Title: My wife may leave me

Question:
I currently live in Kansas in the U.S. and my wife may leave me. My wife is Belgian. There is an issue with her leaving. Regardless of the situation, is she able to take our daughter who holds U.S. citizenship without my permission out of state, or even out of country? What are my legal rights when it would come to family law and international law?

Update 1: I have sought legal help. I have spoken with an attorney here, I have also spoken with an attorney that is know for international family law. I appreciate the advice that I have received so far. I have another appointment with an attorney on Tuesday to talk more in depth about things.

Answer: International aspects in family law are pretty damn complex. That is why I give you the only sensible advice. If you feel that a divorce is coming (like you seem to do) then please go and talk to a family law attorney.


Title: Please Help - 2 Years Ago a Bicyclist Hit My Fiancée's Car. Just Notified They are Suing Her for $250,000!! (Claim Letter and Police Report in Comments)

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Inform your insurance immediately.


Title: Is this patient abandonment?

Question:
My dad had surgery a couple of months ago.  He developed a life-threatening infection and had to have additional surgery.  He was sent home with home healthcare arriving the following day.  They had immediate concerns and tried to have him transferred to a skilled nursing facility, apparently a near-impossible feat once the patient has been discharged from the hospital.  They had difficulty contacting the doctor and the doctor's staff wouldn't speak to me.

Before this issue was resolved, my dad ended up in the ER again and was readmitted to the hospital (probably a secondary infection from the last surgery).  This was 10 days after he'd been sent home, and now the doctor was on Christmas vacation.  He had a colleague covering for him who knew nothing about the case or the complications.  This replacement doctor promptly found a specialist to take over... and the specialist was fucking livid because the original surgeon couldn't be reached (took over 2 weeks before he answered his call service).

Guess my question is does this fall under patient abandonment?  Is this something I should report?  Or talk to a lawyer?

[EDIT: California]

Answer: Has any harm arisen from the inability to contact the original surgeon? If not, then while you can certainly report what has happened, there appears to be no basis on which your father can sue the surgeon.


Title: My brother (convicted felon) has admitted to stealing my identity. What are my next steps?

Question:
So I (32/F) went to my hometown over the weekend to celebrate Mother's Day with my family. My brother (33M) was nowhere to be seen and my parents didn't say much about him. On Saturday my parents told me that he stole a little over $500 from them by having my mother's bank card number and moving money into a PayPal account. They decided not to press charges, but just to cut him completely loose. Ok, fine. He has a felony drug conviction for which he served about 9 months for a few years ago. He's an addict.

Last night after I returned home (I live in TN, my folks and brother live in MS), I received an email from a credit tracking website that I use saying my credit score changed. There were 3 hard inquiries to my credit. I immediately called the companies where credit cards where taken out (2 at a large retailer and 1 from a layaway-type store) and got the lines of credit shut down and reported it as fraud. I am waiting on the reports from them to come in. I also spoke with a representative from one of the 3 credit bureaus and have had my credit frozen and put a fraud alert on it so that it will stop immediately.

I called my mother last night and asked if there was any way he could have gotten my social security number and she admitted that she found mine and my dad's cards in his possession. Why she didn't tell me is beyond me... He later emailed me and admitted to stealing from me.

What are my next steps? I absolutely want him to pay for this crime. Can I file a police report locally even though the crime wasn't committed in my state? Do I need an attorney? What can I expect to come of this?

EDIT/UPDATE: I just wanted to give a quick update/edit. First and foremost, thank you for all of the great advice here. I, myself, have done most of what was recommended already and I just wanted to make sure I was on the right track. I just spoke with my dad and they've done a little bit of digging and it looks like my brother took out two additional credit cards plus the $500 from their bank account that was sent to PayPal. They plan to press charges/file a police report for all of it. It looks like his (ex)girlfriend might be in on it as well. Everyone's credit is on freeze for the time being. Thank you again for all of the advice. I am going to have an extremely long conversation with my mother about the SS card situation after this is all over.

Answer:
 Yes you should file a police report locally.  You're taking all the right steps. Whether he gets charged with a crime is really out of your hands, just make sure you are protected. You can put a fraud alert on your credit as well.Answer #2: >He later emailed me and admitted to stealing from me.

What a dumbass.

>What are my next steps?

File a police report locally and print that email. It's an outright confession. The police and district attorney will take things from there.Answer #3: Did he steal your SS card from your mom's house? If so, make sure you get any important papers from your parents place so he can't easily get his hands on them again.


Title: [IL] Student sexually harassing me

Question:
I'm a grad student supervising a class with an open lab where the students come and go at odd hours. I have a student who’s been sending me flirty emails lately and its making me uncomfortable. Theres nothing in the emails thats explicit or anything inappropriate per se, but I want to know what my options are should the student escalate. I stay late in the lab most nights and I’m scared of being alone in the lab with this student. If she tried anything I would obviously turn her down, and I’m worried if I turn her down she might retaliate and report ME for sexual harassment as revenge.

What can I do to be proactive and protect myself from any possible accusations from this student? The lab has no cameras and the emails aren’t incriminating or inappropriate, I just want to protect myself and my career.

Answer: Report everything to the professor over the class and maybe the head of department. You don't have to pursue anything, just let them know so you have a paper trial if the student does something. It sounds like this student might be angling for you to give them a better grade.


Title: TX, There are a group of kids smashing car windows in my neighborhood.

Question: Okay over the past month there have been 70 car windows smashed. One happened to my friend and the other happened to my neighbor. I know we should get cameras but our neighborhood is fairly large. Seriously what the fuck do you gain from smashing peoples windows? Anyways what would be the best action to catch these fucking dumbasses and what consequences would they suffer?

Answer: You put up cameras and they deal with the legal system like everyone else.


Title: FL: If it is discovered that his drink was laced with a drug that can cause psychosis, as a prank, would the 19 year old man still be held responsible and be charged in the murder of the couple he stabbed to death (story in comments)?

Question:
Just something I was curious about. [Story here](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3745142/Florida-frat-boy-life-support-critical-condition-killed-random-couple-bit-pieces-man-s-face-unprovoked-attack-possibly-caused-flakka.html#comments)

 I know it's highly unlikely that he didn't take the drug, but it made me wonder how a case like that would be handled if it turned out that someone committed a crime because they were unknowingly given a drug that made them basically crazy. Would it be argued under an insanity defense?

Answer:
 Yes, it would be a form of an insanity defense that's typically called "involuntary intoxication". Answer #2: And the people that spiked his drink may face manslaughter charges, correct?Answer #3: Offhand, Shane Pitts v. State of New Hampshire in the early 90's.

Shane's girlfriend spiked him with LSD.  During his trip, he shot her twice and buried her in the root cellar.  He argued that his involuntary intoxication should render him innocent of homicide.  The state countered with a claim that he had murdered her after she told him the day before that she was pregnant.

He received 40-years to life.Answer #4: Not my field of law but don't most crimes requires a mens rea? From what I remember, mens rea means something along the lines of mental state. There are several categories, I may miss miss a few or categorize them wrong but: Intent, Knowing, Recklessness, and Negligence.  I think most crimes, except strict liability crimes, require one of the above.  With the facts you presented, I don't see how he would fall under any of them.


Title: Are there any consequences to appealing a case where I pleaded guilty and took a plea deal to get on probation?

Answer: There's the consequence where you probably CAN'T appeal if you plead guilty.


Title: Can I apply to the US police [MO] for help from the UK?

Question:
Someone in the States has (it strongly seems at this point) done the dirty on me and I'm wondering if I can, from the UK, report the crime to US police and expect them to care?

It seems that a guy in Missouri has effectively stolen my property (he had possession of it to repair it and now won't send it back).
I have his name and address.
What can I do, if anything? If more information is needed, please don't hesitate to ask.

Answer:
 You can report it to the police in his area, sure.  We can't guess *if* they will take action, no more than we could guess if the person was local.

In the USA, most policing of that type is at the local level, so his city police would be your best bet.


Title: I want to kick my daughter out of the house

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 She is a tenant. You have to give her 30 days written notice.  If she is not out after that, you can formally evict her through the court.

The police will not remove her without a court order.


Title: Landlord is selling my building and suddenly wants me to sign a lease the week before closing.

Question: I’ve been renting an old warehouse in Oklahoma for the last 7 years. I signed a lease the first year, but after that he started renting out all of his buildings “month to month” so theirs no lease, just an agreement between us. He’s selling multiple buildings to the same guy and then moving out of state. I’ve already talked to the buyer and he’s just going to keep renting to me. Tonight, my landlord text me saying he needed me to sign a lease tomorrow. I know he’s closing with the new buyer next week. Also, I paid first and last months rent when I signed the original lease and I guarantee this guy isn’t planning on giving me that $1k back for “last month of rent”. That wouldn’t transfer to the knew owner would it? Should I sign a lease with my old landlord? And why does he need me to?

Answer:
 ^^^IANAL

He may be attempting to give his tenants some continuity / protection from the new owner.  If there is no current lease, the new owner can immediately raise the rent or terminate the month to month tenancy or whatever.


Title: Sperms Donation questions

Question: So I am 22 living in PA, and have been asked by a lesbian couple to donate. They wish to not wait the 6 months for the physician to perform the procedure. We have had no sexual contact before nor will we I will merely be transferring them material via a container. We have both signed a written contract to not go after each other for custody or child support. However after a bit of research I have come to learn that this may not be sufficient protection.  I truly like the idea of doing this for them however being so young I don't wish to make a huge mistake. Am I going to be okay?

Answer: Nothing you do in writing is relevant. If it didn't happen in a Dr office with proper legal paperwork, you will be daddy and you can pay child support. Answer #2: If you donate outside of a medical doctor you **will** be responsible for child support and medical care or insurance for the child. I wouldn't do it unless I was an anonymous donor that a doctor arranged to use to inseminate her.


Title: FIL Died, Was Extremely Controlling, and is Denying My Fiancee Access to House via Will

Question:
Title. Formerly soon to be father in law just passed away. This is all news to us, but he was highly secretive, controlling, and he has kept my fiancee in the dark about his plans after death. He has an executor who told us that no one was to go in or out of the house. My fiancee and her brother both have possessions in the house that they left there. They would like to retrieve them, but their father may have itemized or stipulated that some of their items be liquidated.

Does my fiancee and her brother have any claim to their childhood possessions or is their stuff all tied up with the estate/will? If it is the latter,can they challenge it? What is the law/process here?

Answer:
 Property not belonging to your father-in-law cannot be disposed of by his will. It's not his to give away. Your fiancée can request her property from the executor - a specific itemization is very helpful, but even just describing the items and spelling out that they belong to her is enough, and should work with the executor to get her things.

If the estate is uncooperative, and if the property in question has substantial value beyond its sentimental value, it may be worth suing the estate to recover it, but for personal possessions - especially childhood possessions, where specific ownership may be unclear and the actual value is low - it's often not financially viable or wise to pursue it past the point of talking to the executor.


Title: poor choices led me to multiple $1000+ charges to my cc account.

Question: i started drinking at about 2pm and eventually i ended up at a strip club at about 10pm, my friend had left.  Went outside smoke a cigarette(i dont smoke) almost threw up and got completely dizzy, sat down at the bar and strippers came up to me and offered me cocaine, said i had to go upstairs. I had no idea i was being led to the champagne room. i dont remember much after this, they brought me a drink and i remember signing for it, but i was completely wasted.  I woke up in the morning and had about $3000 charged to my credit card in increments of 1000 and like 1300 on my debit card. I dont remember giving them my debit card.  I dont even have my credit card.  I ended disputing all the charges through my credit card and debit card.  Ive been having a full blown panic attack these last couple of days.  4k isnt goign to kill me, but it sets me back. I tried to file a police report, but they said they cant file a criminal case over this because i dont remember everything that happened.  What can i do? i feel robbed.

Answer: You're probably not going to win the disputes. Chalk it up to a tough lesson on being drunk at a strip club. Answer #2: So you got drunk, got high on an illegal drug, made poor financial decisions, and then think you're entitled to your money back?


Title: Dealer undercharged by $1000 for my downpayment upon delivery. Called me 4 days later asking to pay...what are my rights?

Question: Hello all, I bought a vehicle recently. I had agreed to make a down payment of $11,000. Upon delivery of my vehicle, I paid $5000 on credit card and $5000 in cash. That's all they had asked me for and everything had been signed off. The dealer has now realized their mistake of missing the additional $1000 and has asked me to pay it...what are my rights? Should I just pay it or is this a mistake on the salesmen that I am not obligated to pay?

Answer: You owe the money. You agreed on 11k, you have paid 10k.


Title: I cut somebody off after a moment of road rage. It seems like the person recorded it, what can they do legally if they decide to do something with it?

Question:
So I made a right turn on the road when this guy decided to speed up after seeing me turn. He had to brake suddenly and switch a lane to pass me which is when he cut me off. In a fit of road rage I decided to cut him off. After that the guy went full psycho and followed me until I was able to lose him in a neighborhood. Can he do anything since he recorded my driving and has my license plate?

Edit: this occurred in California

Answer:
 The police will not care unless you committed a serious crime. Let it go.

Calm down while you're driving. People die in car accidents because of stupid decisions.


Title: [USA] We are being sued and may have to cover the medical bills of someone for the rest of their life. What considerations should we take concerning liability?

Question:
I have a wife and no children. Following a minor auto accident, we are being sued for a very large sum and may have to cover someone's lifetime medical bills.

What can we do to try to minimize the risk of our liability?

What questions should I ask our attorney?

The actual case, we are quite certain, is a scam. There is a mountain of evidence suggesting this. But it's up to a jury so we might lose because of unpredictability and all. But that's besides the point for now... What steps do we need to take in case we lose to try to best protect our assets? What things should we take into consideration? Any advice in general?

Thank you...

edit: Thanks for the advice, guys. I really appreciate it.

Answer: Just contact your car insurance company, they will handle itAnswer #2: Do you not have insurance?  Your insurance company should have an attorney handling this.Answer #3: If you have an attorney, you should have them look at all the facts and advise you best.  You can also hire a private investigator to monitor the person to gather more evidence on their behavior, if your attorney agrees that'd be a good course of action.Answer #4: You didn't mention your state, and for car insurance this can make a huge difference in what your liabilities are. (for example, if you were in Michigan, it wouldn't matter because Michigan is no fault for all auto accident injuries, and the insurance is required to cover unlimited medical for all occupants of the covered vehicle)


Title: [HI] Mom is in the ICU on a ventilator and heavily sedated. We don't know when she will be "woken up" and she's got some bills coming up. What can we do?

Question:
Some background: my mom lives by herself in Hawaii. The rest of her family (my sibling and I included) live thousands of miles away on the mainland.

So about a week ago my mom came down with a pretty bad case of pneumonia, so she was admitted to the ICU. Her coughing got very bad, so the doctors decided to intubate her and put her under heavy sedation to allow her lungs to rest and heal. When we found out about all this, my aunt (her sister) and I flew out immediately, but we were unable to make it before she was put under. She didn't give any instructions about her finances or anything like that beforehand, unfortunately, as the poor woman could barely talk as it was.

Now, we're waiting for her to recover enough to be brought back to a lucid state. The doctor thinks it will take about a week, but we really don't know for sure when this is going to happen.

My concern is that she has some bills coming up. Credit cards, furniture, phone, insurance, etc. What are our options as family members? A couple years back I came to visit her and signed some documents to allow me access to her safety deposit box, but I'm not sure if that means I can access her accounts.

Hopefully she comes to before any of this stuff really becomes an issue, but I'd like to know what I can do as her next of kin. Any advice is really appreciated! Thanks.

Answer:
 The bills aren't going to ruin your mother if they go unpaid for a little while.

Answer her phone, explain the situation. Some companies may even allow you to pay the bill on her behalf without a power of attorney. Answer #2: Is she in a hospital on oahu? The hospital social worker is a very good start. If you are on Oahu I can probably give some more specific advice.


Title: Where can I report health issues/food safety issues I found in a grocery store? (New York)

Question:
Hi, this is in New York in the Hudson Valley. My local grocery store is quite small and used to be run by a different company, is now taken over by the new one, yada yada yada. Basically for several months now I've been seeing little problems. It started with the pre-cut veggies section, I'd buy some cubed butternut squash or diced onions or something and they'd be bad when I got home. Like, open the package and suddenly the smell *hits* you kind of bad. And any store can have that happen once, but it's been over and over and over again. They are also constantly shortstaffed.

And then tonight I went quite late - they're open till midnight - there was one woman in the entire store. That may be legal, I wouldn't know, but it's not *that* small a store that it wouldn't need another person, even late. And the reason I'm posting, the health issues were fucking *everywhere*. The whole store smelled and I realized why as I got close to the hot case where rotisserie chickens are kept; said hot case is next to all the fresh bread. All the packages of the bread had condensation beds inside the packages and some had mold spots, and it smelled *horrific*. Next I passed by that precut veggie section - I haven't bought anything form there in a long long time, but I took a look tonight to see if the onions were good or if I should get a whole one. Not only were they not good, most of the precut veggie packages were filled with water, condensation, and worse, were warm to the touch. That whole section is meant to be refridgerated, and I could spell that it was spoiled without opening a single package. I touched more packages in the supposedly refridgerated section, and all were warm to my touch. They were *nasty* as fuck.

Now, I know it was the end of the night, about 11 PM. But...the store is still open, and selling food? Selling *spoiled* food? Someone somewhere is going to get sick from this.

I can certainly just shop elsewhere but I'd like this to be fixed for the sake of people other than me, and it'd be nice to have the store up and really running again. Where and how can I report things like this, and is this even enough to report? Would I need evidence or is my word enough? I dont' want to head a campaign, I just want to tell someone with the authority to fix this. Health inspector? Or something?

Answer: You should be able to pull up the NY Department of Health web page and file a complaint from there toward the grocery store involved. I’m from CT but, travel to the mid Hudson valley region often and between both states I’ve seen more than one questionable location between general mismanagement and food containment unfortunately.


Title: Wondering about copyright...

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You can shoot footage of yourself wearing whatever clothing imaginable holding whatever products imaginable and the copyright owner is still you.

Adorable question, though.


Title: I tried to use a fake credit card

Question: So it started when I wanted this item in the game Warframe and you could get it free if you had a Twitch Prime. Who wouldn't want this. So I tried to sign up a free trial of Twitch Prime, but it needed a Amazon account with a credit card. I don't have a credit card or live in America, so I went to some random website with a credit card number in it and used that number. I put Bob as the name and some random date which got accepted. When it asked for the city/address info I knew this was a mistake and I signed out the card from Amazon and closed the form. I have never done any crime in my life so this is scary to me. What will happen now?

Answer: Since you didn't actually complete the form, likely nothing will occur. Take this as a lesson to not commit credit card fraud. Some free item on a video game isn't worth it.


Title: Can someone be convicted of murder if the body will never be found?

Answer: What state did you commit the murder in?


Title: Can I be sued for reporting someone to CPS? Location: Texas

Question: I have never reported anyone before but my best friends niece told me some alarming things when I was helping her with her homework. My friend is 25 and has custody of her 16 year old niece because her mother doesn't want her. She moved in two years ago and visits her mom every other weekend. Her mom adopted another child from her friend shortly before washing her hands of her eldest. She would have gone into foster care if my friend had not stepped up and agreed to take her. When she came into my friends care, she had lice so bad that there were bleeding sores on her head from scratching. I asked my friend why CPS has not been called after her niece told me what has been going on. In short, the mom neglects the kids and has strangers in and out of the home staying for weeks, the kids have no beds much less a bedroom but the moms friends do, they've had lice go untreated, and other things. My friend said that CPS has been called and they won't do anything. They don't believe them because the girl is in therapy. Which I didn't understand why they would think she is lying just because she is in therapy. After hearing these things from multiple people in the family, I felt that it was only right to file a report with CPS. When the investigator talked to me, she had an excuse for everything I reported, claimed the girl was lying, and that "plenty of kids don't have a bedroom, it's not against the law. I visited last week and the kids did not have lice," etc. Within hours of speaking to the investigator, I received a threatening message from the girls mother around midnight. My friend said that the CPS investigator gave her my name and told her everything I had said. The mother is now threatening to press charges against me for "false allegations" and that I need to tell CPS I lied. I already told them I never witnessed anything myself, I was simply relaying what was told to me by the child and her aunts. When I called the investigator, she denied telling the mother it was me and that one of the aunts did it. One of them has been no contact with the family for over a year and the other was not aware I made a report. So I know she is lying. I spent the night with my sister because I am afraid this woman is going to get my address some how and do something to me. She is threatening to press charges against me. She is threatening to take her daughter and leave the state. I feel like I just made this poor girls life ten times worse. I know it's selfish, but I am also scared that she is going to sue me. Can she actually press charges against me for reporting her for suspected neglect?

Answer: No she cannot "press charges". That's the job of the District Attorney. Answer #2: she can't press charges for "false allegations" because you didn't knowingly make any. you called CPS because you believed that children were being neglected and that's not something you can be sued for. if u *knew* the girl was lying and no one was being neglected then she could press charges. but because you were acting in good faith and not maliciously, she can't take any legal action against you


Title: Sister unknowingly ate alcoholic candy

Question: My sister is underage to preface. My sister and friend were at her friends grandpa's place. They were offered whisky but they declined. He then offered them some chocolates and she obliged. She came home and was sick and said she wanted to go sleep. When she woke up she said this old creep gave her candies that she thought were filled with liquor. Can I do anything about this? I was so angry when she told me this. I think the old man might have been trying to take advantage of her. Is there anything I can do?

Answer: Need more detail.  There are lot of candies, especially chocolates, that have alcohol as an ingredient (like brandy, Grand Marnier, etc.) that affect the taste.  They may even given someone a stomach ache if eaten in large enough quantities or if the person doesn’t often eat such foods (but this is much more likely the chocolate, not the alcohol).  To be clear, though, there is not enough alcohol in such candies or chocolates to cause intoxication.  If that is what we are talking about, then there is nothing wrong in a criminal or civil sense.  If, on the other hand, the guy made home-made candies or chocolates with a high concentration of alcohol or some other intoxicant, you should probably report it to the police.  Answer #2: Legally, extremely unlikely. Personally, you can look out for your sister and let your parents know.


Title: [California] Dad passed away without a will, horrible bipolar mother wants to take all money without providing us any financial assistant. Any advice on where to go from here?

Question:
So my dad suddenly passed away a couple of months ago from a stroke. He never left any will and I'm trying my best to take care of the assets he left behind. I am planning on getting a lawyer and accountant to help with the situation but I want to see if reddit has any advice before I proceed. Here are some facts:

* dad was the breadwinner of the family. mom was (sort of) a trophy wife. dad took care of EVERYTHING (finances, big decisions, etc.). Everything is under his name. They never shared a bank account except for my mom's credit card account that my dad pays for. mom only worked part time (makes less than $1k/month) and she usually spends the money she earns.
* mom is diagnosed with bipolar. i was an accident (mom made it very clear to me growing up how she wished i was never born). whenever someone gave me a gift in her presence (from dad's friend or mom's relative, etc.), she always demand to get the same gift from my dad. as a result dad always have to hide gifts to me away from her. oh also she almost ran me over purposefully with a car once.
* before dad passed away, dad considered divorce but didnt want to go through because of the financial split. he never trusted her with money (for obvious reasons)
* i have a full time job and can support myself financially. after dad passed away, i was the one taking care of the bills (dad's medical bills before he passed away, mortgage, all the family bills, and still doing it). mother's part time job does not extend over the summer so she had no income and im basically financially supporting her and my brother. she's also taking community college classes
* brother is about to go through a 4-year university that dad promised to help with the tuition and such before he passed away
* dad left behind around 250k in bank account + investment account, 900k in 401k, and a house with 200k in mortgage left
* my mom is leaning towards taking everything and moving back to her home country to live off of the assets without giving us anything and without giving my brother any financial assistance for his college. from what i researched, under the law of california, everything will go to my mom so she can definitely do so
* we seek out help from fafsa and got some financial assistant for my brother. however, im afraid that once my mother receives the assets the financial aid will be taken away since he's technically a dependent under my mother

before seeking out professional help, is there anything you guys can recommend that i do in the time being? all i hope was to get paid back for all the bills i paid for the family and a fair share in the assets for me and my brother (especially to support my brother's college). thanks

ps: dad also owned a few firearms that i want to get rid of since none of us have any firearm license. any advice on that as well?

Answer:
 If someone dies in California without a will, the assets of that person will pass entirely to their surviving spouse.

It sounds like most of the property was communal (shared) property. If he supported her in the past, that's going to go in her favor if you choose to challenge the will.

Considering getting a divorce means nothing; filing for one would. It would be a fair statement that in 99% of marriages, one party considered getting a divorce at some point in time.

IMO, you are not entitled to any of the estate. You are free to contact an estate attorney if you believe you are.


Title: My girlfriend's now ex-friend [17] sent a dick pic to me [18], and I showed some friends. Now I fear that I'll be prosecuted.

Question:
So this is a very long story with many different working parts, but I'll try to be as clear and concise as possible.
For some background information, both my girlfriend and everyone else involved in this story are 18 years of age, the person who sent the picture of his penis is 17 years old. We live in Ontario Canada and we all graduated in the same year of high school.
I've never really made a post this large so I'd like to introduce the people that are involved in the situation so you know who I'm referring to. These are all fake names.
Mike: Mike is 17 years old and is the person who sent his penis picture to me (he's gay), and later slanders me (Jeff).
Jeff: Jeff will be my fake name I guess. I was the person to initially receive the sext.
Nicki: Nicki is my girlfriend who was betrayed by her friend, Mike.
Phiona: Phiona is Mike's and Nicki's friend. She took Mikes side and helped slander Nicki and I (Jeff).
Here is some more background information. Mike used to be really good friends with Nicki throughout high school so much so that in grade 12 he asked her to prom as friends. Thankfully she declined and her and I have been dating ever since. After she declined Mike had no hard feelings and we were very friendly to each other. Mike has been known to become horny and send pictures of himself to guys, and especially straight guys who are dating someone, to see where things might go. I ended up being on the receiving end of this.

This whole story may seem like it's not needed but it is important I give out all of the details.
So this all started one night earlier this month. I was talking to my girlfriend online on a calling app and I mentioned that I just received a message on Snapchat from Mike. We thought this was strange, as Mike had messaged me every couple of weeks for the past few months. I decided to indulge in friendly conversation, as I was curious to see his intent on messaging me given his past history with Snapchatting guys. We talked about minor things like how our days were going, how school and work was going, and what we were doing. He said he was watching Netflix in bed and I told him that I was doing homework. Later in the conversation, he said he stopped watching Netflix and told me that I should "take a break ;)". At this point, I was super suspicious and curious as to what he was up to. Surely he wasn't about to try to hit on a straight guy that is very publicly dating his friend. The conversation continued on and I said stuff like "idk what to do other than do homework", followed by Mike saying, "I can give you some ideas ;)". He then sent me a picture of his crotch region. It was at this point where I started to anonymously screen record my interactions. My girlfriend who I was still talking to, wanted to know about all of the juicy details and we both also wanted proof that this guy was trying to possibly hook up with me. These videos have since been deleted for reasons of disgust and other reasons that I'll get to later. I decided to kind of play into it, and I sent to him a mirror image of what he sent to me. He progressive sent more and more pictures with his pants slowly coming off. I continued to send the same picture of my fully done up pants over and over again. He told me not to be shy so I sent a picture of my hands down my pants showing nothing but the bulge of my hand. This is when he sent me a full picture of his erect penis. I was disgusted and his full intent was finally clear. I immediately called him out for dismissing my girlfriend's friendship with him and blocked him. My girlfriend asked him for an apology and she never received one. I was so disgusted and in shock and I reactionarily shared the information and the recordings (including the snap with the penis in it) with one of my friends, and my girlfriend did the same with a tightly knit group of four friends in a group chat including herself and Phiona, all of which who know Mike. We made sure to not spread the information around and we only wished for sympathy from our friends out of frustration. We received endearment from all of our friends except for Phiona who is really close to Mike. Phiona admitted that the situation was messed up and that Mike shouldn't have done what he did, but when she saw my Instagram post she took his side. I had posted a picture of him on my private Instagram account of 20 close friends and followers with the caption "Disgusting" but I did not reveal why I was disgusted to anyone further as we didn't wish to ruin his reputation. I forget to mention my lack of knowledge that he was 17 as we were in the same grade so I just assumed he was of age, not that I even had the thought of "dsitrubuting " it in a classical sense.

During the following weeks, Phiona had posted pictures of her and Mike together, I described my disgust in the comment section of her Instagram post and my girlfriend confronted her privately for posting a picture of the two of them together on Snapchat just days after this scandal had occurred. My girlfriend was very hurt by this as she had just been betrayed by her friend Mike and now Phiona didn't seem to care as Phiona's response was something along the lines of "he's still my friend" and nothing more. The drama of expressing our disgust resulted in Phiona and I getting into arguments. I was told by her that I was harassing Mike and trying to ruin his life. I had blocked Mike after the incident on purpose so he couldn't see anything I was saying on her post. However, Phiona showed him the comments anyway which was disheartening. At this point, we no longer had as big of an issue with Mike as we did with Phiona. We both said some petty and immature things and eventually my girlfriend and I decided we wanted to move on.

We began by my girlfriend calling Mike. My girlfriend and Mike had a very civil conversation where my girlfriend apologized for the shitty stuff we did and Mike also apologized a bit. I later apologized to him in the form of a message which he read but did not respond to. When recalling the situation my girlfriends story was very different from the story Mike had come up with which we thought to be strange. We thought nothing of it and assumed that he just felt guilty and didn't want to admit to the truth. This theory was later dismissed as Phiona started to spread rumors. We also apologized to Phiona for saying the rude things that we said out of disgust about Mike on her posts.
Apparently, Mike had told Phiona a completely different story from what was actually the truth. Mike claimed that I messaged him first and was questioning my sexuality and wanted to possibly leave my girlfriend. This is clearly very far from the truth and a story I would rather not have shared about me. However, Phiona decided to take it upon herself to make multiple posts about myself and Nicki once we started to exclaim our disgust towards the situation and generally Mike as a person for doing such a thing. On the same post where we showed our disgust, and unfortunately made our opinions public multiple people that I don't even know started defending Mike and claiming I was completely in the wrong. It really doesn't sit well with me that people that I didn't even have the chance to meet already hate me over a rumor that was spread. This exact situation is what my girlfriend and I tried to avoid as we only told a small amount of people.

I have no reason to lie as I want to know what the best thing I can do in this situation is so my story is the truth. Phiona recently mentioned that we will soon have a harsh awakening, and my girlfriend and I later saw her on Snapchat near a police station for a long period of time. We have no idea if she reported us to the police or not. When we confronted her about it she claimed that she didn't see anything wrong with Mike possibly reporting us to the police for distributing child porn, cyberbullying and also for harassment. She also didn't deny whether or not she reported us and that's why I'm making this post. We never went after Mike and we only spoke our minds about him on a post he couldn't even see and in private conversations with the people who already knew about the situation. We did these things because we were very hurt and angered by the situation. It was never with any malicious intent and we didn't plan on "ruining his life". We both tried to apologize to both Mike and Phiona and we have dropped the situation altogether.

We are now just scared that legal action might be taken. However, we were both in the wrong the way I see it so I'm looking for a second opinion and options of what to do to protect ourselves.

Thank you for reading this long post. Any advice would help and I'd love to help clarify anything you need me to.

TLDR: GF's friend sent a picture of his penis to me, we show friends out of horror and disgust. Drama ensues and rumors are spread about us. Wondering what may happen to us, and what action we should take so we can protect ourselves.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 Honestly, IANAL but your best bet on this is probably start by taking down this post that outlines you having done all the things you're afraid of being accused of. If something comes up you need a lawyer immediately. For right now I think you're stuck in a sit and wait to see what the fall out is. Do NOT contact anyone involved at this point, do NOT discuss any of this with anyone, including with the police, without a lawyer present.

That said, why shouldn't legal action should be taken?? What you did absolutely was cyberbullying and harassment. Inviting someone's sexual advances and then publicly shaming them on social media platforms for believing you were reciprocating their interest is fairly text book.

I'll also note that you used a variation of the word "disgust" 11 times in just describing the incident and yet claim to not be malicious? This reads as cruel, homophobic, and all the things you're afraid of being accused of read as true as an objective 3rd party.

Maybe take some of that holding pattern time and use it to focus on becoming a better person. I will agree that hitting on a person who is involved isn't the right thing to do, but Mike's wrongs in this case ended the second you didn't say hey man, not my thing.


Title: Getting my Saudi Arabian wife green card w/ no official identification

Question:
Hi all,

We are currently living in the United States. I’ve been married to my wife for about a year now, and she has been in the US for 5 years. I was born in the US and am a citizen. I want to help my wife get a green card and eventually a citizenship, but she does not have any official Saudi identification (birth certificate, family card, passport). She has pictures of the first two, and an expired passport, but it is very hard for a woman to get anything done on her own there. Her father is very old and cannot help her on his own, and her brothers will not help her (for no reason other than that she is a woman). She also has an H1B, so while she can work here with no issues at the moment, she basically can’t leave the country as she doesn’t have a valid passport.

We’ve talked to a lawyer who basically says she needs a birth certificate or family card when going into the green card interview, and without it there’s a good chance we’ll get denied. We really don’t know what to do, as there’s basically no way she can get these documents on her own, and no one is willing to help. Is there any workaround for a situation like this? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Answer: I'd suggest reaching out to the Saudi embassy/consulate nearest you to see if they can help.  They may or may not be willing to play ball, but if her family members back home are unwilling to provide the necessary documentation, I'm not sure what other choice you have.


Title: [NYC] Employer won't pay overtime on holiday season (e-commerce company), secretly makes payment arrangements with people who complain aloud

Question:
I work in relatively small NYC e-commerce company (with lots of child companies and privately owned brands, though). Underpaid, no benefits, insurance, etc, but that's my first relatively normal job since I've moved to US, so I'm OK with it. A couple of days ago it was announced that all employees will have to work one extra day a week from mid-November to the end of December. Same situation as last year (BTW there was no x1.5 multiplier for overtime in 2016, but I'm not entirely sure how this works), only with a vast difference: no extra pay or holiday bonuses. Regular ~43 hours will turn into ~52. I also know for a fact that at least one person (my friend) who was complaining too loud about all that was paid for one day of overtime *already*. They also told him to keep his mouth shut.

What can I do to handle the situation? Literally, all I want is money in exchange to my time and the honest work I do. I don't have any savings to cover legal expenses, so, I guess, it's dead end. At least, guys, let me know if anything can be done.

P. S. I just noticed there is no exact number of hours worked on my or anyone else's paycheck (asked some people around, everyone has just 0). Is that important?

P. P. S. Sorry for chaotic thoughts and bad English.

Answer:
 Are you paid hourly or a fixed weekly rate (salaried)?

Are you classified as exempt or non-exempt?


Title: [ontario canada] Daycare worker successfully sued for reporting a valid neglect concern. How is this possible?

Question:
Here is the linked article.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1903846/daycare-operator-successfully-sued-after-making-complaint-to-cas/

How is this possible? CPS states that people have a duty to report and can be fined if they fail to. Now this precedent has been set that takes away protection from those reporting potential abuse.

As someone who has a professional duty to report this is very disturbing to me.

**edit some additional info CPS clearly states the following:

>What are "reasonable grounds" to suspect child abuse or neglect?

It is not necessary for you to be certain a child is or may be in need of protection to make a report to a CAS. "Reasonable grounds" refers to the information that an average person, using normal and honest judgment, would need in order to decide to report.

>Do professionals and officials have any special responsibilities to report?

Professionals and officials have the same duty as the rest of the public to report their suspicion that a child is or may be in need of protection. However, the Act recognizes that people working closely with children have a special awareness of the signs of child abuse and neglect, and a particular responsibility to report their suspicions. Any professional or official who fails to report a suspicion is liable on conviction to a fine of up to $1,000, if they obtained the information in the course of their professional or official duties. [CFSA s.72 (4), (6.2)]

>**Who does the Act consider a person who performs professional or official duties?**

health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and psychologists
teachers and school principals
social workers and family counsellors
religious leaders, including priests, rabbis and members of the clergy
**operators or employees of child care programs or centres**
youth and recreation workers (not volunteers)
peace officers and coroners
child and youth service providers and employees of these service providers
any other person who performs professional or official duties with respect to a child
These are examples only. If you are unsure whether you fall into any of these categories, ask your local CAS, professional association or regulatory body. [CFSA s.72 (5)]

>Will I be protected from liability if I make a report?

Yes. If a civil action is brought against you for making a report, you will be protected unless you acted maliciously or without having reasonable grounds for the suspicion. [CFSA s. 72 (7)]

Another link to a second article that better articulates my concerns:
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/03/26/daycare-worker-eyes-appeal-after-being-sued-for-contacting-cas

CAS instructs people to call with concerns...not proof. The Daycare worker called in a panic
>“CAS can have them prosecuted if they don’t report, if you’re looking after (the) child,” Schuman said. “Right now, the fine’s not that great but it’s waiting for royal ascent to have the fine increased to up to $50,000 and two years imprisonment. If that goes through, that would be a real quagmire for people.”

Weighing the options a reasonable person would be stuck between a rock and a hard place. She worried about a 1,000 fine for not reporting and clearly thought that Child and Family Services Act would protect her in the case that her concerns were unfounded. She can't pursue investigation on her own and it clearly states that you are to report with SUSPICIONS not PROOF of abuse. So all nit picking aside of whether she felt the food brought to her daycare for the boy was sufficient or not, she felt the boy was under weight and was concerned.

I just don't understand how baring a spurned ex lover out for revenge or some other extreme case of a smear campaign how this was able to proceed and be ruled on in the manner it was.

***one more edit

did this case really potentially hinge on the aspect of "reasonable grounds" in which case why doesn't weight of the child count?

Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Well to be fair she was operating and unlicensed day car out of her home. Maybe she isn't considered a professional? Also, they found there was no reasonable grounds for her to report to CAS in the first place.Answer #2: "no basis whatsoever"

How would you like to be subjected to a CAS investigation with no basis?


Title: (PA) Landlord said they were going to put a washer/dryer in my apartment when I moved in. Almost 8 weeks later, no washer/dryer.

Question:
Around the middle of July, I put the deposit down to move in August 1st and the management company said the washer/dryer was on order. It's 9/13 and the washer dryer is still 'on order' as far as we know.

We have asked for updates about 1 to 2 times a week but we aren't getting anywhere. They never answer the phone and they do not return our voicemail's. They ignore most of our texts and emails, and when they do respond, they only say 'it's on order'.

We are getting rather frustrated as it's included in our rent and it was a major factor that led us to move into this apartment. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you.

Answer: To be clear, a washer/dryer are written into your lease?


Title: Female boss has created a hostile work environment, what protections if any do white males have?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It's not illegal to be an asshole to your employees, or to bully them. The fact that _lots of people_ are afraid of her actually works against any claim that she's creating a hostile work environment, since it makes it much harder to argue that she's singling people out on the basis of protected class membership.

Unless you sincerely fear for your physical safety, or can articulate a protected class she's discriminating against or supporting discrimination against, you have nothing to do other than find another job.Answer #2: You have the same protections against discrimination based on race or gender as anyone else.  Your issue will be that nothing you've described appears to be motivated by your race or gender.  If you have evidence to the contrary, you could have a potential discrimination issue.  If not, your boss is just an asshole.  That's allowedAnswer #3: IANAL:

Maybe you should start QC'ing your work better before submitting it. From my position (as someone who has multiple direct reports) it seems like she's frustrated with you and has other crap going on. She may not be managing her stress well, but nothing about this post screams that you are in a hostile work environment.


Title: [Jacksonville,FL]Mother passed away yesterday suddenly, complex situation.

Question:
I lived with my mother because she was disabled and needed my help. I know I need to contact the social security disability offices to cancel her benefits, that's not what I need to ask about.

My mother was listed as the executor of my grandmothers will, my grandmother has dementia. But I don't know if she's still alive or not because we cut contact after my mother finally admitted to me that she had been abused as a child. I'm an only child, my mother had 2 brothers, one of whom has no contact with the family, and another who is an abusive alcoholic and contributed greatly to her decision to cut ties. I wouldn't even be asking if I need to look into this were it not for one snag.

The house we lived in is half in my mothers name, and half in my grand mothers name. On my grandmothers death, her will stated my mother would receive full ownership of the house. My mother did not have a will, because I'm an only child. But now I want to make sure that her half of the deed will transfer to me, and find out what will happen when my grandmother passes.

If anyone can recommend the kind of lawyers I should be looking to speak to on this matter, or any one in specific, I would be greatly appreciative.

Answer: You will need a probate lawyer.


Title: Getting evicted

Question: I live in Florida and was behind on rent back in Feb. The owner uses a property management company so I have to deal with this lady that hardly communicates and is overall just a pain. Anyways, I ended up getting the money to stop the eviction. I agreed to pay an extra 287 per month for 3 months to cover eviction costs. I paid that all on time. I got ahold of the property management place in the beginning of june to ask her if I can pay rent on the 15th because I needed to buy a car so i can do side work and make more money. She did not get back to me but ahe usually doesnt so i assumed it was ok otherwise I would have just paid rent instead of a car. That was my mistake. Well apparently theres a 6 month stipulation where if they chose I can be evicted within 24 hours. I paid the rent and signed another stipulation to move by July 31st because othwrwise id get kicked out right then.i found a new place but cant move in till Sept 1st. I asked if i can get another month and offered to pay extra. Property management lady says the owner says no to everything I try to offer so I wont be homeless for a month. Is there anything I can file or something at the clerk or courts or something to get an extension ?

Answer: Anytime you are up for eviction at some point, it is a very stupid idea to delay any kind of payment.


Title: Bad cheque scam

Question:
So I met a "sugar daddy" on Grindr a few weeks ago. He would send me 900$ cheques, and I would deposit them and send 700$ to his bitcoin. Obviously I should have seen this and backed out but I'm a f\*cking idiot so yeah. I thought that since the cheques cleared right away and the money was in my account that it was legit (dumb dumb). A few days later, what do you know, the cheques bounce and I'm out 2500$ or so, which is most of my savings. I contacted my bank (TD) but they're unwilling to do anything besides take my money. I am an Ontario resident currently studying in Quebec. He is from Ontario (or at least the identity he stole is, not sure). He sent me pics of himself, and even had a linked Instagram account. The cheques obviously had his full name and address (again, might be fake). There's an email as well. I haven't taken any legal action or contacted my bank in person yet because I've read up on this type of scam and generally it seems nothing is ever done for the victims. And I've already lost a bunch of money so I'm not sure if a lawyer is in the cards. What should I do?
Topic:
Canada

Answer: You paid a potentially untraceable scammer in the most untraceable way, hiring a lawyer will most likely be more expensive than the money you have lost. You can report it to the police, but they’re not going to get the person.


Title: [TX] About the start the Process of an eviction. Father of tenant called to threaten a lawsuit if we go through with it.

Question: As the title says, a room in the house was rented out to an acquaintance back in spring on a month-to-month lease. They have failed to pay this last month, and the condition they have the room is poor to say the least. With the recent phone call added, is there anything I have to worry about? My brother is taking this quite hard and is stressed out. Thank you for your time.

Answer:
 Eviction involves the court already...Answer #2: A lawsuit for what? If you follow proper eviction procedures for unpaid rent you have nothing to worry about. Kindly tell the father to pound sand, unless they want to go ahead and pay the overdue rent their deadbeat kid owes. Answer #3: Lucky for you, the father lacks standing to file a lawsuit.

Lots of people threaten. Very few follow through. Just adhere to the proper procedures for your state, document everything, and relax.


Title: Landlord is trying to get me fired!!

Question: I'm currently renting from a private residence in Sussex county Delaware. My landlord anonymously called my place of work and claimed I am selling marijuana at my place of business. I just got promoted to supervisor and I have never sold marijuana at work or any place else. I have an excellent reputation so my superiors aren't really giving it too much thought. I know it was her because her son in law told me, he and I are on good terms and he knows his mom is a bit crazy. She is off her meds more than she is on them. I'm not judging her but there is a significant change in her behavior that is observable and she has made us aware of her medication and diagnosis. What can I do about this? Does she need a license to rent in this county? She tells me she doesn't have one. She sent me a certified hand written note of eviction which I refused to sign for and told her she needs one from the courts. I'm not behind on my rent, my fiancee is nine months pregnant and I am leaving in 15 days. I can't believe that she did that. Is there any recourse I can take? Thank you!!

Answer:
 You have the right to your property for as long as your lease says. If your lease ends on a specific date, you have until then. If your lease is month to month, then you have a reasonable period (at least 30 days) to vacate. She can't just kick you out in 15 days, no matter what she says. Evictions are done thru the courts, and have procedures, including giving you reasonable notice to vacate. A hand written eviction notice isn't worth squat.

But even though your partner is pregnant, you should start looking for a new place. If this person is this unstable, there's no assurances things will get better.


Title: FMLA Leave Question

Question: We are in Maryland and any advice on what we can do, if anything, is appreciated. SO wasn't allowed to leave work for the birth of his child unless he used time off and waited for someone to come in despite keeping management updated with expected days of leave. He also was verbally denied FMLA leave with notice by his supervisor and HR because of his low amount of paid time remaining. The leave was requested for after I return to work for a period of two weeks.

Answer:
 Is your SO’s employer subject to FMLA?

If so, then he should ask them to clarify the reason leave was denied. Not having available PTO doesn’t make sense.

If they are not subject to FMLA then they likely aren’t required to grant the leave.

How many employees?


Title: Employer is trying to have me do a nicotine test

Question:
South Carolina

&#x200B;

I am interviewing for a job at a locally-owned hopsital (which is fairly large, if that matters, around 10,000 or so workers).

I was told over the phone today that for my interview I would be required to undergo a drug test, as well as a test for nicotine. However, South Carolina has outlawed mandatory testing for nicotine and tobacco products. Is this against the law? What should I do?

Answer:
 every hospital I know has tested for nicotine. if  you want the job, I would take the test.Answer #2: I read the mandate and it sounds like the government can’t force you to take a test for nicotine. But a private business would be allowed.

I’m in south Carolina, so this peaked my interest, but it sounds like the company is fully within the law.

Ianal so hopefully someone with more knowledge can confirm.


Title: My house was foreclosed on...

Question:
My home was foreclosed on and we were evicted. The eviction notice was served 5 days before the date we had been told we had to vacate the premises. The real estate agent promised we could contact her and retrieve our belongings. We were only allowed 15 minutes to grab whatever possessions we could. But, we were promised everything else would be safe. We called and called the real estate agent and never could get in touch with her. I finally obtained a burner number and got the woman to respond. She informed me she trashed ALL of our possessions and that I should not contact her again. We contacted the sheriff’s office and are waiting to hear back. What is my recourse?

Edit: I live in Louisiana.

Edit: St. Landry Parish

Answer:
 >If you choose to leave items behind, and you do not retrieve them during the redemption period, you may lose your right to retrieve them at all. Once a new owner takes possession of the home, he is free to dispose of any belongings left behind at his discretion. In many cases, lenders hire a cleaning crew to clean up foreclosed properties for sale. Anything left behind in the home will likely be sold or thrown away.

[Source](https://www.sapling.com/8172790/happens-personal-possessions-after-foreclosure)

However, you didn't mention a location, so we can't specify a correct redemption period.


Title: No contact order

Question: My boyfriend and I got in a fight and the neighbors called the cops. He was drunk, and lied in his statement, but had scratch marks on his arm, so I was arrested for assault. I was NOT issued a no contact order, however my lawyer "verbally" gave me one. Do I have to abide by it? Is it just legal "advice" or would I actually be breaking the law by having contact with him?

Answer: If your lawyer told you not to contact him, you better fucking believe you have to abide by that instruction. Your lawyer is trying to avoid a scenario where your interaction undermines the whole process.


Title: How can I help my mother declare my father incompetent? (Missouri, South of KC)

Question:
My father has multiple sclerosis and the combination of medication, alcohol abuse, and his own delusional personality (complete with pathological lying) have culminated most recently with him making up a story to my mother (they're not legally separated or divorced, but not living together) about my sister sending a hitman/assasin after him and sister's ex-husband showing up and saving the day by shooting the hitman/assasin in the knee and said man hobbling away.

Upon talking to my sister's ex-husband (who we are all on relatively good terms with, except for my sister) he's very confused, as he lives in Indiana and was not here (South of KC area, Missouri).

Mother talked to me this morning after I discovered multiple missed calls from my dad, and my sister's ex-husband (who has *never* called me before). My mother said dad is on a new medication which is making him "extra crazy" (her words), and that I shouldn't answer his calls, definitely don't go over there, and don't answer the door if he shows up (which is unlikely because he can't drive very well and tends to avoid doing so unless necessary.)

**Here's the question:** Since my parents do not live together, but are not divorced or separated (they may actually be legally separated, I'm not totally sure on that) does my mom even have a chance of declaring him incompetent and taking control of his legal decisions? How can I help her do so?

She is still on the mortgage of the house he is living in, and they have no monetary assets to speak of. If anything, they're in pretty bad debt, so there's no financial gain for her if she takes control.

Also, his living conditions are in bad shape and I recently started going over to clean for him which is actually what caused his most recent burst at my mom. He called her, threatening her (I'm not sure what kind of threat. She told me this but was not specific,) and making up wild stories of the hitman/assassin and saying how I need to just stay away and a whole bunch of other crazy things.

Answer:
 1. Call the Missouri Access Crisis Intervention line. You can find the number for your county here: http://dmh.mo.gov/mentalillness/progs/acimap.html

2. Go to the police and let them know he is unbalanced and delusional. Bring a recent picture of him for them to keep, if you can. This is for his protection - if he happens to do something that attracts police attention, and the officer in the field doesn't recognize him as a mentally ill person, your father could be injured or killed. That sort of thing will mess up not only your family but the patrolman's as well.

If your parents are separated, a court may not want to award guardianship to your mother (even if he has no assets to misappropriate). They may prefer another blood relative or one of his siblings. I expect the ACI would know about this, but if they don't, the Developmental Disabilities Research Board in St. Charles definitely does. Their number is 636-939-3351.
Answer #2: Missouri lawyer here (different part of the state). Find an Elder Law attorney in your area. They will be able to advise you on how to proceed with a guardianship and conservatorship hearing. The court would appoint a "guardian ad litem" (an independent attorney) who would do a visit and file a report with the court on the status of your father. You may need to be the guardian/conservator given that your mother and father were separated. Although, if no other family members complain, and the guardian ad litem (GAL) doesn't recommend against it, she would be fine. In fact, if your other family members consented to it in writing, the judge would probably just sign off on the guardianship, and he may do so without the need for a GAL.


Title: FL - FL DOR taking me to court because ex-wife wants to receive state benefits

Question:
\*\*Background\*\*

I'm living in Ohio. I have to drive to Florida to appear in a child support hearing in the morning that I couldn't attend telephonically because they told me to put in my request to the WRONG fax number and I've passed the cutoff date for requests.

This is all because my ex wants to keep receiving state benefits instead of working, so the FL Dept of Revenue says instead of paying her directly, I have to establish payments and arrears (I'm fully current so there shouldn't be any arrears) through \*them\* (which i have no problem doing. a simple phone call requesting it would have sufficed, but I digress)... and oh by the way it's going through court and they say I have to pay the DOR's court and legal fees.

So, now not only do i have those fees to pay for, I also have 2,000 miles to drive and pay for, \*and\* I'm going to be missing half a week of work which I'm \*certainly\* paying for!!!

\*\*Questions\*\*

Can I avoid having to pay the DOR for their fees and costs?

Can I possibly sue them or my Ex for my travel and lost wages? (if so, can that be done in my home state?)

Any heads ups or tips for this hearing in the morning? (Yeah, I'm gonna be up for a while...)

\*\*ANYTHING I CAN DO TO POSTPONE THIS AND ARRANGE A PROPER TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE AT A LATER DATE???\*\*

Answer:
 Call a Florida divorce lawyer (that's who handles child support) in the county where she lives, or the county where the court is if that's different (it's probably the same). Call them now, today, immediately. Your question is way too specific for this thread... AND ABOVE ALL...

Most likely the lawyer can appear in court FOR you, so you wouldn't have to go at all. If you find a lawyer who is available to attend tomorrow's hearing, paying them to do so would probably be cheaper and would definitely be WAY the hell less hassle than taking three days off work and spending the gas/tolls/hotel etc. for this road trip.Answer #2: You probably want a lawyer in the Court's jurisdiction at this point.


Title: Upstairs neighbors: 1 great GMA dying of cancer, now free for all with 11-13 people living in 2 bedroom apartment, constant pot smoking from all adults. If you could only imagine.

Question:
Ahhhhh. Hubby and I moved into 2 bedroom apartment with our 2 sons. Signed a 1 year lease. Learned from the landlord after signing the lease that an elderly woman loved there who was dying of cancer and that some of her children had asked to rent our apartment because they "travel" often to care for her.

Landlord sighed and said he didn't think that would be a good idea.

We have lived here for a month. Those people upstairs, no-one was visiting the elderly woman. They all...ALL... live there. The woman, her son, his wife and brother (4 people). Two granddaughters, their SO' s, and 5 kids (9 more). The apartment is furnished with beds. Lots of beds. Every adult except the ill woman smokes weed all day every day.

They sit on the landing surrounded by their little kids, sometimes come down and stand outside our door, smoke in the apartment which then sinks down and hangs in my son's bedroom...

I hate this. Is it even legal? The upstairs booms and crashes and thuds with the sounds of 13 people stomping, fighting, and living there. Sometimes there are verbal fights right outside our door with ex baby daddies. Always there is a cluster of people right outside our door.

What would you recommend I do as a tenant, if there is anything I can do?

Answer: Would calling a fire marshall be a solution since that has to be an illegal number of inhabitants?Answer #2: Did you report a complaint to your landlord?


Title: [Utah] My ex mother-in-law of my deceased husband is holding my/his stuff hostage. Do I have any legal rights to obtain the stuff?

Question: Almost 1 year ago, my husband passed away. At this time, his family and I had a great relationship, they asked me to move in with them during the immediate period after he had passed away. I was out of my mind and agreed. It quickly went sour, and our relationship is now ruined. I grabbed what I could and left, but my whole house was in a storage shed in their yard. Now, they are holding stuff claiming it is his and not letting me have access to it. Some of the stuff we bought while engaged together and some of it was after we were married. Do I have any rights to get my stuff back, or am I screwed because it has been on their property for almost a year? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.

Answer:
 You have rights to all of it since it was both yours and his. Answer #2: He's dead. It's clearly not "theirs" and never was. So logically it should be yours unless Utah has some very strange property laws. You may have to sue them in small claims court for the value of your property they are holding. Answer #3: In most states (but not all) the spouse is entitled to receive all the shared assets should their spouse pass away without a will. As Urg asked below, did your husband have a formal will? That would at least make things quite a bit clearer.

I would recommend the following:
* Create a list (to the best of your memory) of all the items in the shed that belong to you.
* Draft a very objective letter requesting all the items in your list be returned to you within 30 days
* State (but don't threaten) that should the requested terms not be met, that would will take your husbands family to small claims court
* Send the letter via certified mail to them

This will allow you to at least document that you made a formal and reasonable request to have your possessions returned. Should letter be ignored, follow up on the small claims action (sue them).


Title: If cps takes a child away and is rehomed with the grand parent. What is the best way to get the child back?

Answer: To follow the courts directive. They will lay out the steps needed to get a child back. It’s going to depend on why they were removed. Answer #2: Through court. Likely the court that made the original custody orderAnswer #3: The main part would be to work with CPS to resolve the issue that caused the child to be taken away. Also, it would be highly recommended to get a lawyer to assist you.


Title: If I have no family members, who decides whether or not to "pull the plug" on me if I'm in a coma, or similar medical decisions?

Question: Let's say I have zero living family members- I'm hecka old and I'm the last one alive, and I have no kids. And then I get in a car crash and go into a coma that has lasted a long time. Who decides for me when it's time to "pull the plug", so to speak? From what I understand, it's typically up to the family (or at least whoever is paying for the life support), but what about if I don't have a family?

Answer:
 The doctor managing your care makes the decision.Answer #2: You sign a form called a 'medical power of attorney' that gives someone the right to make those decisions for you.

If you don't have that, most states have a law called the 'Adult Health Care Consent Act' that designates the order of succession for making such decisions.  [Here](http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c066.php) is South Carolina's, for example.


Title: (NY) Fired for Sex with Boss - Being Sued

Question:
I'll try to keep this somewhat short but there's a TLDR at the bottom:

Back in January I was approached by my direct supervisor about having sex with him in exchange for a promotion that carried a significant pay raise. It would have taken me from around $50,000 a year to $80,000 a year and I found him somewhat attractive, so I accepted.

I completely understand that this is ethically unsound, but I've come to terms with it and I'm not looking necessarily for life advice on that front.

Come March when I was to be promoted, my boss backed out of giving me the promotion. He didn't give me a reason, just that he wouldn't do it anymore. While stupid in hindsight, I went to HR and reported that he had sex with me in exchange for a promotion that was never given, I never lied or anything like that.

Later in the month, both my boss and I were fired for cause. I'd guess he was making around $200,000 a year from what I knew from other supervisors. I'm now being sued for defamation that led to his firing and they're claiming an absurd amount in lost wages and damage to his professional reputation. I've since found another job, he has not to the best of my knowledge.

My main questions: Do my actions give him a case for defamation? Am I open to other lawsuits for my actions?

I've already contacted a lawyer but cannot meet with him for a week so I'm asking for advice ahead of time.

TLDR: Had sex with boss in exchange for promotion, promotion never given, reported him to HR with truthful info, both of us fired and I'm now being sued for defamation with a crazy amount of damages claimed

Answer: I only browsed the comments, so this point might have been made already: Has it occurred to anyone that the promotion promise might be irrelevant in the defamation case? These boneheads could have been fired just for having sex. Some companies prohibit sex between a supervisor and a subordinate.Answer #2: My first thought is that it's unlikely that this is the first time he has done this. My second is: was he fired for offering you a promotion or was he fired for sleeping with a subordinate?


Title: Is it abusive

Question: So I am 14 and I wanted to ask if it's abusive if you get hit as a punishment,so last week my parents went out to get essentials and left me and my young sister(9) at home then when they came back my mom asked why I didn't clean the house and that time I was taking the plates to the sink so she asked me why I didn't clean and I said I'm sorry then she approached me and pinched my face really hard and knocked on my head multiple times and hit me back to a point where I dropped the plates I was holding and they broke then she walked off angry,the next day she was chilled and happy and was telling me to stop being grumpy because it makes me look ugly (I'm a female) I didn't think much of it because it's not the first time this has happened to me and my sister also gets hit,there's even a time I got hit for sleeping in the afternoon and not doing work,I don't know it this is abusive or just discipline.

Answer: Yes, that is abuse. You can and should call CPS.


Title: (WA) People bought the empty lot next door to my grandma and are trying to get her to sign over 48 feet of her land so they can drill their well.

Question: A Russian couple came to my grandma's door yesterday and tried to get her to sign over 48 feet of her property to them so they could use it for a well. They told her they were also asking the other neighbor for the same amount of property. I came into the conversation late, but once I figured out what they wanted and explained it to my grandma so she understood, I shut them down and told them no. Can they come after her for the property in any way? Do I need to do anything to assure that what's hers stays hers? This is in King County, Washington. She's 91 and I'm afraid they'll come back and con her into handing them part of her property. **EDIT** I'm on my phone so excuse the lack of formatting. I went out there and found they had marked off a new line with string, like when you prepare to build a new fence. They generously gave themselves at least 50 feet of property each way, of hers and the neighbors. So, I removed everything on grandma's side, and I'm going now for no trespassing signs and nails. Neighbors weren't home so I haven't talked to them yet.

Answer: They should not be permitted to establish any pattern of use or access to the land.  You have to positively assert your  grandma's rights to her land.Answer #2: I would also talk to the other neighbors. From reading your replays seems this is something they do a lot. Make the neighbors aware so they do not sign anything. You help them they help you type thing.


Title: I want to make and sell baseball bats with nails coming out of them on online stores. Is this considered a weapon? Is it legal?

Question:
In Pennsylvania

They are popular now because of the Netflix show Stranger Things. I want to make them as display pieces. I don't want anyone getting hurt!!

Here is what they would look like: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/keyq6t1WzPA/maxresdefault.jpg

Thanks!

Answer:
 It would be a goddamned terrible idea to make souvenir murder weapons. Answer #2: Yes it's a weapon.

Yes it's probably illegal in many states.

Yes you probably have liability if someone gets hurt.

No you shouldn't do this with actual bats and nails.  If you feel the desperate need to make something like this, use light weight plastics or foam.Answer #3: Clearly you've got to make them safe somehow. Make them out of rubber or something. Make them bolted to the inside of a sealed display case. And you should still probably consult with a lawyer to sell them if they even look like real weapons. Answer #4: What kind of liability insurance do you have to defend you when someone gets hurt from your "defective" product? Are you going to have an attorney write the warning label?


Title: My mother is having her children taken away and I need help, please.

Question:
State: North Carolina

As the title says my mother is having her children taken away from her, she has 6 children I am the oldest (23) so I no longer live with her. I have two brothers and three sisters ages range from 2-14. My mother, Stepfather (were divorced years ago but live together for kids) and his mother all lived in the same house. A month or so after my stepfathers mother died my stepfather has taken it upon himself to give my siblings to my grandmother (mothers side) and he is planning to pay no more bills on the house they've paid upwards of $100,000 on and is letting it be foreclosed upon and he simply wants to move into his place of business and drink/smoke the rest of his life away (Age 70), this is ruining our family, my mother was told to find somewhere else to stay which would put her and my two year old sister on the streets. (She was born after divorce, different father) My mother cared for my stepdads mother for months before she passed away (was 92) taking her to Dr visits, bathing her, feeding her, cleaning her room, washing her clothes and linens ETC, and now that she has passed my stepfather is basically self destructing claiming he will let house be foreclosed on (It is his own house that was handed down to him after his mother passed) and is separating my siblings apart by letting them stay with my grandmother, when my mother and stepdad were divorced he won custody but she retained her parental right. My grandmother moved in to assist with my siblings when my mother moved out. After 2 years my mother moved back in  to care for his mother and my grandmother moved out.

 My siblings went and stayed with my grandmother for the weekend (as they normally do), when they all left on Friday my mother was told that she would bring them back Tuesday, well, that turned into two weeks and about 50 missed phone calls from my mother to my grandmother, when she finally got in contact with her she was told they  were living there now. This was all done behind my mother and my back, we were completely unaware that my stepfather/grandmother were planning this.

Is there anything at all my mother can do to keep her children (take them back from my grandmother) and continue living there? If not living there just get her children back?

  My mom does not have money for a lawyer and is really side
swiped by all of this as we didn't see any of this coming.
 I really do not know what to do to help her so I'm posting here, Thank you so much to whomever can give me some advice.

Answer:
 Ok. So someone (family) took the kids for the weekend and then refused to give then back and she just said OK for two weeks?

She should go pick up her kids. Or call the police. Geez. But I feel there is a lot more going on hereAnswer #2: She can retrieve the children unless there is a custody order stating otherwise. She will need to provide for them or your next post will involve CPS.

Staying in the house is a far more complicated issue and while I didn't fully understand all of the facts and timelines in your post I didn't see a path for her to accomplish that. Answer #3: If the stepfather has custody, he can let them stay with the grandmother during his custody time.

You said your mother hasn't lost her parental rights. Is there a court order in place, and does it specify custody and visitation? If your mom is scheduled via a court order to have the kids and the stepfather and/or grandmother are refusing to turn them over, that's a different story.


Title: My father fled the country and hasn't paid child support for 8 years, what will happen to him if he returns?

Question:
When my parents got divorced my mother got full custody of me and my father was required to pay $301 child support to me every month. He fled to a European country and never paid a cent, I was too young at the time so I don't remember what sort of actions my mom took after this but to put it simply she said that nobody could do anything about it because he was not in the United States and she didn't want to take "drastic measures". 8 years later my father has currently started contacting me, I am now 16 so I know he is still obliged to pay child support since I am a minor. Point is, all of a sudden he wants to come visit me in the US. All of the divorce messiness took place in California, therefore he has this idea in his head (seems a bit ridiculous to me but what do I know) that if he were to visit me in a neighboring state such as Nevada, he could avoid any consequences he might get for not paying child support. If it is of any importance, he has no excuse, he is a business owner and is, always has been, wealthier than my mother and I, so he can't plead that he doesn't have the means to pay. My questions are:

1) Did my mother lie to me when she said there was nothing we could have done when he initially fled the country? What legal actions could she have taken?

2) If my father were to fly into California, would anything happen to him? If so, would the results be different in a different state?

Thank you in advance.

Answer:
 It is a crime in many places to fail to pay court ordered child support.

He may face arrest if he returns, even in a neighboring state.


Title: [CA] Landlord added a line on a lease without notifying the the tenants (us), what can we do?

Question:
Hey there, sorry if there's poor formatting I'm on mobile. Canada Ontario.

My roommates and I signed a 1yr long lease for student housing. The landlord sent us a copy of the lease to review, which was reviewed and we all agreed upon.

Meeting up with the landlord, we signed the same lease, except there was 1 line added which demands that if all rooms in the house are not occupied, the remaining tenants must cover the cost of the unoccupied room(s).

We weren't notified of this change and did not find this a problem until we resigned the lease and are struggling to find replacement roommates. What can we do?

Thanks. :)

EDIT: Still looking for advice!

Answer: First it is on you to review what you sign, he does not have to notify that something changed.  Second, you are leasing the entire house it sounds like, not individual rooms each, so even without that additional line you would still be on the hook for the full rent if someone moved out, as you should be.


Title: Accusation of Vandalism made against me

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Did you vandalize the workplace?


Title: Is it lawful to tell employees they cannot speak? (In Michigan)

Question:
I know that Michigan is an at will state so most likely. But I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

My office hired me in with no mention that we're not allowed to physically speak to one another.

After a few months on the job, I was told, by my direct supervisor, that he wants to make sure my productivity is "up." I asked what that meant and after so many words, he said I'd been talking to much.

A few things to note: I almost never spoke as it was. Maybe 20-30 words per day. "Hello. How are you?" That kind of stuff. I never had a conversation with anyone. Ever.

We used instant messengers to communicate which was fairly convenient because we do computer programming.

Recently a new rule has been added that we cannot use IM programs to speak to one another and *all* communication has to be done through email.

We've been told not to speak on more than one occasion and honestly it's creating a pretty bad work environment. I'm trying to get as much time as I can because I need to experience, but honestly this place sucks and it's a real bummer to come to work and to say nothing to anyone. Is this legal? I feel like talking is a pretty normal part of life, no?
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 Yes they can fire you, but you should quit and not give them the chance, preferably right during a deadlineAnswer #2: you are a computer programmer, so am I. Its not worth it to work at a place like this. At my workplace, we shout, we have fun, give each other a hard time. Computer programming jobs should be fun, this sounds so wrong.Answer #3: Not advice, but I once worked at a place where our manager attempted to ban laughter. We all sat in the same small office along with him, and we'd also discuss things, work or not, over internal work-provided IM. More often than not, it was something funny, so we'd laugh. Our boss thought we were laughing at him and banned laughter in the office.

From that day there was even more laughter, if slightly strategic, and some of it most certainly was at him from that point.


Title: After my Lung surgery my doctor began denying me medication,

Question: I'm currently in the hospital with a collapsed lung. Initially I was placed on IV pain control which worked quite well. After speaking with the doctor about the procedure I was about to undergo he mentioned that both him and his co-surgeon were participating in a study in which specific nerves in my lung were temporarily frozen. This was done to control pain and lower the amount of narcotics patients required. They compare the amount of medication utilized by people who opt in to the new procedure against individuals in the past who did not receive it.. The problem is that immediately following the surgery the medication I was being offered went from an IV every 2 hours to a slow release pill that I could request once every 6 hours. I have documented gastrointestinal issues that affect my ability to absorb medication through my stomach so I am essentially being given nothing. I have brought this up with both my nurses and doctors but they seem quite uninterested. I'm sure the limited amount of medication I am being prescribed will look great on his study but that leaves me bed-bound and barely able to breath.

Answer: Call a patient advocate at the hospital and file a complaint. You may need to be transferred to a different hospital.


Title: Current employer filled out my W-2 without my consent

Question: When I got hired at The restaurant I currently work at, the guy who hired me, instead of having me fill out a W-2 form, just asked me if I had any dependents, and what my social was. Are usually don’t have that much withheld on each paycheck, so my paychecks aren’t as much is I feel they should be.  It sucks because I really need this job, but the place is just shady. The owner is an asshole two customers and employees (people have referred to him as “abusive” on his yelp reviews), and he keeps all the tips we get; I’m a server/ bar back and I get 14 an hour flat, which he says compensates for not getting tips, but if I got even a fraction of the tips brought in I would still make way more.

Answer: First off you fill out a W4.   You receive a W2 from your employer to file your taxes with.  Talk to the employer to request a copy of your W4.  Also, think about going to another place.  We don’t know your location so it’s hard to say specific laws about keeping tips.


Title: Watch repair center keeping my $500 watch and not returning emails?

Question:
Hello all, my girlfriend bought me a near $500.00 watch as a post-deployment present and recently the crown on the side has stopped working. Watch is still under warranty and I emailed the company and they told me to send it to their service repair center which is basically their parent watch company.

I mail the watch with a $500.00 insurance and also a signature required. Service repair center receives and signs over for watch as scheduled. This was roughly three weeks ago. I emailed the repair center since then in a friendly manner to ask if they found the issue or if there are any updates and no reply. A week ago I emailed the company I actually bought the watch from about me being lost and no idea what’s going on with the watch and now the watch company has also not replied to my email more than a week later.

I was feeling as if maybe I’m being impatient but my girlfriend and I went back to when we first got the watch and were emailing them about questions and etc. and it was always same day or next day replies.

What can I do? The watch cost almost half a grand and it had great sentimental value. Also both companies don’t have a phone number to call or a Twitter i could reach them at.

Edit: I’m in Arizona

Answer:
 Generally, watch repairs can take time, often months.  If you mailed the watch directly to the parent repair facility, the dealer likely has no idea what's going on. Do you have a copy of the serial number?

You may want to cross post this to /r/Watches. They may have more info how to get ahold of the repair center. Answer #2: > both companies don’t have a phone number

Everyone has a phone number, it's just a matter of finding it.


Title: Can I sue my mother for a squandered inheritance?

Question:
I'm currently located in Oregon, but we lived in Washington when this happened, and my grandmother also died in Washington.

Long story short, Grandma passed in 1998 when I was nine years old. In her will she bequeathed me a few thousand dollars. This was to be seed money for a college fund for me, but instead of using it for its intended purpose my mother spent it on a truck for my stepfather.

Do I have any legal claim to this money? Would it be too late for me to try to recover it now?

Answer:
 When was your mother supposed to turn this fund over to you?

The fact that you've been an adult for over ten years at this point makes any hope of recovery slim, and you'd be looking to recover "a few thousand dollars," maybe with interest and maybe without, even if you do still have the option. It's unlikely to be worth pursuing, and the statute of limitations or statute of repose may have run out, barring your claim entirely.


Title: I shot a man this month, in Texas...do I need a lawyer?

Question:
I live in Texas

Sometime during this month (I know the dates just not going share them) I got a text message from a friend, it simply said "Help"

She doesn't normally text me, its odd.

Also 7 years ago her Ex-husband beat the shit out of her and went to jail for it, he's been out of prison now for a couple years.

We live out in the country, so I grabbed my gun, called the cops and raced over to her house. I live 2 miles away from her, the cops are further when I got to the house I saw the door was wide open.

I went inside the house and heard screaming, crying, basically a fight happening. I went into her bedroom and found her ex-husband beating the living shit out of her with everything he had. Blood was every where, I told him to stop it, he turned around and made a move towards me and I fired. I didn't stop until I ran out of bullets.

I called 911 again, told them I had shot a man, my gun was on the dresser and I was with my friend who had been beaten up really bad in her bedroom.

The cops came a few minutes later, ambulance and fire right behind it.

I was immediately arrested, my friend couldn't even talk at this point. The cops treated me with respect and I spoke to a detective.

I told him what happened, why I did what I did and he said he's going need to confirm some things. I sat in his office for like 8 or 9 hours. He said that my friend had confirmed my story and I was being released, he advised me my gun was going be held as evidence for awhile however also made sure to mention if I had another gun or if I wanted to buy another one that I could and I was not currently being charged with a crime (Nothing has changed yet about that)

It seemed like he was calling this a case of self defense and I was in the right.

My friend ended up making a full recovery.  Currently her husband and her are living with me as she just can't live in her house right now. Its too much for her.

I wasn't sure if the ex-husband had died or not however a few days after I found out he was holding onto his life, its been a little bit since then and he's still alive and making a recovery.

A mutual friend the other night mentioned I should go ahead and retain a lawyer. He said once the ex-husband makes a full recovery things can change and I might need a lawyer. He's no lawyer himself and what he said makes sense but I'm wondering do you guys think I need to go talk to a lawyer? And if so what kind? A criminal? A defense? Or what would be my best option?

I have two big fears right now

* I get sued for his medical bills/etc.
* He changes his story and charges are pressed against me for shooting him.

Also I normally don't drugs, but after what happened I was really shooken up, I still am. This just isn't something I ever thought would happen to me. But I smoked weed, I'm worried about that too, think they might drug test me? They did have me blow me on the night of the incident (I hadn't had anything to drink that night)
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: Delete this post. It's near too specific to come back to you and his lawyer or any prosecuter will use it against you (drugs).


Title: Got caught at target in USA

Question: My girlfriend got caught stealing from target, she skipped scanning an item and was confronted by 2 security personnel. She was entirely compliant with everything and even let them search her purse for any other merchandise (she paid for a total of about $50 items and skipped a $10 item) which they didn’t find anything. The security folks decided to give her a break and just banned her from the store for a year, and didn’t call the police. She’s done it once or twice before with items under $10 and hasn’t been caught. She realizes she made a mistake and is probably never going back to any target ever again. She has severe anxiety and is convinced she’s going to be arrested later and charged. Are they going to investigate her further or anything?

Answer:
 > She’s done it once or twice before with items under $10 and hasn’t been caught.

Target has sophisticated enough LP software and practices that she was on their radar. They are banning her from the store to stop her theft. If she does it again, they’ll take all the evidence to the police and whack her with theft charges.

“I didn’t scan it” is the freakin laziest way to steal. Lazier than tag swapping and like all the other shoplifting practices. Even the rookie LP associates can spot it.Answer #2: If they let her go, she's fine.Answer #3: Some of these people don't know what they're talking about. Target AP will save her picture and put it in a BOLO binder, which as far as I know is only shared with nearby stores and doesn't get sent nationwide. If they were going to press charges, they would've brought her in the AP office and waited for law enforcement to come and issue her a court date. Regardless, if she was charged, it's an extremely insignificant crime. She could probably get a lawyer to get the charges nolle proc'd if it mattered to her that much.Answer #4: My friend worked at Target in college and told me that Target does NOT fuck around with loss prevention. They have advanced image recognition systems and they've logged her name in their POS system too. They will track her at that location on video and by her name when she makes purchases. Target is not the place to take that kind of risk.