do anything to resolve the situation.

Thanks.

Answer: When someone physically attacks you, you can call the police.


Title: [CA & AZ] I have several questions concerning possession of both MMJ & firearms in these states. I understand these are all grey areas but any information regarding trends or case law would be very helpful.

Question:
1.  In these states (and I understand the laws are likely to be different) are medical marijuana recommendations reported to the state or federal gov't? If someone owns firearms and carries concealed via CCW, is it better that they have an MMJ rec, or better that they don't? What if they are planning on purchasing add'l firearms in the fairly near future? ~a few months?
2.  I understand that lying on the form when purchasing a gun is a federal offense. However, what if someone is not a user at the time of purchasing the gun (they have stopped using for several months) but then they begin using again after the purchase of the gun?
3.  How risky is it to possess cannabis at home and also own firearms that are kept unlocked and loaded, but in a separate area of the house from the cannabis? How risky it is to possess cannabis at home and have an MMJ card, and have loaded and unlocked guns, but the guns and MMJ are kept separately? (I understand "risk" here is very subjective... but let's say that the person in question has zero criminal record, lives in a single family home, so not likely to disturb anyone with MMJ smoke, etc)

I'm assuming that carrying a gun with a CCW and at the same time possessing cannabis outside the home would be highly inadvisable / illegal, even with a valid MMJ recommendation -- is that correct?
Do you think punishments for any of the above would be affected by the severity of the illness for which the patient is using MMJ? I'm assuming that someone who has a serious health condition (on par with cancer, for instance), then they might get more sympathy from a judge if they were to be prosecuted for breaking any laws.
Finally, for someone who relies on MMJ for pain relief and prefers to live in a "shall issue" state for CCW, what are the best states to live, anywhere in the US?

Answer:
 There is no grey area. It is federally illegal.  The ATF updated the 4473 background check form regarding this.

If you stop smoking, buy a gun, and start smoking again you were never "not a user". You just took a break.


Title: [NJ] Avoiding Traffic Light using Jughandle

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 Burden of proof is on him. There is no way he can prove you meant to avoid anything since you are on a real road.

That statute is for something like jumping a curb to miss a lightAnswer #2: There is a sign at the entrance to the jughandle marking it for U-turns only, according to Google Street View.


Title: Landlord is Threatening Eviction and saying Ill owe the rest of the Lease, Will I?

Question:
There was an incident at my apartment that brought it light my lack of renters insurance (stupid on my part I know) due to this incident my landlord is threatening to evict due to a material breach of the lease, he Is also saying ill be on the hook to pay the rest of the lease until a new tenant is found. My question is this: If he serves me with a notice to quit, and I do within the allotted time, am I still liable for paying the rent until a new tenant is found?
(Portland, Maine)

Answer:
 Depending on your location, if you get renter's insurance (It's cheap. Get it, you bonehead.) then he has no grounds to evict you. If he moves to evict you, you just show that you purchased it. However, if you are evicted, he is not able to double dip. He either lets you serve out the rest of your lease and gets paid or evicts you and doesn't. You don't want an eviction on your record, so don't let it get to that.

Edit: Also, if you have a copy of the lease, what does it say about having renter's insurance?


Title: Bathroom leak=mismatched bathroom

Question:
Hi all.  My parents are having a problem in their apartment and I'm hoping /r/legaladvice can provide some guidance.

They've lived in the apartment for the past 20+ years; it's rent-stabilized, and they're generally happy.  The downstairs neighbor has reported a leak in her bathroom, coming from their bathroom.  The repair company has determined there is water pipe leaking, and has torn down the relevant wall to find and repair the leak.  This is not their fault, nor the other tenant's fault, just the nature of an older building.

The problem comes with the bathroom walls/floor.  The bathroom tiles were put in several years ago, and they do not have enough spare tiles to re-tile the entire wall/floor area that was torn down to find and repair the pipe.  The management company is saying that they will re-tile only the area that they destroyed, and will not make any effort to match the rest of the bathroom, nor will they re-tile the rest of the room to match the new tile they plan to install.

Is there any legal recourse/right which would necessitate/encourage the landlord to at least get all of the tiles the same, even if they have no say in what tiles they are, rather than having a totally mismatched bathroom?

Thanks for any guidance.

[NYC, New York, USA]

Answer: The color/appearance of the tiles does not effect the ability to use the bathroom. While it may be tacky, there's no legal requirement for your LL to provide matching tiles in the bathroom.


Title: Can I go behind my parents back to get vaccinated? (KY)

Question:
**TL:DR** I'm 15 but I turn 16 in July. Can I somehow get vaccinated without my parents knowing? I live in Kentucky.

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First off, my parents are great. They're far from abusive and are amazing. We've always had a great relationship and if this goes the way I want it to it'll be by far the most scandalous thing I've ever done.

&nbsp;

Anyways, I'm 15 but I turn 16 in July. I live in Kentucky. I don't remember getting any vaccinations after third grade. I was gonna get some when I went to middle school but I chickened out and starting crying. I didn't and still don't like needles, but I know that this is something that's really important and something I need to do.

&nbsp;

So, can I in some way get vaccinated without my parents knowing? Do doctors require parental consent or can I just take our insurance card and get it done myself? I'm thinking I'll have to be 16 but I really don't know. Visiting the school nurse isn't an option because I'm homeschooled now.

&nbsp;

It won't be the end of the world if I do get vaccinated and they find out, I'm not too concerned with the repercussions. They've never been abusive and my mom will probably just be mad for a few weeks. On the other hand, I do want to keep this as much as a secret as I can since they could probably intervene if they find out my plan.

Answer: It would be worth  asking your parents for another tetanus shot, if you're around animals. I volunteer and we're required to have an updated tetanus shot at MINIMUM every ten years. They prefer no more than 5-7 years though. Even if they don't like shots, the tetanus one is really important to have.Answer #2: Get the TDAP  (tetanus diptheria pertussis) when you turn 18 as it is recommended to have a booster every 10 years. You can also get the HPV one then as well. I would also recommend looking into the meningococcal vaccine, so you can get that when you are old enough as well.


Question:
Hey Reddit – this is my first post, but I wasn’t sure where to even begin. (Edits: Originally posted in r/advice. Reposting in r/legaladvice in hopes of getting more visibility and responses that are geared toward the legality of the issue. Please feel free to reach out, especially if you've experienced something like this yourself.) This is happening in a South Florida middle school as of this school year (2018-2019). If there is anything here that I've misrepresented, misunderstood, taken for granted, etc., please let me know. I want to be the best resource and advocate I can be for my friends and community. Any advice from parents, teachers, counselors, mental health professionals, and administrators would be very welcomed!

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TLDR: **A student with special needs is beating up teachers, staff, and students - How Should the School Handle It?** A local public middle school has failed to ensure a safe environment for its students and staff, specifically, for one of our most vulnerable populations (and the people who educate, protect, and support them): SVE, or Specialized Varying Exceptionalities, aka “Special Needs”.

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There are two students in particular who have caused direct harm to their teachers and other staff they come into contact with; while the school can’t anticipate behavior without it being properly documented to begin with, the administration has not followed through with the necessary precautions and additional support necessary to secure the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved. As a result, the behavior has continued and escalated.

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One teacher now requires surgery, and the second is in physical therapy on one hand while being charged with the care and education of both classes on the other. Now, I hope this never happens to anyone at any point, but this just\* the second quarter. What will the next bring?

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This is a very charged and layered issue, but the basic need for safety is paramount. Not only are the teachers and staff at personal risk, but so are the kids – the students they interact with every day, and even the students that are doing the hitting, kicking, and/or biting themselves. Furthermore, these students deserve the same right to a free and safe education as any other kid does. Violent outbursts not only disrupt their education but their sense of security, and there's no one on-site that can safely and legally intervene, so the incidents are forced to simply run their course.

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I don’t know of the parents’ involvement/outreach so far, but the teachers and staff have been doing everything in their power and documenting these occurrences in hope of some action or assistance to no avail. The school doesn’t have a specialist with the PCM (Professional Crisis Management) training on-site to subdue these students when they physically assault someone to prevent harm to school property and, most importantly, the people in this learning environment.

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This school also has 2 SVE teachers on its payroll this year (where it had 3 in previous years) as well as lighter support staff, resulting in larger class sizes, which only seems to have made a difficult situation much worse. There’s a shortage of teaching assistants, and an absence of professionals with the training to subdue the student in a way that is safe and legal, but the school has yet to address the issue, despite dozens of reports from its staff and concerned parents.

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I really feel for these educators who love their jobs and go into work every day despite this – no one should have to feel like their safety isn’t guaranteed at work, especially with all the additional stress on schools and educators. I'm a huge supporter of our SVE teachers, I'd even hoped to become one myself, but this situation has raised a lot of what-ifs and red flags for me and it breaks my heart for the students and educators.

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If I were being attacked by one of my students, would my school put me through this same ordeal? What about the kids, and their physical and emotional wellbeing? And what would happen if this occurred in a gen-ed environment, for that matter? Wouldn’t the student be removed immediately? I’m not suggesting there are no differences between the two circumstances, but no one would expect a teacher to take a student back into his or her class after being assaulted once, much less a number of times. While I won’t go so far as to suggest the administration created this issue by not accounting for the needs of their incoming students, it seems illegal and negligent not to have responded to this by now.

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The school has a clear responsibility to the safety of its staff and its students, but the disruption and unease this creates for a vulnerable population should be noted as well. The children displaying this behavior have needs that aren’t being met, the administration needs someone to blame, and the students, instructors, and personnel are caught in the crossfire. Meanwhile, the teachers are too worried about safety to make sure their students make the most of their education.

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If the teachers are expected to provide the stability and structure these kids need, the school must then be expected to provide them with the necessary support to do so. I’m not sure what other parents, teachers, or other staff are already doing to get this resolved through the administration, but so much time has passed that I’m concerned this is just going to keep getting swept under the rug until someone breaks something or files a restraining order. I don't know what the school is doing in response in any kind of intimate detail, but the administration’s response so far has been to shift the blame from themselves to the teachers, which seems as insulting to career educators as it is unfair to everyone involved. Still, if they \*aren't\* doing the right thing by these students and teachers, what would be the best way to handle this, from an educational and legal standpoint? Is there any recourse you would offer the teachers involved that were injured or the parents of these children with special needs?

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If anyone has experience with dealing with this, as a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, administrator, or qualified health professional, your input would be invaluable! I can add additional details, too if those would be helpful.

Answer: Have these actions or lack of been reported to the school board at all?


Title: Landlord says I gave 30 days notice and have to move out Oct 31

Question:
***IMPORTANT PART:***

**This is word for word the email I sent:**

**ME: (aug 21)** I wanted to let you know xxx & I will be moving out of xxx in the near future. We don’t have an exact date as of yet, as it’s dependent on a few things. The earliest would be October 1st, but it could be as late as November 1. As soon as we have a set date we will let you know! Please let me know if there’s anything I need to do in the mean time.

Could you also let me know the name, number & email of the person you prefer we put down for a landlord contact/reference in the future, for the next place we live?

**OFFICE:** We will need 30 days notice, so please let me know which it will be.

**ME:** I will let you know when I know (there was more to this email, but irrelevant here).

**OFFICE: (oct 10)** minutes after angry phone call explained below - I am following up on this. Since I have not heard back from you,  we take it that you will be moving out on 10/31/18.

**ME:** Like I said in the previous email, I will let you know my move out date when I have it. No, I am not moving out by October 31.

**OFFICE:** Per your email you said that latest would be Nov 1st.  We took that as your written notice.

**ME:** No, I said I would let you know when I had a date. And I don't have a date yet. I said it "could be as late as", and I never set a firm date. That email was a courtesy heads up that I was leaving in the near future. There are a lot of outside factors determining this date, which is why I did not give you an official date. I do not have a move out date yet, therefore I will not be terminating my lease.

**OFFICE:** Please see the email you sent on 8/21/18.

**ME:** Like I said, I did not give you a confirmed date, as I didn't have one, and still don't. I am not terminating the lease, as I've already stated.

***I have not heard a word from them since. Obviously I am not ready to move out. Do I have anything to worry about? Have I screwed myself over with the above email conversation?***

\--------

**Super long back story**: I have had an insane amount of issues with management of this building (management has been fired/changed about 4 times in the past 1.5 years). The current people are AWFUL, as the past people have been.

I live on the top floor of a very old building (warehouse from the late 1800's converted to apartments). The roof they put on was a POS and has been leaking for several years into the apartments on the top floor. I personally have had a problem since May/August. Complained many times, maintenance "fixed" it many times and the problem persisted. The water is disgusting. It sits in a pool under the "new" roof from 2015 and on top of whats left of the roof from the 1800s. I can only imagine the mold and other disgusting things it sits in until it leaks into my apartment. One of the bathroom ceilings is also covered in mold, and maintenance doesn't seem to think its a priority to get rid of it. It's been like that for months.

 After writing a note to all of my neighbors - they all have the same leak problems, myself and a neighbor made complaints to the housing department of our city and BBB. They will be inspecting the building soon. Management claims we are getting a new roof and it will be done by the end of December, weather permitting (I live in Iowa - its not going to happen with the weather we have). It hasn't been started yet. Manager calls me on a Monday, the day I wrote the note, and tells me she's not happy I wrote it blah blah, but was pleasant enough. This is when she says were getting a roof. Promises they will honor the lease which says they will refund us rent money for the unusable space from the leaks.

That night it rains, *hard*. The water is leaking into my apartment worse than it ever had. I make a public snapchat local story thing, saying "screw you (apartment building name) for not fixing this roof for years!". Kind of a dick move? Maybe, but I was beyond frustrated with the water leaking for months, and to say I don't trust the management here would be an understatement. Management sees this snapchat (the likelihood of this is low...someone told them about it). I get an extremely rude and angry phone call from her a few hours later. She screams things like "how dare you post things about us online" blah blah. She threatens to post surveillance video of myself and my dog online (...what?). She then yells about how my dog is never on a leash (not 100% accurate, she is only ever off leash in the elevator and the 20 feet from my door to the elevator - but not anymore - again I've never met these people, don't even know how they would know my dog or myself). She had no right to come at me like that and I told her as much, calmly. I eventually hung up because she was just screaming at me, not talking to me.

Literally within *five minutes* of that phone call I get the email above. They are clearly retaliating to me complaining and organizing my neighbors to complain, which I know is illegal and I have told them this. They even made a public comment response to my BBB complaint that says "...we would like for her to move out." I doubt would ever have went back and searched to find this email if I had not made complaints.

I believe they are also avoiding talking to me about the refund. I gave them an amount I wanted in return based on cost per square foot, the space in my apartment that has leaks, and the amount of time has been happening. I think its reasonable. I've sent 3 emails in one week. Zero response. On the third email I included the owner of the building. Nothing. I think they are avoiding me until Nov. 1 when they will attempt to kick me out and say they don't have to pay me that money. I've looked up laws, and from what I can tell if what I said above stands as an official move out date, they could probably remove my stuff, change the locks, or remove my dog. This makes me extremely worried.

I absolutely cannot afford an attorney, and I don't qualify for Iowa Legal Aid. I only make 33k a year, and I have 65k in student loans. This apartment is NOT cheap by Iowa standards. I can only live here because my boyfriend pays half. We had limited options when we were looking to move into this city because dog-friendly apartments in a safe neighborhood are hard to come by. I cannot move out now, I am working on getting a new job in Chicago as my boyfriend recently moved there for a new job. Month to month leases are hard to come by here, not to mention places that also allow dogs. If I have to I can move back with my parents, 45 minutes away. That is obviously not ideal and not what I want to do. Any advice will be much appreciated! Sorry for the long post.

Answer:
 Your first email clearly states that you are moving out at some future date; that while you are not exactly sure of that date, **it will be some time between 10/1/2018 and 11/1/2018**; and therefore, the very latest date by which you will be moved out is 11/1/18. Answer #2: It seems to be a matter of semantics. When I read your first message I totally thought you meant you would be out by Oct 31 or Nov 1. Not that you would have a date by then. When were you actually planning on terminating the lease?Answer #3: I also read the email as saying that you would be moving out between Oct 1 and Nov 1. Which would be frustrating for me as a landlord because you owe 30 days notice. Answer #4: In the future you should give your notice only when you have a set date, that’s at least 30 days away.
Of course the landlord thought you would leave by November 1st, that’s exactly what you told them you would do. No misunderstanding here, reread your email.


Title: Employer keeps lowering our piece rate pay, illegal?

Question:
I work in California for a company that pays hourly plus a piece rate for every piece of work done. I was hired with an agreement of a pay scale, but my employer keeps lowering the piece rate pay just because they feel like it. Is this legal?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Do you have a bona fide contract or union agreement? Most people in the US don't

Is your base wage above or below minimum wage? How about that plus piece rate?Answer #2: No. They can change pay rate as long as it's not done retroactively and it stays above minimum wage and you haven't signed a contract. Answer #3: When is the first time you are told of the lowered rate? Are you finding out by looking at your pay check? If so, simply file a wage complaint.


Title: Took car to get repairs/detailing, company that did it left a gun in the car. What do I do?

Question:
My friend just told me this happened, and I am asking on his behalf.

He took his car to a shop to get repairs, then to another for detailing. When he got home, he found someone left a holstered weapon in the car. He is unsure which shop left it in, but it appears to be a single-shooter that may be unregistered. He has a child so I am really concerned that something bad might have happened had he not found it, but I am honestly at a loss as to what advice to give him. He seems reluctant to go to police with it since it sounds like it may make his own life more difficult by associating his name with the firearm.

&#x200B;

What should he do with the weapon?

Answer: There is a reason you're supposed to provide your location. In some places this is not a big deal (it is irresponsible to lose a gun but in terms of getting in trouble) and in other places having a gun the government doesn't want you to have can get you sent to prison.Answer #2: Turn it over to the police and allow them to sort out the lawful ownership of the weapon.


Title: Gave 3 Weeks Notice. No last paycheck on last day (California)

Question:
I gave 3 weeks notice and quit yesterday. It was my understanding i was going to be paid out entirely on my last day of work but my manager said id be paid on the regular payroll schedule.

I informed him that shouldnt be the case and he looked into it as he was leaving but said he will figure it out the following day. Am i entitled to the 1 days pay penalty? And if so how do i acquire it? I assume hes going to just give me all of my time worked plus my PTO later today.

I know its not much but seeing as i dont have a job anymore every little bit helps

Answer:
 Sounds like you would be entitled to the penalty as you gave sufficient notice and should have been paid put on everything on your last day. The penalty is one days pay for each day it's late up to a max of 30 days.

They may not voluntarily pay you. You may need to file with the labor board. This article explains more
https://www.employmentlawfirms.com/resources/employment/overtime-pay/getting-a-waiting-time-penalty-for-refusal-to-pay-overtime (it's not just about OT but about final paychecks in general). Answer #2: If you gave them more than 72 hours notice (which sounds like yes), they were obligated to give you your check on your last day.

You are now able to collect "waiting time" penalty at your average daily wage for every day they are late with your check.  Up to a maximum of 30 days...

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Title: What am I allowed to do

Question: Lets say someone tries taking something out of the bed of my truck while i'm in it. What are my options for stopping him? Threatening bodily harm? Bodily harm?

Answer: Since you didn't state your location, I'm going to assume you're in space. Therefore, my advice (fair warning, IANAL) would be to obtain and don a spacesuit and worry about your property only after procuring appropriate safety gear.


Title: Child Protective Services Harassment

Question: I have an anonymous scumbag that keeps calling CPS on me. Its happened 3 times already where they'll show up at my door, demand entrance, and force me to take a drug test. The person calling on me keeps throwing out the same bogus accusations every time they call. They say that there is heavy drug use in the household, the parents always scream and hit each other, and that we are always drunk and leave our child with random people while we partake in such accusations. None of these are remotely true. The people calling don't even know where I live as the CPS worker said they didn't have an address, just a name, and that's how they found me.  The mother and I have passed every drug test 100% clean. The CPS worker examines my child for bruises/cuts/etc and never finds a thing.  At what point should I try and do something about it? Or am I just supposed to endure this bi-monthly visit from these people?

Answer: Police report regarding the use of CPS as a harassment tool.Answer #2: What worked for me was getting a lawyer to write CPS a nasty gram about their continued harassment on behalf of blatantly false reports.


Title: Over worked at a convenience store.. Off the clock work. Please help..

Question: I'm an employee at a convenience store in Texas which I believe is privately owned.. I have to complete my tasks off the clock regularly past 11:30 which is when they stop paying me.. Is this legal? I always work night shifts. On bad nights I am there until 1 am cleaning and stocking the store because I'm pretty much the only one that does stocking... I feel like a slave.

Answer: It is not legal to have you do unpaid work. You can file a wage claim. http://www.twc.state.tx.us/jobseekers/how-submit-wage-claim-under-texas-payday-law


Title: My US-born cousin (14F) has been living in Mexico since she was an infant, now wants to study here while I (25F) help her assimilate. How do I bring her here?

Question: I have a cousin who was born here in the US but her parents were undocumented, so they went back to Mexico and took her. They did not fix her dual citizenship papers so now, at 14, she is unable to go to high school there. She wants to return to the US and study here. I will be taking her in for a bit and helping her enroll in school. The problem is, she has an expired US passport from when she was an infant and I don't know how to get her here (the east coast). The school year starts in September and I am not sure how long it would take to try and get a passport from a US consulate in Mexico. Any advice? Thanks!

Answer:
 Does she have anything like a birth certificate/proof of birth in a US hospital? Is her passport her only US documentation?

You can also try /r/immigration.Answer #2: She is a US citizen.  She should go to the US consulate in Mexico with proof (birth certificate, the expired US passport, social security number, and any other documentation proving her citizenship).  She can apply for a passport from there. Answer #3: The first step is for her to actually go to the consulate and explain the problem to them.  They're sometimes very helpful, and sometimes much faster than expected.


Title: [Honolulu, HI] Help! Brother donated sperm to aunt's SO. His name is on the birth certificate. Currently trying to give up any parental responsibility.

Question:
About 7 years ago, my Aunt asked my brother to donate sperm to her girlfriend. She wanted to "keep the blood in the family." There was a verbal agreement that my brother would not have any legal/parental responsibility, but his name was put on the birth certificate.

Fast forward a few years- my aunt and the girlfriend broke up. My aunt has no legal authority over the child, and since my brother is on the birth certificate, his signature/approval is still required on most legal documents for the kid (passports, traveling visas, etc.). He is trying to live a life of his own, but my aunt is incessantly bothering him.

Anyway, I'm assuming its impossible to get a biological parents name taken off a birth certificate. What legal action can be taken to absolve my brother of all legal responsibility? Obviously, I'm worried about the possibility of future child support demands and other legal quarrels. Is there a specific law specialty I should consult? Where do I even start?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 [Here](http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/23/justice/kansas-sperm-donation/) is a relevant news story that is very similar to your brother's situation.

tl;dr your brother may be on the hook for child supportAnswer #2: He can relinquish his parental rights through a fairly lengthy process if the biological mother agrees. Answer #3: The best way to handle this would be to have the aunt adopt the child. Is there a reason this hasn't already happened? Answer #4: As far as I know all the courts that have seen these cases have ruled against the "donor". Without a legal agreement in place I honestly can't imagine any court ever ruling in his favor. It would suddenly become the favorite defense of deadbeat parents everywhere.


Title: Sellers changed their mind and refuse to sell us the house UNDER CONTRACT. Please help law people of reddit!

Question:
I've never had to seek legal action against someone before so I'm not entirely sure what to do. Me and my husband live in California and my husband was approved (not me because I work part time and have odd hours) for up to 220,000 loan. We made an offer of 216,000 to the sellers (1,000 above asking price) and the owners accepted. We gave a 1,000 check for the deposit, which was cashed in. Both parties signed the contract almost a week ago. Yesterday the sellers changed their mind and are refusing to sell the house, even after our realtor sent them an email on our behalf saying that me and my husband could seek legal action.

We could force them to perform and get the house, but me and my husband are afraid of them trashing it before they leave or terrorizing us once we've moved in, so we decided we'd rather receive monetary compensation. We have to do mediation before taking this to court, but I don't really know what we should ask for compensation. Our lease ends in April, and if we decide to renew it, we'd be paying 1,050/month. We could do month to month, but that would cost us 100 extra. I'm pretty sure we could have them pay for rent as damages, but i'm not sure for how many months worth of rent. I don't know  how to go about this, so any advice would be appreciated!

Edit: When looking through the emails between our realtor and my husband, I found out the sellers are also have 7,000 in delinquent property taxes.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer: There's an [interesting thread](https://np.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/34mdbt/help_seller_is_trying_to_get_out_of_contract/) from last year over at r/personalfinance on the same topic, although that buyer preferred getting the house instead of taking some cash.Answer #2: Talk to a local attorney to help you sort this out.  They can give you an idea on damages and how viable an option that is.


Title: (ORE/CAL) 2 speeding tickets in 2 different states

Question:
I'm a college student from Oregon and I had a roadtrip to Reno over the weekend. I was a speed freak, so unfortunately, I got two tickets. I'll detail both of them real quick:

Ticket #1: Highway in Oregon, 88 in a 55 zone, cop was stationed on a curve, acted polite, kinda nonchantly said I was in a hurry to get to Reno when asked why I was speeding, was checked by laser, court date is next month and 4 hours away

Ticket #2: US Highway in California, 115 in a 65 zone (he states that was my max and he caught me at 110), cop was driving the other direction and turned around when I sped by him, said I didn't know how fast I was going and told him I was trying to get some medicine because my stomach was hurting after he gave me the ticket, court date is 2 months from now in California

I'm really scared because I'm a dependent and my parents have gone through so many situations like this for me. I want help on how I can contest these tickets and try to have them resolved with no penalty on my record at least, and I've looked at the LPT thread on fighting tickets. I got a ticket 2 years ago, but I made a deal with the officer and had the fine reduced plus traffic school, so I think my record is clean at the moment.

Edit: I understand that my options are very limited and I've been beating myself over my actions on the long drive back home. I've definitely learned my lesson and I'm just trying to mitigate the damage by probably trying to reschedule the court cases and stuff like that.

Answer:
 > I was a speed freak

and....

> I'm really scared because I'm a dependent and my parents have gone through so many situations like this for me.

Time to grow up if you value your driving privileges. Seriously, that's the best advice you'll ever get, and it's free.

> I want help on how I can contest these tickets and try to have them resolved with no penalty on my record at least

From your narrative, your rate of success will be 0.1%. I'm giving you the 0.1% because who knows, the court room could get hit by a meteor the day before your court case.  Time to buy a bus pass. You may not be driving much longer. A lawyer is your best (and probably only) shot.Answer #2: > I want help on how I can contest these tickets and try to have them resolved with no penalty on my record at least

Get an excellent traffic lawyer.  I can tell you the CA one at least is quite serious as far as tickets go.


Title: (NYC) Roommate wants to kick me out today after giving me till may 1 to leave

Question: The landlord keeps changing his mind about giving me an "eviction" everyother month. This time i actually found a place to move into and he was okay with it. I was going to save my money to move out. Now he is refusing to not allow me access to kitchen and wants me to move out immediatly cause he has someone that is willing to pay him last month this month and security downpayment. HELP?

Answer:
 Did he actually serve you with an eviction notice? Does he have a writ of possesion? Did he take you to court?

If all of the above are no then he cannot kick you out because that would be an illegal eviction. (in case that happens you call the police/sherrif emidiatly to document (or to help you gain acces).


Title: College roommate is dealing drugs

Question: I'm not clear of the exact specifics, but I overheard him talking about selling drugs for a profit earlier, and he now has a stash he will take out and use (or maybe sell). I'm not very comfortable with this at all, I told him a couple times that I want no using/dealing in here, but now I really don't want anything to do with it. I'm not okay at all keeping drugs in this room as I don't feel like being swatted. Also, can I be charged/arrested if I am found in the room with the drugs although I have nothing to do with it? I am in New Jersey, and thanks for any help.

Answer: Tell your RA. Similar thing happened to my friend. He told RA, cops came. If he hadn't told and the drugs had been found he could have also been charged. Answer #2: This is a no brainer. He's putting your future in jeopardy. Report him to your RA and the administration.  Even if you would ultimately prevail you could still be charged if the police thought you were in on it or he lied and said they were your drugs. Answer #3: Turn him in to your RA.  The RA will most likely call the police and you can be done with this mess.


Title: (Illinois) salary worker told to shorten 1 hour lunch to 40 minutes so she can take two 10 minute breaks during the rest of the day

Question:
I have a family friend who works a salary, office job from 8-5 with an hour lunch. Her boss just came to her and told her that he doesn't like that she stays in the break room for the entire hour and she should go back to work when he does.

He suggested 40 minutes for lunch and two 10 minute snack breaks because he saw that she frequently snacks while working at her desk.

The company has over 75 workers.

In a 9 hour day is she legally entitled to breaks besides the 1 hour lunch. (that she now has to shorten to 40 min and use the other 20 minutes as breaks)

Answer:
 It appears the boss's request is legal.

https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/wage-and-hour-laws/state-wage-and-hour-laws/illinois/


Title: My mom is considering giving custody of my 9 year old half brother to me and my husband.

Question:
I did post this over on parenting sub, but they told me to come here.

A little background:

We live in Tennessee and Me, my 22 month old son and my husband live with her and his dad for now, and plan on moving out once my husband gets a few more raises, at least until he makes 500 a week.

Our mom had major heart surgery to have a valve replaced and had congestive heart failure. She is now on blood thinners, and heart medication, and has complications every now and  then, but for the most part does well.

His dad isn't excepting to live too much longer. He is nearly blind due a stroke he had and currently walking with a cane, but he is almost to the point where he is going to get a hove-around. He is on several kinds of medications, I am unsure what all they are for, but i do know one  is for seizures. I also know he goes to doctor appointments monthly, and one reason is to get shots in his head.

I feel like she is fearing the worst and also since his dad is bad shape I feel like the main reason she is considering this is because she feels like my half brother is better off with a healthy male figure in his life.

I also had plans to get my tubes tied after my birth control implant expires next year because I feel like one kid is enough, but at  the same time me and my husband don't mind to take him in.

I am unsure where to begin with all the necessary paperwork and such once this  happens.

Answer:
 Where you should begin is with a lawyer who practices family law. He can explain to you all the different options you have and help you avoid mistakes that could lead to trouble down the road.

It doesn't sound like you guys make a lot of money, so look around for a local organization that provides low-cost legal assistance.


Title: [Minnesota] I’m in a tough spot with nobody to turn to, please help.

Question: Live in a poor neighborhood, the townhouses are jam packed, my neighbors on both sides smoke cigs and there’s at least 4 adults that do that, I’m 15, my parents are scared of going to the landlord and they get mad at me for bringing it up b/c they don’t want the ‘landlord’ to give them bad credit, at least that’s what they tell me. I’m in a tough position, I have younger siblings as well, my parents don’t understand the ramifications of secondhand smoke on little kids. What are ways I can stop them? Live in a poor neighborhood, the townhouses are jam packed, my neighbors on both sides smoke cigs and theirs at least 6 adults that do that, I’m 15, my parents are scared of going to the landlord and they get mad at me for bringing it up b/c they don’t want the ‘landlord’ bad credit. I’m in a tough position, I have younger siblings as well, my parents don’t understand the ramifications of secondhand smoke on little kids. Are they legally allowed to smoke so close to us? I can’t stress enough I close they smoke to our front door + every single window is at the front, so we can’t open any windows. Don’t we have a right to like quiet enjoyment? I’m okay if they smoked must 5 feet away, but everyday that’s all I can think about, I can’t live my life with the fear of hurting my body with every breath over my head. I don’t have anyone to turn to, and I feel suffocated, please help.

Answer: Under Minnesota law, you have no explicit right to be free from second hand smoke in your townhome unless your landlord prohibits smoking in all units and stipulates the policy in the lease.


Title: Legal advice about weed

Question: I am from Croatia and police found 32 grams at a friends house. They took him to the station and are currently questioning him. they said he will have to go to court, but since he is still a high school student the amount he has to pay shouldn't be too high right ? Are there any loopholes in the law we can use here and what is the best course of action from now on ?

Answer: I really doubt that any of us know anything about Croatian law. Your friend will need to hire an attorney. That said, I wouldn't bet on their being any loopholes.


Title: The high school in my town charges heterosexual couples more money to attend the homecoming dance than they charge homosexual couples [IL]

Question: [deleted]

Answer: How does this even work? I didn't buy my tickets as a pair...


Title: Previous Owner's Utility Bill

Question:
Tl;dr -- water company wants me to pay prior owners water bill. Do I have to pay?

I recently moved to Dayton (Riverside) OH, USA and purchased a home with a VA loan. I'm currently serving on active duty at the nearby air base. I received a letter from Montgomery County Environmental Services (my water provider) which said the previous owner left an unpaid final bill and the amount has been transferred to my account number and will now be my responsibility as the property owner. If the balance isn't paid in 20 days, service will be stopped until I pay the balance with late fees.

I'm having trouble seeing how it's my problem they didn't collect their money but not really sure if I have any ground to stand on. I have yet to contact the base legal office; wanted to make sure I have a reason before getting them involved.

Thank you all for your time and help
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 In my area the title company or closing attorney who prepares the settlement statement is responsible for obtaining the sellers mortgage payoff info, taxes due and final water/sewer payoff (though it is the Realtor who schedules the final reading).

I would start with them and see what they say. If they should have collected it from the seller and paid it when the sale disbursed, they might pay it and then look to the sellers for reimbursement.

Did the seller list that there was well/septic instead of a county system?


Title: Dog bit maintenance worker who insisted on petting

Question: Title sums it up well so I'll try to keep it brief. About a month ago, my fiancee was walking our dog into our apartment building when a maintenance worker came up behind her. She moved aside to let him in and he reached down to pet our dog. We had just gotten the dog and knew that she was scared of people so my fiancee pulled her away and told him not to pet her. The dog started growling at him and he continued to ignore my fiancee and try to pet the dog when she lunged at his leg and bit him once on the leg. It didn't look like it broke skin but he still went to the hospital to get treated. Now the apartment complex is saying that I am solely responsible for his hospital bills which I feel should not be true. The letter they sent said that the maintenance worker was walking by when he was randomly attacked by my dog. I want to email the community manager and try to explain what happened but I thought that I should ask for advice first.  I will mention that in the agreement there is a line that says that the resident (me) will be responsible for any injuries. Is there anything I can do?

Answer: Get a lawyer. Stop taking legal advice from an apartment complex. What state are you in?


Title: [Australia] Empolyer is threatening legal action over Facebook group

Question:
I recently got a promotion into management. When I was in the lower ranks a group of us decided to make a secret  Facebook group and I was made an admin. The boss has always been against his employees using social media and associating it with work at the same time. There is also a social media policy (it's a franchise store) that basically says "do not post anything inflammatory or discriminatory."
He also played out multiple people's annual leave without permission which is illegal according to Fairwork. People were posting in the group saying they were going to have a meeting with him and were discussing the legality of what he did. Someone was confused and was asking if it was illegal to get annual paid out without having time off and I responded saying that it's only illegal if they do it without permission and that you can get annual paid out at any time.

Earlier I get a call from the boss saying that as management I should know better than allow this group and these types of posts on the group and that it has broken the social media policy. I asked what part of the policy it broke and he dodged the question and said there is absolutely no grey area that it has been broken.

Am I actually in shit here? or is he just using scare tactics?

Answer:
 > you can get annual paid out at any time

Sort of. You need to have at least 4 weeks left over after you cash the leave out. Your employer also has to have a written agreement to cash out leave, which must include the employee's agreement, so without that it's illegal.

For the social media stuff, it will depend on the exact wording of the agreement and also on what was said. If it's defamatory, discriminatory, or an act of bullying or harassment then it could be in breach of your employment contract or could be illegal. Generally if you don't name names, and the information can't be traced back to the organisation (e.g. don't have the organisation listed under the Work section of your profile, don't name the organisation, don't say "at work" or "my boss", don't give a location, etc. etc.) then you should be in the clear - bonus points if it's a private post or message. If it's public, if you name names, or if the information can be traced back to the organisation, then you could be in trouble.

If they do dismiss you and you believe it was unfair, you can always apply for Unfair Dismissal through Fair Work. Just make sure you submit the application within 21 days of dismissal.


Title: Cousin has a kid and boyfriend doesn't know

Question:
So my cousin has a child from a previous relationship when she was around ....20 I think. The parents kept it a secret and our family kind of turns a blind eye to it. I am not sure what happened to the child...I am assuming she is being taken care of by her father and is being given child support (or some form of support by my cousin's parents). My cousin met a good guy and has him totally whipped, I believe they are set on being wed in about a year from now or sooner. The guy rebounded hard after a breakup and believes my cousin is his soulmate (FYI she is a BITCH). I do not believe they told him about the child and because the guy is a pretty successful the parents want him to marry her. Also I am not too fond of him because he is like a sponge and just totally soaks up my cousin's evil personality and waits on her like a servant. Anyways...long story short...can he divorce her if he finds out? or is there some legal loophole he use to prevent this trickery? If I told him, I am pretty sure I would get shut down quick and he would not believe me. Hes an ass (most likely due to my cousin, otherwise he seems likes a nice, shy guy), but I do not want him to fall into this trap laid out by my evil cousin.

Edit: Sorry, I know he can get divorced at any time, but will he lose anything in the process? like money, property, etc. They currently live in Pennsylvania.

Answer:
 Sorry, is your understanding of interpersonal relationships / divorce law gleaned entirely from cartoons?

You can divorce someone at any time for any reason in most jurisdictions. Answer #2: How are you so sure that her boyfriend doesn't know? And what business is it of yours?Answer #3: He can divorce her for "irreconcilable differences" (or your state's variant) whether or not he ever finds out about the kid. As for "legal loophole to prevent this trickery," it's called "not marrying her."


Title: Old neighbor that made tons of noise went to every tenant in the building and lied to them to make them hate me. Some have come out and told me. Could I easily win this case? More inside

Question:
EDIT: Also a petition to kick me out of the building was made by her and another neighbor and the management has a copy of it. Would it be possible to get a copy by subpoenaing or some other way? Company won't give it to me

EDIT 2: I can't afford to move out from here

Old neighbors would make tons of noise and have the TV on like a movie theatre late at night. I complained about them to management a few times and they decided to make everyone hate me before they moved out.

A couple people I know in the building have told me that "all the tenants think your crazy and are scared of you" because of what they said. They also went around telling tenants that every complaint ever made about dogs, smoking, etc... were all made by me which is not true. Many tenants now completely avoid me when I was OK with them in the past.

Is this a case with pursuing? How much could I possibly win? I don't have her information other than her name and the new city she moved to (2 hours away) but the manager has her phone number.

I am in California if that makes a difference and she still lives in California as well.

Answer: It sounds like you have no damages other than people not liking you. That's not quantifiable. Sticks and stones my friend. Give them all the middle finger and move on.


Title: I’m going to be making 10k less than new hires at my company while I have over 1 year exp [FL]

Question:
Was told to cross post here. Please let me know if this is allowed.

What do I do in this situation. I know corporations don’t give a fuck about their people but i still feel like I got fucked.

I’ve been working at my company in the IT debarment for a little more than a year, and have recently interviewed to transfer to an entirely new department outside of IT.

I’ve  heard back and they have decided to offer me the position. With the same pay. However, new hires in that same position, doing the same work I will be, are being offered 10k more than my current salary. I already met with HR and they did there’s nothing they can do (which is bullshit). I have a year of exp with the company, doing the same things new hires are, but will make 10k less annually...

I mean, what do I do here? Is there anything else  ??
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: You can quit and go to work somewhere else willing to pay you more.


Title: HELP! Was going through a bunch of onion sites.

Question:
I was checking out some onion sites with tor and found a porn site with about 40-50 images per page. All the girls looked 18 some were even older looking so I innocently enough browsed a few pages and then I noticed a few pictures some of the girls were kids and that the site was mixed with cp everywhere. I immediately freaked out and uninstalled tor off my computer and turned off my wifi and PC. I've never visited a site like that on tor before and didn't return to it or save anything. This was about 2 weeks ago. Everyday I live in fear the FBI WILL raid my house. I have previous charges (underage alcohol and weed charges) and have googled jailbait before, just before I turned 18 so I'm worried I'm already on some sort of watch list. What can I do to prevent losing my family and going to jail for 20+ years? I'm no pervert, but all the jailbait was mixed with younger girls too and even had pictures of nudist families so it will look like I'm a child molester or something either way :( it was incredibly irresponsible to use my parents internet this way and the fear just keeps building.

 I thought I would just explain I thought it was regular porn but even the front page had a large graphical banner saying something like "Moms, shemales, pre teens and younger" pretty big. I honestly didn't notice.

Edit: assuming you can add location in text posts, [CA]

Answer:
 Nobody's coming to get you. You're not on a watch list.  Nobody would even know this happened had you not posted about it on the internet.

Clear your browser cache and history.  Get rid of the software you were using to access these places.  And in the future stick to the plethora of perfectly legitimate free pornography sites easily accessible on the normal web.

You're going to be just fine.


Title: Daughter is in mental health facility and they won’t release her

Question:
Throwaway for privacy reasons

Some background: my daughter has had mental health issues and a history of depression for a while. We asked her how we can help and she went to several therapists, was prescribed an antidepressant, and seemed to be doing better. She is currently going to college in Indiana while me and her father live in California. She turned 18 a few weeks ago. Today we got a call that she was admitted to a mental facility in Indiana after she attempted suicide by overdose. She was brought to a hospital after she was found and they saved her and she was admitted. I flew out the same day and I’m currently in Indiana trying to figure out how to get her back into my custody to take her home. The staff told me that since she is 18 and was committed due to a court order, we cannot take her out and she cannot take herself out until she is deemed mentally fit. We want to get her home as soon as possible and back to her therapist and do whatever we can to make sure she’s ok and this doesn’t happen again. Is there any way to get her released to us earlier or do we just have to wait? I talked to her and she expressed regret for what she did and told me she wanted to just go home, and I know she was telling the truth. What do I do to regain legal custody?

Answer:
 Why don’t you want the hospital to treat her? I guess that sounds adversarial but I mean it literally. Would you consider transferring her to another facility? Living at home with outpatient therapy may not be enough.Answer #2: She’s in the best place for her right now. You can hire a lawyer to request a hearing with the judge. You may also want to contact her therapist so they can have contact with the lawyer.

If you have a good plan for after her release, it will help. You won’t get her released with just wanting to take her home. Answer #3: Work with the hospital, ask them to work with her therapist and see if you can get her released back to treatment in your hometown.

I have a history of depression and I can tell you from my perspective that of course I just wanted to go home but it wasn’t until I really sought treatment and did the hard work that I was able to get past the suicide thoughts. I really send thoughts, prayers and strength to you all, best wishes.


Title: Can I get a restraining order against someone who won't take a hint and keeps texting and calling?

Question:
I slowly pulled away and shortened my responses  to this girl and eventually stopped replying to her altogether. She isn't saying anything offensive or threatening me. She's weird and socially awkward  and wont read social ques and she still pursues a friendship. I suspect she may have autism or something else wrong with her and I feel bad. I don't want to have to tell her straight up to just go away. My partner was the one who suggested just getting a restraining order. I don't know what qualifies as a good reason to get one. Do you have to apply and wait on an answer? Does this cost money?

This is in Alabama.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 One of the primary things you need to get a restraining order is to have told someone straight-up to go away.  If they then continue to harass you, you file.

But "Have you told her to stop contacting you" is pretty much going to be the first thing you're asked.

I'm not sure how "Pursue a legal order against someone" is *better* than just being honest and direct with them.


Title: [CO] My employer just called me before my 2PM shift today and asked for my resignation. I told them I would come by soon. Should I resign or ask them to terminate me?

Question:
A former coworker of mine advised me to let them fire me so that I can collect unemployment. Is this valid? I am 21 and this is a fast food establishment, if that's relevant at all.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who responded! I really appreciate that you took the time to comment! 💕

Answer:
 Let them fire you.

You do not need to resign.  Show up ready to work and on time.  Colorado is a one party consent state, meaning you can record the conversation.

Edit: As soon as you are fired, [file for unemployment](https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdle/start-a-claim).Answer #2: Yes it's valid. Don't quit. Tell them to lay you off appropriately and legally. Answer #3: Fast food? Yes, make them fire you.Answer #4: That is what I'd do...unless I planned on working at another of the same establishment in the future, I suppose. Or I guess if they offered me a worthwhile severance pay.Answer #5: Ask for a written request for your resignation.Answer #6: Have you done anything that would merit firing you for cause?


Title: How can I demand compensation for an unrightful tow?

Question:
Fairfax, VA

I was parked overnight at a friend's apartment complex. (I should mention that her name is not on the lease, but she stays there with her boyfriend a lot.)  She gave me a temporary guest parking pass, so we thought we were safe from the evils of legal government ransom (towing).  I woke up to discover that my car was missing and I immediately called the towing company, sure that they had made a mistake.  The woman on the phone proceeded to tell me that the code on the pass was expired.  There is no expiration date on the pass, nor any indication of expiry.  When we went to the leasing office to contest this, a woman told us that she hadn't seen those passes in 5 years, and that yes, they were expired.  Her boyfriend moved into the complex 3 years ago, and never received either a replacement pass or a prompt to renew the one he had.  The property manager does not want to deal with my friend, because her name is not on the lease, and I live 2 hours away, and I'm wondering if I have any legal grounds to demand compensation for the tow.

Thanks in advance, I'm super hopeful as I'm a college student with almost literally no money.  I had to get a loan from my parents for this mess.

edit: The apartment complex caved, and admits that they didn't give proper notice to the tenants about changes in parking permits.  Thanks for all the negativity guys! I guess I just got lucky.

Answer:
 This does not sound like an unrightful tow to me. Especially if the pass was expired. Either way, your friend is not on the lease and has no right to give you permission to use certain restricted parking spots. If anything, your recourse would be against your friend.Answer #2: >legal government ransom (towing)

This was in an apartment complex so the government probably doesn't have anything to do with it.....so....that's dumb.


Title: Creepy neighbors watch/cat call me from their balcony...is there anything I can do legally? (AZ)

Question:
So I live in an apartment building that's essentially in a half u-shape, and my "balcony" (it's a Juliet balcony) faces some of the other resident's balconies. Now some balconies are the Juliet style and some are actual patio style. I just moved in around 6 months ago, and until recently, things have been fine. It seems though that some new residents have moved in across from me. Our balconies are diagonal from one another. It seems to be a group of guys in their mid to late twenties.

I have dogs who like to look outside so I keep my patio door open all day and then close it when I get home from work. About 2 months ago, I kept my balcony door open and put on my pajamas- big t-shirt and underwear (sue me, I don't like wearing pants in my own home). As I was walking to my kitchen, I notice yells and taunts. I was literally being cat-called by these guys while in my OWN home! I was grossed out and immediately closed all doors and blinds and blamed myself for walking around in underwear.

Fast forward to this weekend. I was laying on my floor near the balcony door in shorts watching tv when I get the feeling that somebody was watching me. I look out to check and from that same apartment, one of the guys has set up a chair directly facing my apartment and is watching me. I immediately get up to close my door but not before hearing him loudly groans and yell out "Oh come on!"
I don't know if there's anything I can do. Should I call the apartment office? But what if they tell me it's my fault for walking around in shorts and, admittedly, underwear sometimes? I'm so creeped out to walk by my windows because what if they're watching. Is there anything I can do here?

Answer:
 You can call the office but they(the office) are not obligated to manager your neighbor's behavior(excluding some extremes) and it is legal to look out your window/balcony.

Life advice while its rude and gross to catcall your neighbor and it's rude to stare in peoples windows, if people can see you from their windows/the street/sidewalk unaided there is a really good chance people are seeing you at least some of the time.  Looking out your window into the apt across the courtyard is not the same a hiding in the bushes and peeing through a tiny crack in the blinds.  So I suggest privacy sheers


Title: Window fell on gf's head in new apt and received a concussion. Seeking advice for medical compensation

Question: [deleted]

Answer: She needs a personal injury attorney.


Title: [MA] Motorcycle gone, figured it was stolen, 7 days go by, it was towed by neighbor (building manager presumably gave me wrong #)

Question:
Hey, I'll trying to keep this as brief as possible:

* I'm in Mass. (just outside Boston)
* I signed a Sept 1 lease agreement that shows "1 parking spot" but not the number.  Building manager (different from guy I'm renting from) gave me it a verbal (and hand pointing thing) that it was number XXX. I recorded immediately what he told me (but that won't hold up anywhere...).
* I park motorcycle there for 5 weeks, no issue
* Suddenly, it's gone. I report it to the police as stolen. Also notify insurance (it wasn't insured against theft).
* 7 days pass, police can't find it. I start using the same outdoor numbered spot for my car.
* This morning my car is gone.
* Figure wtf and ask neighbors. Turns out there's a tow company down the street. One neighbor said a crazy woman had his car towed once in the past.
* Tow company/police/insurance didn't synchronize on the bike being towed, so I had no idea what was up.
* Turns out psycho neighbor lady had both vehicles towed without so much as a note that I might be in the wrong spot. The towers said she showed a deed that presumably had that parking spot number.
* $500 later, I have my 2 vehicles again from the tow company. (It's clear it's going up by $30 per vehicle per day so I don't wait till tomorrow when the building manager is back)
* I ask the tow company who called to have them towed, they just say some lady and I'll have to talk to the boss when he's back to get her contact info (their boss is presumably a huge dick and I doubt he'll give me this info).

At this point I figure I'll never get the $500 back. Guess that'll teach me to get the parking space # in writing next time.

My only questions boil down to:

1. Am I entitled to know the name of the woman who had my vehicle towed?

2. If the tow company didn't do something (like apparently get certified mail to my "official" (old) address within 48 hours, do I have any recourse?)

3. Is there any other nuance the tow company could have screwed up (they said they gave the police the slip... the police probably just mishandled it, didn't follow up, etc).

The tow company left no note or anything behind and I had no idea the bike was taken down the street and I'd be changed $30/day on top.

(Neither here not there, but the police officer was literally asleep when I stopped by and the woman is a monster for not trying a note either time.)

Thank you for all thoughts! And yeah I know i screwed up big time by ever getting the parking spot # orally from the building manager. I'll find him tomorrow when he's back in (he's out on weekends). But doubt he'll be useful.

Answer:
 So were you in the wrong spot?

If you were in the ladies spot she had every right to get you towed.

If the building gave you the wrong spot number the issue is between you and the building owner Answer #2: Why do you keep insulting this person, who let you get away with 5 weeks of parking in their spot? So someone has their spot occupied for over a month and then takes action and they are a "psycho", a "dick", a "monster", a "crazy woman", and all that? And you have convinced yourself it's definitely this person who a random neighbor told you might have had someone towed in the past?

You're the dick here, sorry to tell you bro. Your dumb ass would have walked out to an empty space the first morning after parking in my spot. And I wouldn't owe you a note about it either.

If you do find out who it was (which you are not owed and have no reason to find out anyway) please apologize to them for using their spot for *5 weeks* - it will be your first step to becoming a passably decent person, who doesn't demonize made-up characters in order to clear themselves of their obvious wrongdoing.


Title: [CA] My dad was badly injured in a car accident because the airbag did not deploy. Any lawsuit against the automobile company?

Question:
Car - 1994 Mercedes Benz

My dad was the original owner of the car. He bought it back in 1994. The car had the original steering wheel with airbag. It was never used or replaced. He has done no aftermarket modding to it, fully stock.

He got in a bad T-bone accident. His airbag didn't go off and he got injured by hitting the steering wheel. The passenger airbag went off even though there was no passenger.

I just want to know if we have any kind of case before seeking a lawyer. Thank you Reddit

http://i.imgur.com/P7Wz7k8.jpg

Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer: You already asked this.


Title: Can my employer force me to use PTO if they close the office due to weather? [VA]

Question: We are in the path of Florence and my new employer has made it known that if there is a closure, they will use your Paid Time Off to make up for it whether we want it or not. Is this legal in Virginia? I do not want to use my time, I'm fine not being paid for it.

Answer: Yes that's perfectly legal. It's "your time" in the sense that you are owed the pay but it's not yours to control. They can pay you vacation pay without your permission. Furthermore, if you are exempt, it would be illegal not to pay you for closures for that reason unless you didn't work the entire week. Stay safe.


Title: You know why we tell you to listen to your lawyer? So you don't do pants on head stupid shit like this.

Answer:
 > None of the women who came forward were ever in a position where I could make or break their careers. Sexual Harassment requires that I have such power.

Can't get past those two sentences. Literally cannot. Answer #2: I'm out of the loop, who the hell is this guy?Answer #3: This is the guy that shows up at every corporate sexual harassment training and doesn’t understand why staring a woman up and down, slapping her on the ass, and saying “Great ass hon!” is sexual harrassment. They for some reason only understand that quid pro quo harrassment is sexual harrassment the rest is just “how you play the game!”

Answer #4: I feel sexually harassed by the stupidity in his post. His attorney was probably rolling in laughter as he or she read it - hopefully while billing him for the time. Answer #5: M E G A F U C K E DAnswer #6: scroll to the [https://gizmodo.com/robert-scobles-flawed-understanding-of-sexual-harassmen-1819853302](update at the bottom of this article) and writhe in pain as he tries to explain his illogic


Title: Laser Hair removal [CA]

Question:
Sorry if this isn't the right place, but I have no idea where else I would post this.

I am under 18 and my mother has been forcing me to get laser hair removal treatment despite me having no desire to have it done and it being very painful. Is this legal?
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer: So what happens when you say “no” to the clinic doing the procedure? Most places aren’t going to be down with an unwilling patient.


Title: Lawyer Robert Barnes telling people (among them the New York Times Maggie Haberman) to retract their comments about the Covington Kids or get sued. Does he have a case

Question:
Lawyer Robert Barnes (he got famous for betting Trump would win the election and making a tonne of money from doing it) is working pro-bono for some of the Covington Kids in the drama over the MAGA Hat Incident and he has given celebrities 48 hours to retract what he calls libellous comments they have made about the Covington kids.

Does he have a chance do you think?

Answer:
 Not much of a chance but not a zero chance either. Most of what I've seen has either been "truthful" (just how truthful would be up to the courts to decide) or a statement of opinion. There's also an argument around public interest and good faith.

But on the flipside there's also a very strong argument around the harm the extensive coverage has done to their reputation. But that's also a bit of a double edged sword - there's been that much coverage that it's going to be hard to prove damages from any one source (it appears he's going for per se damages where he doesn't have to prove a loss)

I think a lot of his threats are just bluster but a few may have merit. It's almost impossible to predict if he will succeed but win or lose (if he does sue) it will be a long and complicated process.

But....

He's doing this more for the publicity than anything else and as a way of getting his name back in the news cycle it's a pretty good strategy.Answer #2: Here is Barnes' Twitter by the way.

https://twitter.com/barnes_law?lang=en


Title: A kid from Mexico might live with my family for a year - what do I need to consider?

Question:
A bit of background: my wife lived in Spain as an exchange student for a year, and it was an incredibly positive experience for her. She always vowed she would host exchange students when she got older, and she's kept her vow. In the past several years, our family has hosted students from Russia, Germany, and Thailand. The Russian was only for two weeks, but the German and Thai students were for eleven months each.

Naturally, the organization in charge of the exchanges (AFS, in this case) interviewed us and did all kinds of background checks and such, my family and the student had regular contact with representatives from the organization, and we signed several documents that described our responsibilities as host parents.

My wife, a teacher, said the other day that one of her students mentioned to her that he's looking for somewhere to live next year. He is from Mexico, and his parents are living in town while his father is on sabbatical at a nearby university. They will be returning to Mexico this summer sometime. The student has made many friends in the school and wants to stay with a family in town. He just mentioned this to my wife and she said in an offhand way, "You can live with us, but I need to ask my husband."

I'm not opposed to having this student live with us - he sounds like a great kid. However, I have no idea what type of legal ramifications there are. We have made no commitment at all yet, and I don't know what his parents think of the idea, or even if they know about any of this. With our previous students, I'm sure AFS did all sorts of things we weren't even aware of.

If this goes any farther, what sort of things do I need to be aware of? Of course the first step would be to meet with the student's parents and make sure everything is cool with them so we can work together. Other things like insurance, powers of attorney, etc, I have no idea about, and I'm sure there are aspects that I'm not even aware of. Thank you!

Answer:
 Does the child have a valid visa to live in the US? He will need to have an F1 visa to live with you as an exchange student.Answer #2: The child will need a valid visa, that is definite.

Under US law, when you look after a child that is not your own (with permission from the actual parents) you are under what is called loco parentis.

Loco parentis means that you assume the responsibilities of the child's real parents. You will be responsible for their well being and such.

You need a signed letter from the child's parents and possibly the exchange organisation. The child will need separate insurance and you will need proof of this.

NAL but hopefully this will provide some guidance.


Title: Can you put a sexual harassment clause in a contract?

Question:
A company has expressed interest in hiring me for a once-in-a-lifetime dream job and the person hiring has asked me to layout what it would take for me to leave my current job; a list of demands.

My hesitation is that the president of the company has expressed romantic feelings for me in the past. He didn’t make a move on me. He just told me how he felt and wanted to know if we were on the same page. We were not. I’m happily married. I politely turned him down. He apologized and said he’d never bring it up again.

I’m very interested in the job, but afraid that taking it could put me in a vulnerable position. I’m trying to find a possible solution.

Is there such a thing as a sexual harassment clause in a contract?

For example, if they fire me or I decide to leave before the end of my contract for reasons of harassment, they must pay me out $20,000 (or some other amount that would be a major deterrent).

Of course, I am also considering passing on the opportunity all together.

Edit: I live in Vancouver, BC (Canada)

Answer:
 You can always try, but it doesn't make an awful lot of sense to do so. You'd be setting damages that depending on where you are and your job, may be either higher or lower than a jury might award  (or the company may offer in settlement) if you did lose your job for that reason.

There already are mechanisms to collect damages if you're harassed and have to leave your job, either if fired or due to constructive dismissal because it isn't addressed when you report it. If you were to leave based on your belief you're being sexually harassed, unless they willingly pay out, you'd still have to file a civil suit to enforce the contract term and not be in much different of a position than you would be had the contract not been in place to begin with.

If you aren't comfortable  that the person who asked you out isn't going to behave professionaly or you think he will keep pursuing you, then don't take the job. A majority of people don't keep pressing after they ask someone out and are turned down, especially when they come work for you, but you know the situation more than we do.


Title: New Orleans DA office issuing fake subpoenas -- how is this only "possibly" illegal?

Question:
[Article here](http://thelensnola.org/2017/04/26/orleans-parish-prosecutors-are-using-fake-subpoenas-to-pressure-witnesses-to-talk-to-them/). Apparently they are sending defense witnesses they want to interview memos that say "subpoena" and say that refusal to comply may risk fines or imprisonment, but not actually going through the courts to get a subpoena. They say that there is no difference between this and sending a letter requesting a meeting on their letterhead, but to a non-lawyer like me it seems very different. Calling their requests "subpoenas" when they do not actually have the force of the law behind them seems like fraud.

Three questions:

1. Are the people interviewed in the article who say the practice "may be" illegal just being careful because there is existing statute or case law against the practice? Because again, to me it seems like fraud, which is definitely illegal.

2. Obviously the DA isn't going to prosecute himself or his office over this. But as it seems agreed that this is at the very least an unethical practice, is this the kind of thing that could result in censure or disbarment if reported to the state bar?

3. In cases where this was done, is it possible for the defense to get a new trial due to prosecutor misconduct, or would it be too hard to prove that it affected the final outcome of the trial?

Answer:
 The legal system over there in Louisiana sounds all sorts of fucked tbh. If you take this and the public defender crisis together, the system really appears primed to work against you if you can't afford a lawyerAnswer #2: 1) Lawyers usually don't call things "illegal" unless they are specifically prohibited by law or there has been a decision made by a court to that effect. If there's even a 1% chance it's legal, you'll hear lawyers say "likely illegal". You'll also hear it in cases where an expert is asked to weigh in, but does not have all of the facts available.

2) Yes, this could result in censure, though I suspect the state bar association would give pretty wide latitude to prosecutors.

3) This would be really hard to prove. You'd have to show that the conviction would not have happened were it not for that testimony and that the witness would not have appeared in court were it not for the fake subpoena. Considering that prosecutors could have sought real subpoenas to force witnesses into court, it would be extremely difficult to prove that the witness would have been willing to ignore the official subpoena as there is already evidence the witness was willing to obey a fake one.


Title: [AR] Help for my brother. He cashed checks that were for my dad and someone got wrongfully evicted. Will he go to jail?

Question:
I realize that what my brother did was wrong but I just want to help him. My dad is a superintendent for some apartment buildings. My brother took a rent check and pretended to be my dad and cashed it. He didn't tell my dad. My dad told the person her rent was overdue because he didn't know. She wrote another check and went to the bank or whatever to stop the first check. But my brother did the same thing with the second check. My dad still didn't know and she got evicted. She was going to school here but with the eviction and unpaid debt on her record she couldn't get another place and she had to go back to her parents in Missouri and leave school and switch to a college there next quarter. She had only been away from home since August and didn't know what to do except to fight the eviction from home. The bank knows the checks were cashed and that is was my brother. They said they told the police because my brother is an adult. My parents are mad and I'm really scared for him. What can I do for my brother? Could he go to jail or get sued? He did a bad thing and I know it. He used the money for pot and I think he needs help.

Edit: I didn't know he stole the checks until after or I would have stopped it and helped him with his drug problem.

Answer:
 Your brother is an adult. Who stole checks and caused an innocent person to be evicted, to have to move and drop out of school.

Yeah, he'll be facing criminal charges, will possibly (hopefully imo) go to jail, and can (and again, hopefully will) be sued civilly by the tenant. Your dad can also be sued by the tenant. Answer #2: What a nightmare. The brother has will be facing criminal charges for sure. The father could easily be sued for a wrongful eviction. Father better hope the tenant's attorney can't figure out a legal theory to allow her to recover her damages due to having to move or it could get even worse. Answer #3: You can hire a lawyer for him if you have the money and want to spend it on that. That's really about it.


Title: Moving out (MD)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Your parents could potentially report you missing.  Depending on how you moved out and the circumstances the police could come looking for you.

If your parents allow you to move out and you continue to be a law abiding citizen, you will probably be okay.


Title: My friend lost my brand new phone and doesn't want to help me replace it.

Question:
While on vacation with a group of friends, one of them wanted me to lend them my phone so they could take some pictures, since I just got a new iphone X and that apparently took better ones than their phone. I hand them my phone and we all leave, go on our little adventure and when we come back to the rooms, they tell me they don't know where my phone is. We established that they had the phone, but they claim that they don't know where it is so it was probably stolen or forgotten somewhere. After searching for it for hours and turning our room upside down multiple times, we concluded it must be gone forever. This was out of the country, and now that we're home this person is telling me they don't know if they can "afford" to help me replace it. They gave me 200 on the spot and told me that was the best they can do, but the phone itself was over 1000 dollars and I have checked my credit card/home/travel insurances and they can't help me. Do I have any grounds to get this guy to replace the phone? I've already purchased a new one on a new phone plan but the extra 1000 dollars on my credit card is going to hurt a lot.
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 You can sue in small claims court for the remainder. It doesn’t matter what your friend can or cannot afford. They took on the responsibility of using your phone and lost it. This is what small claims court is for. Answer #2: Friends tend to be the worst at this sort of thing. Best you will probably be able to do is small claims court.

This is one of the reasons I’ve stopped lending any equipment to friends.


Title: Trying to get title back from Grand Larson by Trick

Question:
Not 100% if it technically would be under that law, but close to it.  Someone that knew my mom for over 20 years had created a fake persona- he claimed that he was part of the Rothschild family and continued this persona for the entirety of the time that he knew her.  Through this persona, he claimed that he knew a lot of legal tricks as far as property was concerned- and told my mom that if she got a divorce from my dad (they were going through a rough time), putting it in his name would guarantee that my dad wouldn't be able to get the house after the divorce.  This went on until he had pretty much every big expense in his name that was hers- the house, a car, another property, and possibly a motorhome.  The agreement was that after everything blew over (whether they went through a divorce or not), that everything would be put back in her name.
As the persona continued, he eventually promised more and more things that would be put in her name, simply because he was going to become the owner of these things and didn't want any of it- expensive cars, lots of money., etc.  He even had a bunch of forged legal documents that he showed to us, which stated that there was a trust in our names with a substantial amount of money in it.  He told me that when I turned 25, I would be able to start pulling an insane amount of money from it each month (I think like $25k a month).  Unfortunately, we don't have any of those documents.
After many, many lies and my mom finally realizing that:1. he was a con artist, 2. the man taking a loan out against the house and not giving her a cent, and then 3. trying to sell the house, she began to demand for her property and other things to be placed back into her name.  They began arguing back and forth (he kept arguing that he should still keep it because she was still not in the best situation with my father), and he began faking (at least I believe he was faking) medical issues within himself and his dogs in order to gain sympathy from my mother for the time being.  My mom became more and more upset about the situation and pushed harder to get her property back, but he would always come up with an excuse or just wouldn't talk about it.

A few days ago, we got a "Notice to Quit".  My mom believes that the house is foreclosed (we bought the house outright, but had to pay a property tax that we are fairly sure he wasn't paying).

My question is, how can we get the property back in our name?  If it is being foreclosed, how can I figure out what bank is in possession of the house so that we can attempt to buy it back?

If it is not being foreclosed and we truly are being evicted, what is the best course of action. legally speaking?

Tl;dr:  Guy conned my mom out of her house and a lot of other things, need to figure out how to get it back.

Answer: Holy shit. I feel terrible for you both, and this is a spectacular post. You need law enforcement immediately. This guy needs to go to prison.