Title: Abusive & mentally ill father is purchasing a house down the road from my home after living 150+ miles away for 10+ years with no contact. He also owns thousands of guns despite his unchecked mental illness. Please help!

Question:
It's as crazy as it sounds. My abusive biological father is purchasing a house down the street from my mom and little brother for the sole reason of making my family uncomfortable. He doesn't work, lives a solitary life, suffers with *extreme* mental illness - bipolar disorder and potentially others, and is very wealthy, and gets thrills out of fucking with me which is why he is doing this.

Backstory on my mom: She reported him multiple times for domestic violence in the late 90's and they divorced soon after she became pregnant with me. He was supposed to attend a phone hearing for my custody but never showed up, so my mom has had full custody of me and has had no contact with him since then. He contacted me multiple times after my 18th birthday and despite my attempt to make a relationship work, his emotional abuse was too much for me to handle each time and I have decided not to stay in contact with him.

I hadn't heard from him for 6 months until last week when he emailed me a listing of a home less than 1/4 mile from my parent's residence. I assumed that he was only looking for a reaction from me, but today I received confirmation from his mother and the realtor that the sale is happening. He has lived over 100+ miles away from us for over 15 years and has **NO** family or interests in my hometown. And he does not work. He has absolutely no reason to move here other than to torment me and to violate my family's sense of security in the part of town they're in. The part of town they're in is separated from the main city by a bridge which makes this area of town one where everyone runs into each other at grocery stores, gyms, etc.

Another important thing - he owns thousands of guns despite his obvious mental illness, and I want to know if there are any steps that I can take to having them removed from his possession. When I say thousands, I mean it. His father won the lottery in the early 2000's and he has an obscene amount of money. I don't know much about gun laws, but I know he is mentally unsound, and it is INSANE to sit around waiting for him to commit a crime when he is in proximity of my family in order for the state to take them away. I read on an Oregon laws website that a person's guns could be taken away if they were found guilty of stalking. Could this home purchase be considered stalking in any way? Especially if my mom reported him for domestic violence and he is moving in such close proximity to her intentionally?

This entire situation is extremely creepy for me and I feel very violated and desperate for any kind of legal help that would bar this maniac from getting near my family. It doesn't seem right that my parents have to uproot themselves out of a home they've lived in for over 10 years when this man gets to move seconds away from them for no reason other than violating us.

My main questions are, **1)** Does my mom have to wait for him to do something before getting a restraining order?, **2)** Is there anything OTHER than a restraining order that can be had in this situation? and **3)** How can I ensure that this unstable fuck doesn't have hundreds of weapons BEFORE waiting for him to commit a crime? Can I report him and do police have the power to make him undergo a mandatory psychiatric evaluation given all these circumstances? I don't know what to do. This situation is so unique and uncomfortable for myself and my family, but I will do anything in my power to prevent this fucker from violating my family's privacy in this way.

There has to be more that we can do instead of  waiting for him to commit a crime to take his guns away or file for a restraining order or report stalking. The worst case scenario is my family will have to move, but I'd like to explore any other option first as they are trying to retire and care for their new baby.

I really appreciate anyone who took the time to read this. This situation has been severely fucking with me. Any and all suggestions and advice is welcome. Thank you.

Answer:
 He's allowed to purchase the home and no, that isn't stalking.

Your mom can't get a restraining order unless there's a very good reason, e.g., an imminent threat of violence.

No, you cannot make anyone take away his guns.


Title: How to go about obtaining child support with not much info.

Question:
Just a bit of backstory: I unknowingly have been sleeping with a guy that is in a relationship with a pregnant gf due in October. I'm now pregnant as well, with twins. (Disgusting situation I know)

The thing is I don't know too much about him as we met on an anonymous website and I don't even know his real email address. I would like to get child support as I need the additional financial support badly.

- all I know:
-First name
-Birthday / age
-Local School & program he just graduated from
- Sports team that he's on

I was thinking about having someone possibly follow him if I meet with him somewhere.. I think he's on to me as i know he was cheating. Is this a job for a private investigator? I don't want to incur too much unnecessary cost but I'm getting a bit desperate. Any advice is appreciated, and I'm aware this is a bad situation and I'm just trying my best to fix it now.

Answer:
 There's no magic button here.

You need to know who he is before you can file for child support.

If you have enough for a PI to go on, then you can hire one to get that information for you.


Title: A major US music festival has created a derivative work, based on a photograph I took and marketing with it

Question:
How's it going guys. First time poster looking for some advice on which route I should take. I am based out of  NYC. I'm choosing to be vague for now about certain particulars, but if you feel specifics will help, and not affect future options, I may be willing to show the photo.

A major US music festival, without my consent, has created art influenced by a photograph I took several years ago on their site. The particular photo has unique subjects in it and is rather recognizable in their derivative work. I say derivative because  everyone I have shown says the cartoon-like  image they created clearly resembles my unique shot.

This only came to my intention recently, but they have been at it for over  6 months now, without notice or consent. The issue  gets more  interesting because they actually posted my original, undoctered photo on social media, which contains a watermark with my name. However  since i had not posted the photo on my particularly social media site in question, I was not credited. This would have been ok, but a few weeks later they posted the derivative in a post selling tickets to their festival. They then continued to use their derivative in other forms to further market their festival. I have found instances of this across all their social media accounts.

To me this means they knew my name. Furthermore, a few years back, the same photo was cropped, watermark removed, and posted by them after being submitted by another person. At this time I had asked for  a correction because they were crediting someone else with my work. Both parties apologized and I was credited. This means they clearly  know who I am and that I've have had issues with them posting my work unaccredited.

This did not stop them from creating their own work obviously influenced by my own.

I'm am unaware of the  terms of service regarding photos taken on their site and if fair use is at play. I feel their social media team either knowingly,  or absent mindedly decided it would be ok to create their own work.

Curious as to what my options are. I am proud that they feel my photo is good enough for them to market with, just not happy how they went about it. I am considering contacting them and asking for a one time fee in order to continue using my image. Although I am unsure as to how much would be satisfactory for both parties. I am also  considering contacting a copyright or intellectual property lawyer to see if I have grounds for greater action.

Any advice would be appreciated, or if any photographers have been in a similar situation and have come out with reimbursement. I am not a professional photographers but have pride in the images I do have.

Thank you guys

TL:DR - A big music festival has created an image clearly based off a original photograph I took at their site. I was never contaced and they continue to use the image they created in posts selling tickets and further marketing the event. Should I contact directly or seek legal action?

Answer: If you cannot afford an attorney, try consulting Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.


Title: Is it legal for someone to post lewd images of a pregnant woman? [US]

Question:
“Pornography is the depiction of sexual behavior that is intended to arouse sexual excitement in its audience.” ^1 A person who is 18 and consenting can make and distribute pornography of themselves legally. Naturally, this right should extend to pregnant people as well, assuming they also meet the above criteria. Note: a fetus is less than 18 years old and so also a minor.
However, the main way for a person to be obviously pregnant is be actively gestating a fetus within their womb. If there were no fetus, then there would be no “baby-bump”. (Someone who just recently gave birth could still have a baby-bump, but they would presumably no longer be pregnant). So being visibly pregnant relies not just on the mother but a fetus as well.  Therefor, a lewd image of a pregnant person involves and requires both adult and minor participants. Lewd images of minors are very much illegal. QED someone posting lewd images of a pregnant person online is distributing CP.

Of course, this whole argument falls through if a fetus isn’t considered a person, but that would be ridiculous notion, right? ^^/s

-
---
-
^( 1]    https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/pornography)

Answer:
 Exactly how high are you now?Answer #2: You might as well argue that a photo of a clothed child is child pornography, because the shape of the clothing necessarily implies a nude child under it.

Go get some sleep. You'll feel better once you rest.


Title: Can I be sued for telling the (confidential) truth about a Sheriff during an election?

Question:
Tl;dr: Work for a slightly corrupt Sheriff and don’t know how to expose this without legal ramifications.

Post: I work at as an Internal Affairs investigator in a county with an elected Sheriff. As such, I see all the dirt that goes on.

The current Sheriff was elected a couple of years ago and is due for election again in 2020. Competitors within the agency are already gearing up for it.

I’m privy to a lot of information that the other deputies are not. The general public has no idea how blasé the current Sheriff is when it comes to the questionable behavior of his employees.

For example, I know that we had a deputy that was attempting to solicit an underage girl for sex, after encountering her on patrol. I know that the current Sheriff ordered me not to investigate it from a criminal perspective. That’s not within my scope anyway.

I disobeyed this order, somewhat, and encouraged the mother of the minor to engage the deputy in casual conversation. The deputy eventually invited the minor (portrayed by her mother) over to get drunk and spend the night. When informed of this information, the Sheriff informed me to “try to get him to resign; I don’t wanna have to fire someone.”  Unbeknownst to me, the Sheriff then called the deputy, warned him that I was looking where I shouldn’t, and told him that he should cease all communication to the minor, thereby preventing any criminal conduct before it could be investigated by the state agency I’d referred it to. By the way, this was the FOURTH time that same deputy had been complained on for stalking women/girls he’d encountered on patrol (and the Sheriff knew that).

This Sheriff has continued to employ and REFUSE to suspend deputies who have had upwards of 15 individual sustained search and seizure, excessive force, and dereliction of duty complaints through my office. He doesn’t want to lose any votes by implying we have deputies that are problematic.

Can I release any of this information in order to inform the public prior to the next election? Can I be sued for slander/libel if the information I release is true, but confidential??

According to the Whistleblower Act, I don’t seem to be protected. Furthermore, my agency is protected by Texas Local Government Code 143. This means that internal investigations are completely private unless they result in suspensions (which the Sheriff refuses to do.)

The public needs to know what is going on in their law enforcement agency, but I’m worried that I’ll get sued by releasing what I know. There are 20 more stories like this and I’m sick to my stomach thinking that this will continue.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 How about you take all of your proof to your State Police Agency?  Or take your proof to a federal agency?

Why not work on getting the bad cops prosecuted instead of attempting to do an anonymous media/public release that will be met with skepticism from one side and treated as the gospel truth by the other side?

IF you turn over what you have to the next level of investigators, they may be able to get enough probable cause to charge the fuckers.  I know you say you have already turned over some things to a state agency, but turn over EVERYTHING.

Edit*

Also, I am sure you know, but I feel it needs to be said.  There is a big difference between an administrative investigation involving Garrity and criminal investigations involving Miranda.  Answer #2: If you google for whistleblower lawyers in the Washington DC area, they might be able to help you.  They typically work on federal cases, but perhaps.

Stay safe OPAnswer #3: Not a lawyer, You could attempt to speak with the FBI public corruption unit. They handle investigations into government officials including local governments. They mainly handle federal law violator investigations, but it wouldn’t hurt to reach out to the field office in your area and see what they can do/if they will do anything.
Answer #4: NAL, so bear with me if this doesn't make sense.

Is this something that could be revealed by a public request for information? Like a Freedom of Information Act thing?

If so, you may just need to encourage someone to request this info from your office or the the Sheriff's office - obviously not someone who can be tied too closely to you, like a family member.


Title: Paycheck not coming at job, but not laid off. "We'll pay you later". Can they do this indefinitely?

Question:
I can't get a reference from my superiors at this job because they want me to stay. I can't work for free for long. If I quit I won't be eligible for unemployment and definitely will not be receiving any references. Also, I'm worried that if I did quit, they wouldn't pay me, eventually and if they get profitable again, for the work that I have done - three weeks worth thus far.

This is in MN.

Edit: Thanks for the great replies. I love this community!

Answer:
 > If I quit I won't be eligible for unemployment

Yes you will, if you're not getting paid. Quitting because you aren't getting paid is a perfectly valid reason to collect unemployment.(assuming you are financially eligible and have enough wages in the look back period)

You can contact the MN Dept of Labor & Industry on how to file an unpaid wage claim.

http://www.doli.state.mn.us/


Title: Seller gave my wife and I the wrong puppy and is now asking for it back.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Breeder here!

Everything that the "breeder" did was wrong.

When a pup is selected, we mark the puppy with some type of marking: Nail polish on the tail, certain colored collar, nail polish on nails, ect. We do whatever we can to denote who's puppy goes where. As for AKC...anyone can register AKC dogs. Two dogs of the same breed who are registered have their puppies registered. That's it.

Get pet insurance BEFORE your first vet visit. I personally use VPI and have never had problems with it. If you get it after your first visit and ANYTHING was found on that first visit, it won't be covered. You can get coverage in an hour.Answer #2: If you bought the puppy online without seeing the parents and where/how it was raised you did not buy from a good breeder. Answer #3: Recourse? Tell them you're out of town. Honestly I'd be afraid they would say the other owners wanted to swap, come pick up your pup and you never here from them again. You've never been to their breeding location if it exists and you don't know if these other people exist. It sounds like they lied about being out of town, and they're useless at marking dogs so I would cut ties and they can take up any complaints with your lawyer.Answer #4: IANAL, but as everyone else is saying, it sounds like they are misrepresenting themselves. I would look into reporting this, if possible. Next time, look into rescuing a dog. It costs less, all dogs are lovable, no matter the breed, and you don't run the risk of supporting puppy mills.


Title: How to terminate parental rights? Florida

Question: Hey I have a legal question. Consistently for 2 years my 3 kids  dad has been, I believe, neglectful in my daughter's (7yo) care. She comes home sunday in the same clothes, same underwear even that she leaves wearing on Friday. Hair not brushed, massive tangles, even food and gum stuck in it. Medicine not purchased, or even administered when I provide it. Given foods she is allergic to...the list goes on. I've addressed this with him and get responses like "k" or "my bad". Does this legally constitute neglect? Is that grounds to terminate his parental rights? And how do I prove it? Thanks

Answer: It's possibly cause to alter the custody order.  It's not grounds to terminate his rights.Answer #2: Nothing you've described remotely rises to the level of neglect necessary to terminate parental rights.


Title: (IL) Lawyer for Estate of my late mother (I am the independent executor) didn't file fiduciary return by deadline (despite indicating that he wanted to handle it). Told me that he was going to waive all attorney's fees. I'm am scared to death, and I don't know what to do.

Question: My mother died penniless.  I Hired an estate attorney to probate the estate.  She had some equity in her home and car.  I managed to sell the house for enough to pay off the lien.  I kept up the payments on the house until it was sold.  I'm still paying on her car, which also has equity (it will be paid off in 12 months).  Still trying to sell the car, but having trouble finding any serious buyers - maintaining payments myself.  I have exhausted my savings throughout all of this - I am now living paycheck to paycheck - literally subsisting on beans and rice.  Lawyer appears to be avoiding me like the plague after admitting that he didn't file a fiduciary return this winter - admitted no wrong doing of course, but said he was going to waive his fees (which is a flashing red warning light in my mind)  Going on the second year of this probate.   Only two claims against the estate - non-secured credit card debts.  I told the lawyer I was considering borrowing to pay off the claims myself in order to settle the estate in order to end this hell, he said he would call me in three days (2 weeks ago) and give me a total to settle the estate.  With regard to filing the fiduciary return, he said we'd have to hire an accounting firm for $500 to handle this.  I don't have $500 to file a return.  The estate has no assets beyond $3000 grand sitting in an estate checking account - proceeds from the sale of my mother's personal effects at auction.  I haven't been receiving copies of the estate checking account statements for at least two months, and frankly I'm terrified to even check to see whether or not it's still there.   I have no money to retain a new lawyer.  What the hell do I do?  I can't even afford to bury my mother's cremains, much less purchase a headstone.  This is starting to really affect my health.  I JUST WANT THIS TO BE OVER WITH.

Answer:
 I am sorry that you are having to deal with this mess. Unfortunately, I don't think there is an easy way to get out either.  From a practical standpoint, you are suck with the attorney you have since hiring any other attorney to help you would cost money you (and the estate) don't have.  Of course, the attorney doesn't have much incentive to work on your behalf since they aren't getting paid anymore.

Keep bothering the attorney.  Meet with the attorney to form a game plan.  There are limited funds in the estate, so figure out how best to use them.  They can be used to pay the expenses of the estate (car payments, funeral, accountant).  It doesn't sound like you will get any money back from the estate so spending your own money doesn't make much sense.

If the attorney continues to ignore you, write to the attorney and tell them you will report them to the bar unless they contact you.


Title: Moved away from the states to Guam, my work now says that I cannot work away from the states.

Question:
Hi. My wife was offered a job in Guam so I spoke to my company about moving and was given the go ahead to move to Guam. I am now being told that I may not work from Guam. My employer said they are looking to see if they can put me in a different position so that I can stay in Guam.
1. My wife is contracted in Guam for another 2 1/2 years I am not going to be separated from wife for that long so I won't move back to the states. Our house is being used back home for the length of her contract as well.
2. I received permission from my former manager to move and my former manager received permission from the department head for me to move.
3. A big wig decided to make a stink about me being in Guam and found some policy that says you cannot telecommute internationally from outside of the states or Puerto Rico. Guam is a U.S. territory but apparently they consider Guam international.
4. The company is now saying they are looking to see if their is a position they can put me in to stay in Guam. That is a good thing but it would not be what I was hired to do and would almost certainly require traveling every week. I will probably not want the position IF they find one.
5. If I had not received permission to move we would never have moved in the first place. My wife is now under a multi year contract so she can't leave and we do not want to have a multi year separation. Our house is being used for the duration of her contract back in the states so I couldn't move back in to our house either. If they find a position it would not be what I was hired to do. If I fight this I don't see how this won't put a target on my back. I am not interested in a position where I will have to travel every week which is it would be if it happens.
6. Do I have any legal options?
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 Your legal options are to find a new job. Answer #2: Do you have an employment contract? If not, they can likely terminate you at any time for almost any reason not related to membership in a protected class.

So, I don't think you have much to go on here. I am correct in that you do not a an employment contract which clarifies grounds for termination and the length of your employment?


Title: Naturalized citizen having a hell of a time getting a US passport!

Question:
I’ll do my best to provide all pertinent details. There is a TL;DR version below as well!
I became a full-fledged naturalized citizen in June of 2011. For reasons that I can't recall, I didn't opt to immediately get my passport at the time. Fast forward to 2015. I finally decided to visit the passport office, and when they reviewed my application they informed me that my Certificate of Naturalization was a copy, and that I needed the original. Chalk it up to aloofness or ignorance, but I thought that it was the original. I don’t know at what point I may have made a copy or what, but I didn’t have the original with me. As it turns out, I cannot find it. I’ve gone through all my documents, including all my immigration stuff, time and time again. I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s lost. Anyway, I foolishly assumed that a replacement wouldn’t take long to get. As it turns out, the processing time for an N-565 form (to replace the Cert. of Nat.) takes between 6-12 months! (And costs $355.00, which seems outrageous, but I’ll save my rant for later). I’ve heard that times vary and can be as short as 8 weeks, but the majority of online forum threads and resources suggest that the 6+ month wait is realistic.
I read online that the passport office will accept a letter from the INS/USCIS affirming the receipt and acceptance of my documents in lieu of the certificate. I called the local passport agency and the person I spoke to affirmed that I would need to submit a signed letter explaining the reason why I needed a new certificate (lost, stolen, etc.) and the receipt from the USCIS. I visited my local USCIS field office this morning and explained this situation and the person said that they do not issue letters of any kind to the passport agency and they stopped doing this due to fraud. I was unclear if this also meant that the passport agency wouldn’t accept my receipt from the USCIS once they accept my documents. The guy I spoke to did not seem to be aware of any other avenues I could take.
I was told that the USCIS center in Texas would take roughly 10 days to accept my documents and send me a receipt confirmation. My documents arrived at their offices on Friday, 1/8/2016. I hope to receive a letter from them soon that I could potentially take to the Passport agency. Has this worked for anyone in the past? Unfortunately, I planned to take a trip to Canada in late February and purchased airfare and booked lodging already  Silly, I know. I’ll gladly accept any advice or insight into this situation and am prepared to be chided for being foolish/irresponsible/etc.

TL;DR: Lost Certificate of Naturalization, applied for new copy, need passport before then. In search of clarification and a miracle!

Bonus Hot Take: It’s demoralizing how expensive this, and other immigration-related processes (such as a replacement green card), are in the event a mishap like this occurs. Or if your documents get stolen or lost or burned in a fire. And to have the waiting process for a sheet of paper be 6 months to a year seems outrageous. It’s hard out here for an immigrant.

Answer:
 Sorry, no real advice. But I'd recommend getting a passport card in addition to the book. The card is only good at land borders in Canada and Mexico, but if you end up losing your book it's a better backup than your certificate.

Was it just a photocopy of your certificate that you made? The real ones are pretty fancy , with special paper and security features. They're pretty distinctive.


Title: Speeding ticket; Took care of it but still have to go to court because my lawyer messed up.

Question:
I don't know if this is the correct sub to post this in. If it's not please let me know where to post.

&#x200B;

So, I got a speeding ticket in Texas back in August 2018. I took the ticket to a lawyer so that it wouldn't get put on my record. The lawyers office told me it would take about 6 months or so before I would hear anything back on it. (My city always takes a long time) . In January 2019 I received a letter in the mail saying I would have to pay the ticket of $240- and that they would go to court for me and try to get it dismissed or at least get the amount reduced. I paid the ticket and let them go to court for me. A week or so later I get a call that the amount was reduced and will get a check in the mail of the difference. Okay great, right?

Later on around the beginning of February I get another letter in the mail saying I will be on 90 day probation and that I also have to take a driving defense class and turn in the certification at the municipal court **BY APRIL 1st.**

The letter from the lawyer clearly states by April 1st. So i turned it in on March 26.

I got a letter in the mail yesterday (April 1st) from the city saying that I have to show up to court on Friday (April 5th) because I did not turn in my certificate on time. That my due date was March 21st. So I have to go in and explain to a judge why it was not turned in on time.

&#x200B;

Shouldn't my lawyer be the one to go clear it? When it's his fault that it was turned past the actual day?

What am I paying him for ??

&#x200B;

Answer: Yes, your lawyer should take care of this. Contact the lawyer by mail or email in addition to calling, and make sure they will be in court. You go too. You may want to contact the bar counsel if the attorney doesn’t make this go away and have a good reason for the screwup. Make sure you have all the correspondence when you go to court.


Title: Can I be sued for this website?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 > Now my question was, would a company/website be able to sue me for making these posts about their company?

Absolutely.  First, anyone can sue you for anything.  You really want to worry more about their chances of winning that suit.

Any time you accuse someone of doing something bad, you run the risk of drawing a defamation suit.  You're accusing people of crimes - if you don't have really good evidence of that a defamation suit might be easy for them to win.


Title: I own a brand new car (bought in 2016) with 29K miles. Never in an accident, ticket - nada. Some company van hit me and now won't pay for rental insurance and I might be out diminished value

Question:
Hi Everyone!  First time poster in this thread.  I have a car that was bought brand new in 2016.  Never had any issues with it until a company van hit my parked car (I was in the grocery store) cause $2200 in damages.

I finally got the check for it to be fixed, and they set me up for a rental, but will not cover rental insurance which approximates $250.  Also, I inquired about diminished value and am not sure they will pay it.

After running numbers to determine diminished value (was very conservative in running them) the outcome equates to roughly $500.

All in all, I might be out $750.  Is this enough headache to sue?  I don't understand why I am out this money for someone else doing the damages.

Thanks!

Answer:
 >but will not cover rental insurance which approximates $250

I'm curious why you think they should pay this.  Why wouldn't your existing insurance cover you driving a rental?


Title: [US, NY] My drawings were lost by a shirt printer.

Question:
I draw mazes and went to a local tee shirt printers. I left 5 drawings to be made in to tee shirts, I didn't go back and pick up the pictures right away with work, the price was kind of high and I didn't have the money at the time. I was later involved in a car accident and couldn't get back to the printer for a few months. When I did go back the worker remembered me and remembered taking the drawings, they might have scanned in one of the drawing in their computer but she lost all of original drawings and don't know where they are. Does anyone know if I can get compensation or anything for them losing my drawings?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 So you dropped off five pieces of paper at an office, left, didn't pay anything, and didn't return for months? And now you're pissed that they don't have them anymore? And you think this is their problem?

C'mon, man.


Title: I signed up for handy.com and I want to cancel the service, but they want to charge me a 99 dollar cancellation fee. I think that's an invalid liquidation of damages clause, how can I avoid paying them? CA

Question: When you sign up for their service they force you into a recurring plan.  I didnt realize they charged a 99$ fee to cancel even if you do it right after the first cleaning.  I believe this fee is not legal as it constitutes an invalid liquidation of damages clause.  How an I avoid paying them this 99$?  If they charge me and I dispute it on my credit card, what will happen?

Answer:
 Looks like it's pretty clearly laid out in the agreement:

https://help.handy.com/hc/en-us/articles/215562927-Cancel-my-cleaning-plan

You are responsible for the cancellation fee unless you signed up for their HandySelect plan.


Title: [Louisiana] Can we recover costs related because sellers have delayed closing for our home purchase?

Question:
My husband and I are in the process of buying our first home. We have completed everything on our end of the transaction; financing, inspection, appraisal, title search, etc. We began the process on Memorial Day, having our offer accepted on 5/29. We were given a tentative closing date of 6/28. We were told on 6/22 that the seller would need until 7/12 to close. We were disappointed but we dealt with it.

&#x200B;

On 7/3 we received a call from our agent. Apparently, the sellers did not complete the secession process for the property. They apparently have to run some kind of notice in the newspaper for a certain amount of time and they did not. They've told us that they now cannot give us an exact closing date until they complete the secession. We have our entire lives on hold and they cannot tell us when this process will be finished.

&#x200B;

We have asked our agent to request a date for closing but he just keeps telling us that they do not know the date and that they \*hope\* they can close by the end of the month.

&#x200B;

We have children to register for school which we cannot do until we have utility bills, etc. We are also having to pay for our storage indefinitely, additional rent because we cannot move until we close on the house among with other various costs because obviously we don't have access to the house yet. Is there any way we can get the sellers to give us a closing date? Can we recover the money we've unexpectedly had to spend because we cannot yet move into our house? Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 You can ask for consideration since the sellers are at fault.  Your realtor doesn't get paid until the house closes unless the realtor also reps the seller.  If the realtor represents the seller, then something shady may be going on like a better offer so trying to get you to walk away.

You can also walk away from the deal.  The seller's agent should have had all of their requirements covered.  So this speaks very poorly to their agent.  You can file a complaint with the state licensing agency against the seller's agent.


Title: Does the victim have to go to court for charges to stick if they are not subpoenaed?

Question: Was the victim of 5 misdemeanors including battery, really don't wanna go to court as I am very busy. Can I just sign an affadavit and let the DA handle it

Answer:
 A subpoena isn't voluntary, meaning if you receive a subpoena, you must go.

Generally having victims testify increases a conviction, but is not always required.

Edit: Sorry, changed is to isn't


Title: School Staff confiscated calculator and phone case because of "assumption rule" Los Angeles

Question:
Basically. I was walking with my friends with a calculator ontop of a phone case ontop of a book. A school staff member told me two times to put my phone away and I told her I didn't have a phone. She didn't believe me and I showed her that it was just a calculator on a phone case. Anyways she took them and confiscated them at the office until the end of the day. Me and my friends had asked what rule we had broken and they claimed it was the rule of assumption. If they think that someone has a phone then they can take it away. Basically we asked them where this magical rule was and they said it wasn't in the agenda ( it's where you write your homework down but there's a 15 page section at the beginning with rules ). I told them they should add it and someone in the office said "we can't add every little rule". I asked them how we were supposed to follow a rule that isnt in the rules and then we got kicked out. I don't plan to take legal action but it'd be nice to know. Is this legal confiscation of property? The constitution allows confiscation of property with due process of the law, meaning that if someone happened to actually have their phone out they'd be allowed to take it because it's an actual rule. This wasn't.

Thank you for reading. Also if I happen to respond I'm not trying to argue with you. Just clarifying information.

Answer:
 There is no legal issue here.

Your appeal may be taken by your parents to the school administration, but since you received no punishment and your property was already returned to you, there is not much point unless you are looking to clarify what the rules are exactly.Answer #2: Your teacher can take your possessions away through the school day. They were given back. This is a nonissue.


Title: nieghbors parking in handicapped parking spot illegally

Question: [Maryland] I had a surgery and my apartment complex landlord had assigned a handicapped parking spot in front of my building. This spot is for me and anyone who have handicapped plates or placard. My neighbors kept parking in the spot even though they do not have handicapped permit. It's been over a week since they installed the sign and I have not parked there more than once. I do not want to confront my neighbors about it because they are not friendly. should I contact the landlord about it or call the towing company that is pre-authorized to tow illegal parking cars

Answer: I would call the landlord and tell him the neighbors are parking illegally. The LL might want to warn the neighbors not to park there first. You can also ask if it happens again, should you notify LL or call tow company.Answer #2: I'd tip off the towing company. They know the legal responsibilities and contractual arrangements they have with the landlord and can decide how to handle this.Answer #3: Police. Illegally parking in a Handicapped spot is usually a big fine.


Title: Working from home with "residential only" lease

Question: My home lease says it is only for residential purposes. I do a lot of work from home and recently registered for a fictitious name (DBA) including placing a legal notice in the paper stating this that contains my home address (I don't know why they printed that). My wife is freaking out, thinking this violates/breaks our lease and we could be in trouble. Am I correct in thinking that operating a business from my dwelling and working from home are two different things? I'm okay, right? My wife is totally just being a freak, right? Hillsborough County, Florida.

Answer:
 > Am I correct in thinking that operating a business from my dwelling and working from home are two different things? I'm okay, right? My wife is totally just being a freak, right?

No, your wife is right.  Registering a business at your address is very much NOT a residential purpose, and your landlord could evict you if they find out.


Title: (US- FL) New home purchased after clean inspections, two months later we discover two long-term pest infestations

Question:
My husband and I had a pre-purchase home inspection done on the house we were looking to buy on 12/30/14, and chose to pay extra for a termite/pest inspection that was done at the same time. The home inspector point out some big things wrong with the house and the pest inspector said everything looked good. We received the copy of the inspection report shortly after, and did not find anything in it that wasn't discussed with me on the day of inspection. The things the home inspector did note were things my husband and I agreed were not deal breakers, and are unrelated to the current issues. We moved forward with closing on 1/28/15.

Upon moving in two weeks later, we discovered that the refrigerator, dishwasher and garbage disposal didn't work and that there would be some carpenter ants crawling around or dead inside one of the bathrooms. We decided to replace the fridge with our tax return. The dishwasher and disposal are non-essential appliances so while it sucked, we could live without. Later on we managed to fix the disposal on our own.

On 3/14, my husband and I were in our bedroom when we heard something in the attic. We have a lot of strays in the area, so I thought it may have just been a cat on the roof. He heard this noise again on 3/17, but in a different area of the house. We called a different pest company out to do another inspection to see if we have anything in the attic and to find where the carpenter ants were coming from. This new inspector was not even into the attic area when he noticed chew marks on the beams and ducts in the attic. We have rats. As he was going further in, things kept getting worse. The insulation is shot due to all the urine, more chew marks are found, and... rat traps. My husband and I did not put them there, so they would have been there since before our original pre-purchase inspections. Both original pest inspectors as well as the home inspector were in the same part of the attic that the new inspector was in. None of the original three mentioned the rats in the attic. The new inspector said that given the extent of the damage the rats have been up there for "a while" and there was no way that this happened in three months. Especially when someone knew enough to go up there to put traps out. The estimate to have both the rats and ants exterminated, the insulation removed, the attic sanitized and treated plus new insulation is around $3,000.

**tl:dr-** Bought a new house, issues brought up in inspection were acceptable and unrelated to current issues, move in to find appliances not working, carpenter ants and rats in the attic. $3,000 for the cleanup plus costs of new fridge

My question is, do we have any recourse to go back to the inspection and pest companies to cover at least the cost of extermination/cleanup? To me it seems like incompetence to not notice the appliances not working, and to either overlook the rat infestation or not say anything about them.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 Out of curiosity, did your Realtor recommend the inspectors?

Some inspectors have a 'referral agreement' with Realtor's that will overlook certain damages to facilitate the sale of a property.


Title: Trying To Get Best Offer On Vehicle Trade In - Can I Get In Trouble?

Question:
I bought a vehicle 3 months ago (2019) and after driving it for 3 months, I absolutely hate it. Dumb on my part, but I cannot deal with this vehicle anymore.

KBB said the trade in value is $55K. I took it it to CarMax and they offered me $50K.

I’m at another dealer and they said it’s “too new” to put a number on but asked what CarMax offered and I lied and said $55K and showed them the KBB valuation.

They said they wanted to see the CarMax sheet and then they would make an offer. Would I get in trouble (or is it illegal) if I “photoshopped” the $50K CarMax offer to $55K and showed it to the dealer I’m negotiating with?
Topic:
Contracts

Answer: Fraud. The word for what you're describing is fraud. You would be deliberately misrepresenting a material fact in order to receive more money out of a transaction.


Title: Prostitution, consent, and rape vs. theft of services. (US/NY)

Question:
A recent news story made me curious.

The facts as I understand them: a woman went to a hotel room with a man and performed oral sex (both parties say this was voluntary). They then had intercourse, which she says was rape and he claims was also voluntary.

Some of the articles floated the idea that she may be a prostitute, in which case she may have originally consented but simply be angry he didn't pay her for services rendered.

My understanding is that if there is no consent prior to the act, penetrative sex is rape regardless of the victim's profession. But in the case of consent obtained under false premises, what law applies? Still rape? Theft of services? As a non-lawyer, since the business transaction itself is illegal, it seems unlikely standard contract law applies. But hey, the law is often counter-intuitive.

The events in the news story took place in Brooklyn, so if anybody knows specifically how NY might approach this I'm especially interested.

I didn't see anything about it in the rules, but if hypotheticals/outside cases aren't allowed in this sub I'd be grateful if someone tells me where this question belongs.

Answer:
 All that matters is whether the woman consented to the sexual intercourse before and while it took place. You cannot retroactively revoke consent after the conclusion of the sexual activity as far as sexual assault is concerned.

Theft of services wouldn't apply here due to the nature of the "service", but the male could be charged for patronizing a prostitute while the woman in question could be charged for prostitution.


Title: How can I get a permit it carry nunchucks?

Question: I am an avid nunchuck user and want to get a permit to carry them on my person wherever I go. I am in Maryland and the law has them listed under deadly weapons, so it is my understanding that I cannot just leave the house with them in my belt.

Answer:
 Its worded ambiguously but if you can get a permit to carry a concealed handgun [§4-101](http://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2010/criminal-law/title-4/subtitle-1/4-101/) sounds like it might allow you to carry nunchucks. If this interpretation is correct it only applies to concealed carry, you could not have them be visible.

Although my understanding is that Maryland's "may-issue" policy is better described as "lol no."


Title: Amazon seller doxxed me for leaving negative review

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 Take a screenshot of the post.

Open a new customer complaint with Amazon. Point out that this information is in violation of Amazon's terms and conditions. Ask them to remove it.


Title: Using GPS tracker in vehicle to determine hours worked.

Question:
Hello all! I’m very new to this subreddit but my husband is having an issue at work and we’d like some advice.

My husband works for his dad’s pest control company (small business with 2 employees other than my husband). My husband keeps his work truck at our home so he can head to work straight from our house. A few months ago his dad put a GPS tracker in his truck and said he was going to use it to map out routes and determine the parts of town he has the most business in. We both thought it was odd, but we went with it anyway.

Today his dad called him to tell him after work he would be signing a contract (his dad typed it out in Microsoft word it was not written by a lawyer or anything) saying his hours worked would now be determined by where the truck is located throughout the day and how much it moves. My husband goes to work at 8:30 everyday and isn’t ever home before 6. His job consists of him driving to homes and businesses to spray for bugs. Some days are slower than others but he normally has a pretty full schedule and gets paid hourly. We’re not comfortable with him signing a document stating his dad gets to determine how much he pays him off of information my husband has no access to. His dad has also made it clear he will be fired if he refuses to sign this. He will be the only employee getting paid in this way. I know that this stems from a place of his dad needing control over my husband but we don’t know what to do. My husband is our only stream of income until June, and honestly makes just enough for the two of us and our child to survive right now, we can’t take a cut in pay and make our bills. Can he refuse to sign this? Does he have any rights in this situation?

Thank you for any advice! We are located in the US
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: He has to be paid for all time worked. If his employer wants to track their vehicle they can do that, it's their property, but they have to pay him for all time worked and if that doesn't happen he can file an unpaid wage complaint.  Time during the day driving around to different sites is time worked no matter what your husband's dad says.


Title: [UT] Fencing company is parking their large trucks on residential roads, making it impossible to pass

Question:
Evil Fence Co. bought what I THINK used to be a house several years ago. It borders a main road and a residential road. Since they've moved in, I've had nothing but problems with their drivers. They speed, they back out into traffic (sometimes blocking the road for up to ten minutes - and it's the only way out that direction) I've had them parking in front of houses, halfway in the street, everywhere! One neighbor had their dog hit by them speeding down the road. They have long trailers, which take up a LOT of space on our narrow road.

I've tried complaining to them to no avail. When they're not parked on the road we have residents parking on the road, but they've stopped as Evil Fence Co. has nearly hit their cars several times. This means there is NO PARKING in front of at least two houses as they have long trucks they have taken up parking there.

I get that they want a business, that's fine. I get that they are in a building six sizes too small for their business. But I can't get down my road! They park by the corner, creating blind spots so I can't pull out into traffic in a safe manner.

Is there ANY way to get them to stop parking on our streets? I feel like we can't use our roads because they 'own' them. (Nevermind the noise they create!)

https://ibb.co/hiEnGF Picture for reference.

Answer: Call the police non emergency line and let them know that these guys are obstructing traffic. Answer #2: Call the fire marshal or chief.  If cars can't get through, the firetrucks and other emergency vehicles can't either.  Those in charge of public safety will have strong views on this.Answer #3: My city has parking ordinances that don't allow people to park within 20 feet of an intersection. Check your parking ordinances and report violations.


Title: Post request not to prosecute letter

Question:
I'll try to make this quick and sweet. A few weeks ago my roommate attacked me with a pole (we were both drinking). We've since "made up". I've done stupid shit drunk before as well. In any case, I went to an office and filled out a request not to prosecute. It has apparently not yet been dropped, I know it's possible it wont be, but he claims his lawyer says to get it dropped he needs me to write the judge a similar letter saying the same things I told the counselor. Says his lawyer has no access to what I wrote the lady, it's confidential. I'm afraid the rebefriending may be a ploy to get out of charges or for retaliation later. A counter suit if you will (for false arrest?) despite the video of part of the attack I have. I made no threatening or retaliatory moves, simply balled up.

He says it will help him get it thrown out on the 2nd court date, so he nor I will be forced to attend a 3rd (would be my first). I'd like this as well, but know he's on/off friendly/vindictive at times. Is there any danger in me writing this letter? Could it open more trouble later?

Thanks so much.

Answer:
 Simply writing a letter to the judge, in-and-of itself, is fine.  The contents of the letter, of course, could.

But I want to stress that this isn't up to you.  Sounds like your friend is a hothead and might need to learn a lesson.  The prosecutors are under no obligation to drop the charges, and the judge may or may not be lenient on your buddy.


Title: Looking to protect family friend who confided in us that her husband physically abuses her (CT)

Question:
Throwaway account because I have no idea which of my family/involved parties are on reddit, etc.

We usually have a large gathering for the holidays, and this year my cousin brought along her sister-in-law, who we'll call Jess. This is the first time any of my family have met her, but Jess was very quiet and sweet during our holiday dinner. Her and my cousin slept overnight in town, as family members usually spend a day or two here with us before driving back to their respective homes. This morning, however, Jess confided in my cousin that her husband, has been beating her and she is terrified for her life, and does not want to return. I can only assume she signed up to come to our humdrum family dinner as a last-ditch escape plan.

I have few other details, as my cousin is still with her and they have not rejoined us yet, but our family has absolutely decided to take her in and do everything we can to protect her. The immediate goal is to get her legal protection, the long-term goal is to get her set up safely somewhere in a place where she can start to rebuild her life. The latter is obviously a bramble bush and I don't expect to concoct a plan for that overnight, but, that's the goal. I think she also has a few very personal items she had to leave behind in her home so as to not arouse suspicion, and would like to retrieve them, but I'm not sure that can be done at this point unless someone has ideas to the contrary.

So to actually be successful in helping her my pragmatic questions are as follows:

\- We are all in CT now, but she resides in MA and I assume was married there, so if Jess needs to file a restraining order, contact authorities, file for divorce, which would be the preferred state to do so in?

\- What is the order of operations for getting her protected? Police, lawyer, then what? She is technically safe at the moment so are the police a necessary first step? It should also be mentioned that none of us are well-off to handle this situation from a financial perspective—we're obviously going to do what we can to make it work— but if there any resources or networks available to us that wouldn't put us deep in the hole I'd be grateful to know about them.

\- Am I missing any crucial legal steps here? I have not encountered an issue like this before.

Apologies for grammar, spelling — I'm writing this in a bit of a hurry. Inbox is open if people have useful tips that might require more info, I'll illuminate what I can.

Thanks reddit—long time lurker here and I'd never thought I'd had to post, but I'm really glad y'all are out here.

Answer:
 Not a lawyer. There will be women’s shelter programs in your area and where her husband lives.  These aren’t just emergency housing, they can help her get connected to services such as restraining order clinics, financial assistance and victim witness support. She can go to their office and work with them to build a long term safety plan.

Thanks for opening your hearts to one in need. Answer #2: Former domestic violence prosecutor in Mass. here.

Know that just believing her can be an important way to support her.

The Mass. District Attorneys Offices all have victim witness advocates to support victims in this situation with things like protective orders and resources.  I suggest she reach out to the DA's office that covers her hometown in Mass. in conjunction with talking to a lawyer.  Even if she cannot afford to hire a lawyer, it's well worth it to pay a lawyer for a couple hours of her time before filing the divorce.

Since the crimes sound like they took place in Mass., she will want to talk to the police in Mass.

I don't know if she's eligible to get a protective order in CT, where she is right now, or if she has to do it in Mass.  Again, a consult with a lawyer--a CT lawyer--would answer this question as well as whether she can bring the divorce in CT or if it has to be in MA.


Title: [MO] My neighbor's trash service was apparently cancelled a few weeks ago, there is trash all over his yard and blowing all over mine. Neighbor is unresponsive renter. What do I do?

Question:
Title says it all.  I own a duplex in a town in southwest MO, and the guy next to me has 2 trash bins packed full that have been repeatedly dragged out to the curb and then dragged back to the side of the house over the past few weeks.  Additionally, there are trash bags in the yard, and just loose garbage blowing around.  I haven't been able to get them to answer the door for me, so I'm not sure what else to do.  Is this a 'call the cops' thing?  Or something else?

tl;dr: Neighbor's huge amount of trash blowing around in my yard and they won't answer the door.  What do?

Answer: Maybe code enforcement? Call them up for your town and see what they say.Answer #2: Call the owner and let them know. Owners like to keep good relations with neighbors and very often can fix things like this without needing to get others involved. If you don't know who the owner is, you can go to the courthouse (or their website) and look it up.


Title: (California) Is a company policy a legal document? I have had coworkers harassing me and my supervisor is covering for them, I have followed company policy and they have done nothing. What can I do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Company policy is just a set of guidelines the company itself made up. The company is not required by law to follow them.


Title: Power Booking a car

Question:
So about a month-and-a-half ago I bought a new car. With the new car they added gap insurance and warranty which doesn't bother me so much because I can cancel both of them. But I never should have been approved for the loan and the only reason I was is because of the dealership power bookED the vehicle $2,000 more than it's worth I have been trying to get the loan transferred off of my name to my girlfriend's name so that we can buy a house which was the original plan to begin with. and we told the dealer that we wanted the loan only in her name so that my name was free of all that. Now no bank will touch this loan with a 10-foot stick and I can I get it moved around enough so that I can go and purchase a house.  I am trying to get a VA loan for my mortgage. Me and my girlfriend bring in more than enough to support our family, pay the car and purchase a house. The only debt in either of our names is this vehicle. I worked hard for the last part of the previous year to pay off both of our debts and cars. We are expecting a child and so we decided my old vehicle needed to go.  I pay close to 2k a month for utilities and rent. I want a home to reduce my payments by 5 to 800. I have solid credit but the dealer ran both our credits 20x to make this happen. My credit has long term accounts through a couple credit lines that kept my score still very good. My girlfriend took a 100pt hit. I hope I provided enough information. Sorry for the frantic original post.

Wyoming

Edit: Grammar. Punctuation.

Answer: So you have a problem car loan you don't want and can't afford and now you want to go buy a house. Hm.


Title: Reasonable to ask for receipt of medical expenses when paying a demand letter for alleged dog bite.

Question:
My dog jumped on a persons leg while I was walking the dog on leash.  I immediately pulled dog down and apologized.  I asked the person if he was okay as I looked at his leg. I saw no scratches, bites or marks. The person did not respond and walked away.  A few minutes later the person came running back and said my dog bit him.  I again looked for marks and saw nothing.  I asked were the dog bit him - he pointed to his shorts (I assumed he meant on his leg somewhere under his shorts)  He asked if dog was licensed and current on shots.  I responded yes.  I again apologized and provided him my name and address.

The next evening, I received a letter in my door stating he went to the ER had scans and everything appeared okay for now. He asked for $XXX reimbursement.  He did not provide receipt/invoice or any supporting documents.  I contacted him and said I'd reimburse for medical services but please provide receipts.  His response back was he would not, upon legal advice.  He instead asked me for documents (vet shots, registration, etc.) which I immediately provided.  I again asked for receipt of medical expenses so I could reimburse him but stated he will not (his lawyer would charge him to get copies of receipt??? was his excuse) and that he will escalate to his lawyers.

1st off, I don't believe my dog bit him but what I believe doesn't matter.  I'd pay for medical expense associated with the incident, even if scans/reports show no bites.  But my concern is that he will not provide receipts - it feels like a shakedown.   I keep providing him info and offer to pay but he won't provide copies of invoices/bills?  My question is should I just pay him and (hopefully) move on? Does he/his lawyers really have a reason not to provide bills/invoices with his demand letter?

Answer:
 You don't have any obligation to pay him at this point.  You can keep demanding receipts.  If he sues you, he's going to have to provide them at some point.

And I wouldn't necessarily offer to pay the guy in writing, but maybe (if you haven't already) you should send him a letter asking that he provide you receipts detailing his expenses incurred in the "alleged" incident.  Don't even admit in the writing that your dog did anything.


Title: Employee taking advantage of welfare program (TX)

Question: So after the hurricane Harvey they increase food stamp coverage/the amount given (not sure). My employee announces she's gonna scam the system and get one for herself. I dissuade her as much as I can. She lives with her family and is a college student, meaning there are multiple people that live in her household which would have not qualified her, plus the income for this family wouldn't qualify them too. Thinking that was that, I went along my business thinking she wouldn't actually do it. Yesterday she announces she has used her food stamp card and it has "sooooo much money" on it. I am actually shocked that she actually went through with it. Is there a way to report it anonymously? Is this welfare fraud? How often do they audit these things? (Also fact: she doesn't file her taxes because her parents claim her)

Answer: Here's the thing about that though. The food stamps were for disaster relief and everyone who didn't already qualify for monthly food stamps, qualified for some sort of disaster relief food stamps. If she lost power, then she most likely lost her food. If she flooded at all, anything related to Harvey, she qualified. They used a different income limit for the disaster food stamps. So if she qualified, she was probably meant to qualify, but if you're still unsure, you can call and report the fraud. If they believe it's fraud, she will get caught.


Title: Committed to an unpaid internship, but feels taken advantage of - Possible to get reimbursement?

Question:
Hello,

This was the job posting that was on Indeed.com (omitted camp name):
Seeking art interns looking to build their portfolio and gain experience with our amazing Summer ***** Art Camp. Internship is unpaid but this will give you the opportunity to be with a wonderful member from Parsons School of Design. Internship will start June 19-30 between 8:30am - 4:00pm. Museum entrance fees, transportation, and lunch will be provided.

I committed to this internship at an art camp in NYC last month. The camp's first day was today. For the past month, I have been doing work for my boss as well as meeting her in the city to help prepare for the camp. I was lied to and feel taken advantage of, so I decided to tell my boss I will no longer be participating, which is why I am not working right now.

What I was lied to about:

•I would be working with a professor from Parsons (in the interview she told me she was not a professor there, but she graduated from there like 20 years ago, so technically I knew this before I officially accepted, but I was definitely drawn to this internship bc I thought I'd be working with someone from Parsons.)

•My transportation would be covered

Why I feel taken advantage of:

•Boss never told me that I would be helping her do prep work. During the interview, I was under the assumption I'd just be working the 2 weeks of the camp. She sent me emails everyday. In total, I did two assignments for her as well as had lengthy convos over the phone with her (bc she talks a lot). I have a busy schedule and this extra work caused a lot of stress for me.

•Met her twice in the city. I had to pay for trans myself (was under the impression this would be covered)

•The day before the camp starts is when I am finally told that my trans in and out of NYC would NOT be covered. Only trans taking place during camp hours will be covered.

•I have two jobs and had taken time off so I would be free these two weeks to commit to this internship.

Can I do anything about this? I feel like I have wasted so much time, energy and money. I want them to pay for the work and transportation that they had me do under false pretense.

Thanks for anyone willing to help!

Answer: It sounds like you did everything in your story willingly. I'd cut my losses and move on.Answer #2: Sounds like a standard student internship to me.  They told you the truth about the work and the hours, so I don't know why you keep saying you were "lied to" while you admit in the same breath they told you all of this, or that you were making assumptions about things nobody ever told you.


Title: What would happen if an 17/18 year old was to hit a 15 year old in defense?

Question: My buddy Shaun has been getting constant threats by a 15 kid that thinks he's a big deal. He's worried that if he defends himself he's going to be facing legal issues. Thank you.

Answer: same thing that would happen if they were both in their thirties.  one or both may have legal problems


Title: [MO] Question regarding petition for name change after marriage.

Question:
Hello and thanks for your time. I am getting ready to change my last name after getting married. I am a victim of child abuse and have not spoken to my family in about 5 years as a result. I have moved, changed my number, and deleted social media accounts so they cannot contact me easily.

However, there is no documentation of this abuse. CPS was never involved and I never pursued any order of protection. My question is, am I able to check the box that says "I am the victim of child abuse as defined in §210.110, RSMo." even though the abuse was never officially documented? Doing so allows me to skip publishing my name change in the newspaper.

Here is a link to the two forms I am filling out. Page 2 on each has the relevant sections to my question. https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=55062

Answer:
 You don't need to file a name change petition with the courts if you're changing only your last name after marriage. Take a certified copy of your marriage certificate to a Social Security office and have your social security card updated. Once you have the new card, take that and the marriage cert to update your drivers license or state ID. With those three pieces, you can update bank accounts and everything else.
[Name Change after Marriage in MO. ](http://dor.mo.gov/howdoi/married.php)


Title: Family Dog attacked friends dog on a walk. Vet bills are well over $10,000 and they want us to pay.

Question:
My fathers friend invited him out to walk dogs together. My fathers dog has never bitten or been aggressive towards another dog and lived in the house with other dogs, so he thought nothing of it and was happy to meet his friend and walk dogs together.  They walked for a while with no problems, when out of nowhere, my fathers dog attacked his friends dog, almost killing it. There was no aggressive behavior before this and no one knows why this happened.

Understandably, my dads friend rushed his dog to the Vet, where it was kept for two days. The dog got some stitches and some tests done and was released home. The vet told my dads friend that they recommended doing several surgeries, one that would cost $10,000 and would require a lot of follow up care. He chose to do the surgery and there is still more to come.

Now the total vet bills are approximately $15,000. The cost of the dog was $1,000. My dad loves this friend and really cherishes his relationship with him, but he is on a fixed income and cannot afford to pay this.

I told my dad that he needs to get through to his friend that he needs to be reasonable. He cant put my dad into $20,000 or $30,000 debt over an accident. An accident, that he shared the risk of happening when he asked to introduce his dog to my dads when he invited my dad for that walk.

I asked around and the answers I have are all over the place. A lot of people tell me that my dad should pay the entire bill, which might go up to $30,000 before this is all over, because his dog attacked. Some people say that he is only responsible for 50% of the bill up to the value of the dog.

Does anyone know how a court might rule on this if it ends up going to court? My Dad's friends seemed very upset and irrational about this whole thing. I don't want to see my dad lose his relationship or a huge amount of money over this. But this guy seems to be operating under the assumption that this is not an accident, but my dads fault and he needs to pay whatever bill he can get the vet to ring up.

Answer:
 Your dad is on the hook for the vet bill.Answer #2: Your dog caused the damage.  I would expect the court to award the damages for the vet bill.

You might check with your homeowner's insurance to see if they'll cover it.


Title: Is there any way to prevent someone from naming me in their will?

Question: I have a family member who... mistreated me, and knowing the way they think as long as they name me in their will they'll consider themselves absolved. The time to at least attempt to make things right with me would've been years ago. Now I just want to keep them out of my life as absolutely as possible.

Answer:
 You cannot stop someone from naming you in their will.

You do not have to accept whatever they leave you.


Title: Restaurant killing wildlife, police don't care [FL, USA]

Question:
A local chinese restaurant has been taking shifts (day & night) of weekly driving around and luring wildlife (birds, ducks, etc) and scooping them up by the dozen to be cooked and served. I'd imagine this has to be illegal however after confronting the police they simply don't care.

What should I do to both protect the wildlife here and protect any unsuspecting customers from eating food that can potentially be diseased?

I've told the local development however they also are unable to do anything about it. The police simply lack the time or care to investigate and I'm pretty much out of options.

The wildlife population is noticeably decreasing as the weeks go by and I fear that they may end up being non-existent in the coming months.

Answer:
 1.  Watch restaurant

2.  Wait for duck special

3.  ENJOY!  Acorn fed ducks are delicious.

________________________________________________________________________________

You have actual evidence this is occurring, other than there are fewer ducks in the local pond?

I suppose you could contact the [FWC](http://myfwc.com/).


Title: [PA] I am a 17 year old and my mother is being "evicted" and forced to leave my grandparent's house. Am I legally obligated to leave with her as she is abusive and I do not want her in my life?

Question:
Backstory (Skip for legality part):   There have always been problems in my house.  My mother has had 3 husbands and I witnessed one of them treat her like shit and beat her.  Every single time she would go back to him even though she claimed she never meant to hurt my brother and I.  This is where the abusiveness started.  She was also addicted to pain pills and whenever she came off of them she would go into rage and just break everything in sight.  Occasionally she'll smoke weed in her bedroom and it's the most calm I've ever seen her.    She's diagnosed bipolar but won't get medication for it because she refuses to get onto welfare but also refuses to work.  She'd been living off of my brother and I's child support checks each month as my grandparents pay for our food and home us.  I can't talk to her about anything that she doesn't agree with as she'll start yelling and say I'm close-minded and say that I'm calling her stupid and insulting her even though I know she's dead wrong.  (Her latest was that the US government was behind the Pulse nightclub shooting.)  I'm done arguing with her but it's impossible as every time I see her she brings up the fact that I don't love her and she just screams how I hate her.  I've never said or done anything to warrant it but she's paranoid and needs help.  The final straw was when she took my grandparents' rifles and shotguns and sold them to a local gun store.  My grandparents called the police but the case was dismissed after about a week because I couldn't talk to the police officer as she was by my side.  I knew she took the guns and sold them illegally, but I'm afraid of her.  Like seriously afraid to the point that I fear for my life and her's sometimes.

(Legal Stuff)   Now that the charges were dropped my grandmother called a county clerk or something and asked about eviction and stuff.  There was an eviction notice on the front door of where my mother lives downstairs.  It references landlord and tenant but there was never a lease signed or anything.  No agreement.

1.  Can she legally be evicted?  My mother is claiming that now that she is being evicted my grandmother is screwed because since she's a "landlord" she will have to pay for all the repairs and things that were broken in the bottom half portion of where my mother lived.

2.  If she is evicted, will I need to go with her?  My grandmother has raised me for a good portion of my life and I think even had to sign onto a paper to become my guardian.  i.e.  She can sign me out from school and could even sign for my driver's license or whatever.  My dad lives a few states away and I am on good terms with his family but will not want to bother them for the few more months I have as a child.

3.  Anything she's given to me am I legally obligated to give back?  Like as a gift or something she bought for me?  She's trying to take my bed and stuff but I'm trying to hold out as it's hard to move.

Thank you for the help.

As I'm typing this she is downstairs smashing a lot of stuff and the reason I came up here to type this is because she threw weed killer liquid stuff at me and it got all over me and a whole bunch plaster and ceramic shit was thrown at me.  This is the final straw.  I want her out of my life and this is where it starts.

Edit:  I've looked into state emancipation but I do not have the money for the fee at this moment.

Edit 2:  Children and youth have been called and make periodic checks on my brother and I's welfare.  It's only ever in her eyes though so I can't speak out.  She looks like the perfect mother when they're here.  I'm too afraid.

Answer: Call CPS. You're a minor and that's bullcrap.


Title: Faking an art heist? (Extremely odd question because my friend is an idiot)

Question: My friend decided he wanted to do a really long con prank.  He made up a gallery and claims he owns it, and that he is the only place you can find a certain artist.  He hyped it up so much with him and a group of friends that it gained some notary in the area.  Now he wants to claim there was an art heist and that a bunch of pieces were taken to try to get on the news.  He said he won't report it to police, but I think it would still be illegal.  Any opinions on this?

Answer: The only way the news would become involved is if the police become involved. IF that happens he would be breaking the law. From making a false report to wasting public resources, he could face some good fines.


Title: Legal assistance with Child Support

Question:
Hey all,

I recently left the military, and my ex is in California with my child. I currently live in Texas.

My child support order was for $752/month for one child, and I have to have insurance on him.  I don't mind paying, he is my child, however I'm currently working part time at walmart (been there 2 weeks) and I just got a garnishment order in the mail for the full $752 a month to be taken from my paychecks.

She won't let me see or even talk to him. She just wants the money that's it, and the reason the order is so high is because when she initially filled it 3 years ago I was deployed and unable to appear in person in California.

I need to get the order fixed some how, but I don't live in California, and I don't even know how to go about this. I don't have any spare money for an attorney. I live with my wife, and she lives with her new husband (if that makes a difference?)

Can anyone give me some guidance as to what to do?

Answer: You will need a hire a lawyer in California to file for the support to be lowered. They can also handle custody.


Title: Months after I got married and moved out, my parents were evicted. They never told me I was on the lease. Now my partner and I can't rent anywhere. What recourse do I have? Northern California.

Question:
Hello all. As the title says, I'm trying to decipher what has happened, if my parents did anything in my name without telling me, and what I can do about it. So here's my story.

Background: In 2011 my parents moved into a new home after being evicted from the last one. I was 20 at the time. They told me they were putting me down on the lease only as a "person over the age of 18 living in the house", but no mention of being responsible for anything. I never once signed any paperwork, personally provided any pay information or identification. I was working a minimum wage job at the time and also a student, earning roughly $300 per 2 week paycheck. Legally still considered a dependent.

In March of 2013 I moved out of my parents house and in with my boyfriend, however I was not on the lease.

In June of 2013 we moved into an apartment together, we were both on the lease.

In November of 2013 our relationship became legal. No longer legally considered a dependent. We moved again after that in March of 2014, and once more in March of 2015.

According to the eviction paperwork, a Writ of Possession Judgement was entered on 1/2013.

A Writ of Execution was issued on 1/2014.

A Notice to Vacate was given on 2/2014.

On all of the eviction paperwork, my name is listed as the defendant and first, my parents are listed second as "additional debtors".

So now, questions...

First, does it matter or does it mean anything that my name is listed as the defendant on all the paperwork, and my parents are only listed as "additional debtors"?

Second of all, why am I on it anyway? I was a dependent college student earning a couple hundred bucks a month, absolutely not in any position to be responsible for a debt the size of house rent (which was roughly 1,200 a month, or over twice my monthly income).

Third, does my presence on the lease and the eviction mean that my parents could have put me on the lease as a legally responsible party? Could this happen in any way without my signature? Does this suggest they could have forged my signature?

And lastly, does anyone have any idea what I can do? There are no apartment or management companies where I live who will even consider an eviction. It is considered an automatic disqualification by every management company in my area.

I literally have no idea what to do. I'm seriously considering getting an attorney to investigate this, but I'd like to know if I have anything to build a case on. And in the mean time, I'd really like to have a place to live that isn't a cardboard box on the street.

Answer:
 Be forewarned that you might not like where this is going. It sounds like your parents criminally used your identity. They could be prosecuted for this. If I were you, I would feel bad but not too bad. After all, they did this to themselves and hurt you in the process. Answer #2: Somewhat similar situation, my wife had a collection on her credit from an apartment she lived in with her parents in high school.  When she called the collection agency, they sent her a copy of the full contract... minus the signature page.  When she finally got the signature page, it confirmed what she knew: She never signed the damned thing and she was just listed as a resident.

Skeezy landlords are skeezy.  It's entirely possible your parents did nothing wrong (on the name/signing front) and the landlord is shotgunning it in hopes that you'll just pay to make it go away.

Contact the landlord, ask for a copy of the contract.  Demand proof.  Additional action may be required, depending on the results.  California is a two-party consent state, so if you record the call (which I heartily recommend), you have to get their consent.


Title: (FL) Is there anything that we can do about a nurse that keeps reporting to CPS/DCFS because she thinks we can't support our children.

Question:
My husband had an accident and had been out of work since February(he should be able to go back next month). He's continuing to see the doctor who treated him in the hospital, he goes to his office every month.

Because of him not being able to work and the kids already being on separate CHIP(the one that's a small monthly payment and co-pay) he qualified for the medically needy-share of cost program.

One of the nurses at the doctors office found out and has been reporting us to CPS claiming that the kids need to be taken away since we "can't afford them". She even called them right in front of me.

We've had CPS show up once already, she said that someone called and claimed we had unsuitable living conditions. She saw that we have a normal house and left after a few minutes.

My husband spoke to the doctor but he said that she's a mandatory reporter and has to report anything she thinks is abuse.

Is there anything we can do?

Answer:
 Find a new doctor.Answer #2: Nothing really. It doesn't sound like she us being ~~malicious~~ knowingly false, just ignorant. CPS won't come out on the same thing over and over. Answer #3: Someone else pointed this out in a down-trail somewhere as well. You should contact a patient advocate.

What the nurse did was blatantly antagonistic. The doctor is right though, they can't stop her from doing it. Also I'd bet a doctor really can't do much to help you. Foremost because patient complaints are not his department. A patient advocate might be able to get in touch with the nursing manager and let them know the nurse is being antagonistic during patient care (big no-no for complicated medico-political reasons).

While this won't stop her from continuing to report you for being poor and having children it will make her think twice about doing it again. Obviously you can refuse to have her involved in your and your childrens' healthcare in the future.

For the record what she did was insanely stupid for a multitude of reasons. That said, legally it's allowed. Hospital policy might have something to say about it though.


Title: Is there any law stating a mother can't require child support from only one of her kids father's.

Question: My son has a brother and sister, and I recently found out that his mom doesn't require their fathers to pay child support. I have mine set up through new York state from when we went to court. Can she legally make only one father pay, but not the others? I guess what I'm getting at is if she brings me back to court for an increase in support, I feel she should be required to have support from her other children's father's first.

Answer:
 Child support is payed on behalf of the minor child, it is not at the option of the custodial parent.

That being said, the custodial parent may not choose to pursue a court order if child support doesn't go through the government and is instead direct pay.

To answer your question, you still owe the child it's support regardless of what the mother does.


Title: College has not paid me financial aid that i was awarded.

Question:
Thanks in advance for reading, first time posting in the sub.

I go to broward college in broward county,  Florida. I was awarded needs scholarship through the school, as well as being awarded pell through the fafsa. This was the summer semester that recently ended.

I attend school through the GI bill so all of my tuition is paid for, as well as a supply stipend. Due to this, all other forms of financial aid are supposed to be refunded to me, minus debts such as if I charged supplies to my student ID. This much has been confirmed by both civilian and military financial aid advisors at the school.

Not only did I never receive my financial aid, I had to pay the book store debt I had of around 300 to be able to enroll in the fall semester starting Monday.

Does anyone know why they haven't paid me?  Are they withholding financial aid I know I've been awarded? It's about 2500 dollars I'm not going to just forget about. I already plan on speaking to them Monday, I just don't know the law and if I have legal entitlement to these funds.

Answer:
 sometimes fininical aid takes a few months and sometimes it is pretty quick for them to refund.One time I had to wait close to 4 months.

 I remember I was able to keep track of my refund on the site.i live in Ny, so it's cuny for me.

So yea, go to them on Monday and they should tell you if it's just taking a bit longer then usually or if theirs a issue or something.

Good luck.Answer #2: I've been to several universities in Florida, and they typically don't disburse financial aid until after add/drop, in order to avoid complications that emerge from people dropping courses after getting their aid. You'll want to check with your financial aid adviser, but the money usually disburses in the second or third week of the semester.


Title: Chicago IL, Fire at my studio from an old wood stove. Landlord is blaming me, says they don't have insurance. They've had some things repaired but now wants bits of extra money. What should I do?

Question:
On January 9th 2017 there was a fire at my studio workshop in Chicago.  The building is raw and was rented As/Is in the lease.  The building has no gas, and had shoddy electric that took over a month to get resolved - mostly due to electric company's inspection. The water has some meter issue that the landlord continues to delay resolving.  And the place was very messy and filled with junk.  Very as/is.  I have a lease until 2020.
I've been there a almost a year.  I've cleaned it up, cleared it out, and made superficial improvements.  I'm making long term investments here to continue doing my work.
On January 9th 2017 there was a fire from a Wood Stove that was installed sometime before I started renting.  It was very cold in Chicago that day and with the wood stove there and some extra 2x4 bits around I thought it would be OK to burn a few for some heat.  The landlord never said not to use it when they showed the place.
Unfortunately it was not installed properly and the exhaust/chimney ignited some of the building.  The Fire Department got it put out quickly.  Now the landlord is telling me that the wood stove was installed by a previous tenant.
After the fire, the landlord wanted to work together to get things back to normal.  I did some boarding up, and they sent a company to finish. The landlord sent roofers to repair the areas affected.  I cleaned out fire trash and rubble while trying to recover any belongings I could.  The landlord repaired the building back to a shell over the course of this last month.  I did a considerable amount of work at the Landlord's request cleaning and fixing.
The landlord requested that I continue paying rent.  On February 1, I sent the landlord a letter and a check for 50% as total rent payment; reduced for unusable facilities.  Now that the work is almost complete repairing the building, the landlord has not cashed my check, and is saying that they don't accept the agreement.  They are telling me in text and in person that the there was an agreement to pay total rent and because I didn't pay total rent they are going to start showing the place to new renters next week.  I did not make any agreement to pay extra money. She keeps showing up asking for hundreds of dollars  and in text is trying to hold me somewhat accountable for the expense of repairs.
Is any of this legal? It seems like if I make some extra side payment, that the landlord will want more payments.  Can they legally do that? Hound for payments?  If extra rent is payed for the place while it was not usable could they keep adding on to normal rent? The whole arrangement seems like a bait and switch right now. How can the landlord state that they are going to start showing the place next week when I have a long term lease?  Is there legal aid or someone I can get advice from in Chicago that helps with this sort of thing?

Edit 1 to be more clear: The landlord was pushing that the space was still usable; about half. So when it came time to pay, i thought half is what we agreed on. Now the landlord is asking for more money separate check or payment. (she was pushing for bank transfer for a long time but i am not willing to do that at all) So now there is the push for a payment other than the first rent check. want to make sure that this is not leading down the road of liability and more payments. I will begrudgingly pay up to full rent but don't want anything to lead to liability.

Edit 2: I love each and every one of you.  Thank you for all of this help and advice.  Its great for putting things into perspective.

Answer:
 I think that you're working on a commercial lease, at least as far as I can tell.  That changes the resources at your disposal, but your lease is still going to govern what can happen here.  It sounds like they're trying to evict you, which is supposed to include a legal process, although they seem to be skipping that part.

If you didn't install the stove or chimney, I don't see how you're liable for the damage.  If you have any sort of insurance for your studio business, you might want to put them on notice if you haven't already.  Have you had the Buildings Department out to inspect the building?  The place sounds like it is falling apart and might not be habitable.

At this point, I see your options as either to pay the money your landlord wants or to play chicken with her.


Title: UPDATE:(FL) Can I get expelled from high school for smelling cigarette smoke?

Question:
https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/408ib2/flcan_i_get_expelled_from_high_school_for/

The guy that sits behind me saw everything. He,my boyfriend and I are going to see the principal on Friday(the soonest we could get).

I've started making a log of everything the teacher is doing to us with dates, times and witnesses. She's really stepped up her abuse this week.

The school counselor is useless, she just kept lecturing my boyfriend and I on safe sex and gave us a condom.

Answer:
 >The school counselor is useless, she just kept lecturing my boyfriend and I on safe sex and gave us a condom.

Wait. You went to an advisor regarding a teacher threatening expulsion, she ignored your problem, inquired about your sex life, and gave you a condom?

Sorry, but this story is getting less believable by the minute.


Title: [CO/PA] Was contacted today about a potential felony charge. Is it an empty threat or should I be concerned?

Question:
Backstory: In April of this year, I started working a contract position in Colorado. Shortly after starting, I wrecked my car while driving between job sites. There was a police report filed, the car was towed, and I didn't have the money to pay the bill. I contacted my boss, who offered to pay for it. He spoke with the towing company directly, gave his credit card information, texted me pictures of his driver's license and credit card which I forwarded to the towing company, and finally signed an invoice that was faxed to him. He then paid to rent me a U-Haul truck to get everything back to my home, 200 miles away.

My former boss and I had a falling out shortly thereafter and I have not heard from him since. I have moved back to Pennsylvania now and I own absolutely nothing. So today the towing company calls and tells me that my boss has refuted the charges and claimed that I used his card without permission. They tell me that I have until Monday to get them payment or they will charge us both with conspiracy to commit fraud and, being that the bill is so high, that would be a felony charge for me. I cannot get ahold of the old boss, and I have no way of paying them what is owed.

So my questions are:

1. Would their claim hold any merit?
2. What would happen to me if they did attempt to charge me, being that I am several states away and I don't hold ownership of anything?
3. What is my best course of action?

Any advice would help. If more information is needed, please let me know. Thank you!

Answer: I think the boss claiming to the towing company that you used his card without permission is, at least, fraud.


Title: Over a year ago I traded my car in to a dealership and today I received a notice from a tow yard (because it's apparently still registered in my name) and owe over $1k in fees. (CA)

Question: I signed the title to them, aren't they supposed to take care of everything with the DMV? I have the paperwork showing I traded in the vehicle. There's no way I'm going to have to pay this due to a dealership's carelessness/shadiness, right?

Answer:
 Make a COPY of the paperwork (keep the originals) showing you traded it in and send that to the tow company.

Call the dealership and raise hell.


Title: Party double paid

Question:
Alright guys. Im a server and i worked a party about a month and a half ago. The check came out and one guy gave me a card to run, and so i ran it and came back. The check was like $350. Before they left i saw everybody throwing $20 at the book - figured they were paying eachother back. However i opened it after they left and it was 100%. They looked at me and said i earned it before they left and i realized after they left how much it was. Fast forward 2.5 weeks and the party called saying they fucked up. My old employer reimbursed them but now im getting calls and texts from them saying they’ll press charges if I don’t pay back. Keep in mind i told my manager the night of and if he knew it was wrong he couldve said give him the cash - which i would’ve - but i thought it was just a very nice group of people. The place isn’t corporate if it makes a difference, and i think they’re bluffing. I also got the following voicemail-

“Hey Kip it's Danny it's Brooke real simple if you don't bring the money for the restaurant tomorrow we are charges I have anything else to say other than that you can avoiding is _______________ if you don't come in with the money tomorrow I have no choice other than the pressure just asking…”

Any response as to if they have ground in court is appreciated
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: If your employer already reimbursed them, why are they calling you? Better yet - how did they get your personal contact information?Answer #2: So this is the restaurant threatening you?


Title: [TN] Friend got pulled over while me and my boyfriend were in the car for speeding, now she's going to jail.

Question:
We got pulled over in Virginia in an area monitored by drones and officers. She's been going around 35 over the limit when we got pulled over. Apparently she wasn't aware that her license was suspended after her last speeding ticket (is that even possible?). My boyfriend had to drive after that because she legally couldn't.

The issue now is that she's going to jail for reckless driving because she can't make bail ( I think it was 2k or something). I don't know how long any other details because she unfriended me right after we got to TN for other reasons. She only contacted me and my boyfriend again later on because she wanted to tell us what happened I guess.

She blew up on my boyfriend and kept saying how it was a waste of time that she even drove to come get me, etc. Like it's very obvious she probably hates me now. But concern is can she do anything to me? Legally can she sue me or anything because I was the reason she was driving that day? I never forced her to speed or even drive to get me, it was her idea.

Sorry this is so long, it's been on mind for a while. I also feel bad since this feels partially my fault.

tl;dr: Friend went 30+ miles over the speed limit, got promptly pulled over. We find out her license was suspended from a previous speeding ticket, she's going to jail now and blaming me.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: Some people refuse to take any responsibility for the shit that they get themselves into.  It's not your fault that she was speeding, that she has a prior speeding ticket, that her license was expired, that she can't make bail, etcetera.  She has absolutely no legal recourse against you for anything based on what you have said here.Answer #2: Virginia does not mess around with driving offences, I can totally believe her license was suspended after her last speeding ticket. Anyways, you did not force her to drive, you did not force her to speed. She went way above the speed limit of her own accord, and that is not your fault nor your responsibility. She is blaming you for her mistakes rather than accept responsibility for her actions, and this is not her first offense. This is not only a bad driver, this is a bad friend. Never, NEVER get into a car with her again.


Title: Is a prenup worth it for an (initially) low-asset marriage?

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice

I'm getting married in a year or so and was wondering if a prenup is worth getting. My future spouse and I have very little in assets now and we'll both have a moderate to substantial student debt burden thanks to professional schools.

Is a prenup worth it in these circumstances? If so, what kinds of arrangements do you recommend?

For the bot: Iowa.

Answer: Why do you want a prenuptial agreement? What stipulations would you want to have included? Figuring out the answers to those questions will help you decide whether it makes sense to get one.


Title: [PA]I'm 99% positive my psychopathic mother and her boyfriend tampered with my car and it almost killed me. I have no proof so far except an ongoing blood feud and past intimidation.

Question: The lug nuts were loosened on my wheel and the wheel came off on my way home from work and I could have died. I am now over a thousand dollars in debt trying to get this car on the road so I can work and survive and it still needs more work. I have asked a neighbor with security cameras if I could look at footage and he lied and said they were fake, of which, I know they're real. The mechanic I took the car to even said it's pretty possible someone tampered with it and it's too coincidental for it to happen just as I'm moved out of my mothers after having her and her boyfriend try to abuse and intimidate me before. What can I do here?

Answer: Not much. You've got a bunch of supposition. While it's obviously convincing to you, it's not going to convince a court of law. Get your own cameras if you want, check if your insurance will cover the repairs for what already happened, store your car in a garage where it's inaccessible if you're worried about someone tampering with it, and carry on with life until you have something concrete.