Title: Gun was burgled and used to shoot at LE, how do I get it back? [Texas]

Question:
Throw away account.

A year ago a man burgled my store and stole a revolver. He ran out, I called police, they cornered him at him at his home, he used the stolen firearm to shoot at the police, they shot and killed him.

The Texas Rangers were called in and have jurisdiction.

I've spoken with a couple Rangers and their receptionist and nobody really can tell me who is in charge of it or when the gun will be returned. I was told months ago that it might take awhile but would get it back. It was being held as a shooting death was involved and it needed to go to a grand jury to ensure it was a clean shoot (from what I understand, the man who burgled the firearm cracked and it was suicide by cop, a clean shooting on their end). He opened fire at the police after a standoff at his home, they'd attempted to get him to come out and surrender, had his father plead with him, but eventually he came out and opened fire. No police or anyone but the burglar were harmed.

It's now been over a year and I kind of want to talk with someone directly, find out where it is, what the exact status is, etc...

... where do I begin?

Answer: The gun is a (key) piece of evidence and there's no way it will be returned until after the case is closed. Even then, it's unlikely. You can continue to speak with the people at the police station, but it's unlikely that you'll see your gun again.


Title: [CA] Peeping Tom at my apt. Not sure if I can request anything from mgmt.

Question:
Hi, I'm a young woman who lives alone at my apartment in California. I live on the ground floor. My neighbor told me today that she has seen/heard someone very close to my window and hers the past couple of nights. The first night she saw him walking around the area by our windows. Our building has a low gate around it, so he actually had to climb over the gate and was on the apartment property, not the sidewalk. There have been a lot of trucks in our neighborhood recently because a commercial or something was being shot, so she assumed he was scoping out the perimeter or something.

Last night she said he peered into her bedroom window and also into mine apparently. Her boyfriend ran out to confront him but I guess he got away. I'm spending the night elsewhere but I'm not sure what to do going forward. Am I allowed to ask the manager of my building if cameras or at least sensor lights can be installed? I feel unsafe. I live in a rent control property btw, so I'm not sure if that affects my rights.

Answer:
 You are allowed to ask your landlord for anything you like.

But you probably can't compel him to do anything.


Title: [OH]Can I transport my firearms through New York State?

Question: Hypothetically, if I were moving to the north east from the midwest and had to drive through New York State, could I have my firearms with me? As in, in the vehicle trunk, unloaded. Assume that firearm type would include handguns, shotguns, assault rifles and high capacity magazines, but nothing that requires an additional tax stamp.

Answer:
 Yes. Peaceable journey. Unloaded in a locked case, not accessible, separate from ammo. I'd stay out of NYC though.

http://www.gunlaws101.com/state/law/new-york/peaceable-journey


Title: I paid some one for sexual photos, but they never followed through. Do I have any recourse, is this even legal to begin with?

Question:
It was a private transaction, and I sent her money via email transfer. Probably a stupid question, I don't expect there's anything I can do, but I thought I'd ask.
Can this be considered prostitution or just paying for pornography? This was in Canada.

Answer: Prostitution requires paying for sexual acts.  You didn't solicit prostitution.  You just got scammed.


Title: SWAT raid ruined home... what do do?

Question:
Hope this is the correct subreddit...

A couple of weeks ago a SWAT standoff occurred at the house of friends of mine (Central Texas). The son had gone berserk, attempted to murder family members, shot up life stock... anyway HUGE mess.

Obviously SWAT responds and there is a (very) long stand off and obviously eventually the guy is taken in custody and the family can return. As you can imagine there is a lot of damage: all windows broken, due to all the tear gas shot in (through said windows) all mattresses have to be replaced for example because of the tear gas residue. Obviously there is a TON of additional damage in and around the house.

Now the question is: what type of help is available for this family? Of course they had a home insurance, but this was caused intentionally by a family member. Obviously the raid and actions of SWAT was 100% warranted. But I find it hard to believe that there is no help available for these poor folks.

Any help & advice is welcome
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Have they tried their insurance yet, or are they just assuming that it will get denied?

The police have no liability or obligation to pay for this.  So they can start a gofundme, seek out local charities, or sue the family member if insurance denies the claim.


Title: My friend (22F) was sexually harassed by a man, and now she has been involuntarily hospitalized

Question:
Hello Reddit, a friend of mine has gotten into a lot of things lately, and I need your help. She is currently in Singapore, but any help would be appreciated!

My female friend (22F) from a university in Singapore has been constantly harassed by a guy from her class for the past few weeks. During this time he verbally assaulted her many times and attempted to follow her home. A few days ago, she finally snapped when she was messaged again at night with verbal assault worse than ever before. After contacting the campus police, instead of asking for information about this guy, the police sent her to a school counselor for psychological testing because she was “too emotionally unstable”. Upon assessment, the counselor asked a lot of leading questions to put my friend in an extremely passive situation--where she said things like “this should come to an end” to which she meant no self-harm or suicidal intention. The school however *force-hospitalized* her for suicidal tendency, in the same room with other suicidal patients, for an *indefinite* period of time. All her communication devices were taken away and visitor level is immediate family only.

She is suffering a lot every day, being woken up midnight by naked man running around her ward, seeing people trying to kill themselves next to her and many more chaotic events as you could imagine. She missed many interviews and classes, and will live the rest of her life with a psychiatric hospitalization record.

She is my very best friend and I’m as desperate as her at the moment. Please help in any possible ways:

* Is there any possibility to negotiate for a looser security/visitor level or to retain at least some communication devices?

* After the hospitalization, would the psychiatric record harm her in any way, and if so, is there anything she could do to help alleviate that?

* What are something her family or I could do at the moment to help with her discharge?

* What can she or her family do to hold the man accountable for sexual harassment (especially after her discharge, when they are once again classmates) -- all I could think of is media, but is there a powerful media source for exposing something like this in Singapore? Any other suggestions?

Thank you guys so much for your help!

**TL;DR: My friend was involuntarily hospitalized into psychiatric ward after reporting sexual harassment to the campus police. Now the hospital won’t discharge her and has cut off all her external communications. Help!**

Answer: Her family should contact their country's embassy in Singapore to get info and to get her some legal assistance. There isn't much that can be done from outside the country.


Title: [FL] Manager is threatening employees to take vacation

Question:
Hey r/legaladvice, do you think my girlfriend should do something about her latest manager? To keep it straight and to the point: her new manager told her employees to start thinking of a few days to go on vacation next month. When asked why, she responded that any employee who couldn't take vacation would have to work 1 less day per week.

Is that even legal? Is there something my girlfriend can do before she is forced to drop from 40 hours to 30-32 a week? Losing 1/4 of your income is pretty harsh so Im hoping that there is a way she can defend herself from losing that money.

Some minor details: This manager just replaced the previous manager who was fired for raking up more HR charges than Weinstein.

She is new and was hired from an entirely different industry. There was an interim manager that worked in this company for 18 years and surpassed all previous metrics from the previous manager before being replaced by someone who never worked for this entire industry before!

This new manager wants these employees to go on vacation because this company doesnt take vacation out of the payroll budget that is involved with the managers bonus.

This is a forbes 500 company. Idk if that pertains, but I figured it might be worth mentioning

Thanks in advance to all who may be willing to help :)

Answer: Nothing even remotely illegal about that.


Title: [Uk] I'm American but I have found a chat of Britain Muslims screaming bombing threats in detail at citizens. How do I contact the British police from America before another attack could happen?

Question:
Topic:
Immigration


Title: Crazy situation. Friend's parents abandoned land in [Iowa]. What rights and power does he have to utilize the property while they are gone?

Question:
My friend's mom is not mentally stable and has fled from a farm that she and her husband own in a very rural area of Iowa. Without going into detail, it's pretty clear that they will be gone for two years at least. In the meantime, she wants my friend to pay the property taxes in June so that she doesn't lose the property. He is barely making enough to pay his own rent, let alone a couple thousand in taxes in the next few weeks. She said she would try to send the money, but her mental and financial situation make that about a 50/50 chance.

He is thinking of going back home and working the land or finding some (unlikely) person who wants to rent the house in order to make money for taxes, but also just so that things don't fall into disrepair while his parents are gone. Are there any legal obstacles to him basically taking over the property? Will he need to take any steps to protect himself? Thanks for any advice.

Answer:
 > Are there any legal obstacles to him basically taking over the property?

Yes.  The fact that he doesn't own it and would be a trespasser.

If his parents give permission, he can do this.  If they do not, he can't.Answer #2: For what it's worth, property taxes frequently accumulate for several years before anyone goes after the land. If he can't make the payments, he shouldn't.

If she's truly unstable, maybe look into having them quitclaim the property over to him or authorize him to manage it. Farmland rents. Not for a ton, but it rents.


Title: HIPAA violation to discuss insurance with patient at front desk?

Question:
Hi reddit, quick question.  I manage a small practice in Wisconsin.  We have a patient who called me today, stating that she is going to file a HIPAA complaint because our receptionist discussed the fact that the patient needed a referral for her HMO to be seen, at the front desk, with another patient in the waiting room.  The patient is claiming we are "discriminating" against her since we will see other people without a referral.  I tried to explain the basic workings of an HMO to her, but she then took my name and stated she was adding me to her complaint since I was being discriminatory. (??)

I know my way around PHI, and I don't think asking for a referral at the time of check in, and explaining to a patient the need for one, qualifies for a privacy breach?  I'm just a little rattled and maybe looking for some reassurance about what will happen if she actually files the complaint.  I've spoken to the physicians that own the practice, so they are fully informed.  What's next?
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer:
 I don't see how it could be. It isn't even health information. If I have to announce "I am here for a pap smear" when I check in, then saying you need a referral is fine.

(I know I don't have to say it out loud and should likely stop yelling it as I make others uncomfortable)Answer #2: First, as soon as she said she was filing a complaint, you should have said "Okay.  I cannot continue to talk to you" and hang up.

Second, it is discriminatory to not see someone without a referral.  It is legal discrimination, however, so you should have nothing to worry about.Answer #3: Ha ha ha, no. Dismiss this nut from your practice as quickly as possible.Answer #4: This is not a HIPAA violation. I'm not a lawyer but I know regulatory medical practices. Lady sounds nuts she can't decide if it was HIPAA or discrimination.


Title: I'm on the city sewer system. It has failed (sewage in my basement) and the city says I should be going after my neighbor, even though the city itself is the one providing sewer service to me?

Question:
I'm at the end of a street in a newly developed area. My new neighbor did a bunch of concrete work and apparently sent excess concrete down their waste line and into the sewer line.

It hardened and flow through the sewer line was disturbed. This caused sewage to back up into my basement.

The city originally said to go through my homeowners insurance for expenses, and I assumed they would then negotiate with the city. However, my homeowners insurance apparently does not cover this. So, I went back to the city planning to negotiate myself, and now I'm being told that I should go after my neighbor since they are the ones who caused damage to the city's sewer line, and the damage is what caused my problem.

Is this correct? Or should I continue pushing the city?

Edit:  Nebraska

Answer:
 While it is true that the city provides sewer service to you, they are not the reason that the sewer backed up.

As you said, that was caused by your neighbor (and/or the contractor who did the concrete work, if he had one).

You will have to go after your neighbor for restitution as it was your neighbor who is responsible for the problem.


Title: Resigning and company sends out NDAs.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You have no obligation legal or otherwise to sign. You would have everything to lose and nothing to gain. They have no leverage to get you to sign. I would ignore it.Answer #2: They can't force you to sign it. It sounds like they don't have any leverage with which to do so, anyway.


Title: A club manager kicked me out for being underage. The manager thought my driver's license was fake. I was talking with the bouncer outside and the manager said I needed to leave or he would have me arrested for trespassing. If I would have stayed, what would have happened? Texas

Question:
A club manager kicked me out for being underage. The idiot manager thought my driver's license was fake. I was talking with the bouncer outside and the manager said I needed to leave or he could have me arrested for trespassing.

I left.

If I would have stayed in defiance of the manager, what would have happened whenever the cops arrived?

I'm over 21 and my driver's license is/was not fake.

Answer: You would have been arrested for trespassing if you refused to leave.


Title: Student at my school is posting pictures of other students online without permission to porn sites, is there anything that can be done?

Question:
*Located in Florida*

A kid at school (I say kid but he turns 18 fairly soon) has been posting pictures of students from school to porn sites and subreddits like /r/JizzedToThis without their permission. The pictures are not nudes, but they are in bikinis and revealing clothing, with him posting extremely sexual captions with the pictures. Some of these girls are underage (ranging from 15-18), but on some of the posts he has lied and said they are above age. He has also admitted to two different people about his addiction to child pornography, but there is no solid proof (no screenshots/recordings). Word got out about this kid's reddit account and a bunch of the girls he posted found out and called the police.

However, the cops nor the school are doing anything. I don't expect there to be a resolution to his addiction to CP without concrete proof, but is there anyway he can get in trouble from the Reddit posts? He seems to be getting away scot-free, and I think it's disgusting. Most of the girls are minors, and there is proof (text messages) of him admitting the account is his. He even has the audacity to make another account (3rd one now) and keep on posting these pictures.

Is there anything me, the school, the police, or anyone can do about this?

&#x200B;
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: Report it to the NCMEC. Answer #2: So I’m going to be very vague on this (and change some details) so as to not give away the identity of the person. There was a message that was sent around my high school that included hundreds of pictures of girls from my school, nude and not totally nude. Word got out about it and there ended up being a full on investigation where they traced the message back to an IP address that belonged to a boy at the school. They seized all of his electronics, and he ended up getting charged with felony child pornography charges. He obviously had to register as a sex offender, and even with a good lawyer he was on house arrest and had all of his stuff monitored for a long time. Not in Florida though, and there was actual nudes in the message so it was a little bit different. Maybe the girls could file harassment or slander charges? There has to be something for posting someone’s pictures without their permission??


Title: [IL] Girlfriend's old boyfriend has nude pictures of her from 4 years ago when she was a minor (she's 20 now). He's been showing them to people at her work. If we go to the police would she face any criminal charges for sending them to him years ago?

Question:
My girlfriend regrettably emailed many nude pictures to her old boyfriend in high school when they were both 16-17. She always assumed he deleted them some time after they broke up. It has recently come to her attention that he has been showing these pictures to her coworkers (we know this because one of them felt guilty and told her about it).

I know he is breaking the law by keeping these underage pictures and showing them to people in order to humiliate her, so I want to go to the police about it. However, we are both concerned that she could face criminal charges for having sent them to him in the first place. From the research I did it seems like Illinois has specific laws for underage sexting that are far less severe than the child porn laws, but with it being 4 years ago that it happened and her being 20 now I wasn't sure what, if anything, she would be charged with.

She's also very concerned with her parents finding out if we took this to the police. She is an adult but still lives with them. I'm not sure if this would get back to them or not. Any help or advice for our concerns is greatly appreciated. I just want to put a stop to this without making it worse on her.

Answer:
 This is something she absolutely needs a criminal defense attorney for.
Yes, she needs to report this scum of an ex, but she also needs to tread carefully to minimize any potential blow-back ie charges being laid against her as well.

So have her get a criminal defense attorney, and he will advise her and help her report it.

(If I'm directing them to the wrong type of attorney I will no doubt be corrected shortly)Answer #2: IANAL or an officer. We've seen it here before, and the consensus is always that the police are far more concerned about the person currently in possession than the original sender. Report it.

The reason why we have laws against the sender as well is to prevent having a person produce (and maybe sell)  their own cp, or having a person use that minor to do so as if they were doing it themselves. If it were legal for them, then there would be no real risk to the cp creators.


Title: Flooring installers have no showed on 4 different time frames. This is impacting my livelihood as it is a rental

Question:
Hi guys,

EDIT: Location = Ontario, Canada

Coming here to not just get advice, but to vent. Hopefully this is ok to post here.

 I own a rental home that on about Nov 15th was vacated. I've been doing some upgrades to the house since then, but have been really waiting on 1 project; the flooring. I had scheduled to have flooring installed late November. With it being this time of the year I was not sure if I was even going to be able to get someone to come in, but I was able to find an installing company that would take the job.

A little disclosure the house is old and the subfloor is a little wavy. Anyways, I had the installers come in and do some measurements to see how much supplies I should buy. They came in gave me the square footage and left. I've taken that amount and went and bought some laminate flooring. Now, the shitstorm happens. So the orginal day I was supposed to have them in was approx. Dec 12th. They no showed on this day, and called later in the day saying that they needed to reschedule. I was quite pissed at this, but reluctantly agreed to the reschedule of the 19th. The 19th came around and the installers come in and take a look at the floor and say they can't install the laminate flooring as it will break the tongues off in a matter of months. I agree with them at this point that it was a little bit of an oversight and they tell us that if we are willing to, we can rip up the subfloor and get it replaced and then with the use of self leveling concrete they could have the floor leveled out enough for the laminate. They tell us that the can come back in on the 21st and 22nd to get these two things done. We agree with this, and go and purchase the materials. The installers come in 6 hours late on Wednesday and work for about an hour and call us saying that they didn't finish today and that they are going home since "they had a long day". I'm furious at this point, but put away the anger is need of just getting this job out of the way. The next day they just no show. We call the installers union to find out wtf is going on, and they tell us that the installers won't be able to come back in until the 26th/27th.

We at this point don't know wtf to do and pretty much rip a new one in the representative on the phone and tell them that they better be here on Monday as we are getting tenants in within a week. They say they will be there. Now monday has come and gone and they no showed again. We tried to call their office, but they are closed on holidays. Now, today the installer yet fucking again, no shows. We actually get a hold of him this time, and he claims that he needs the day off due to family emergency.

I'm at a point that I don't know wtf to do about this as I need to have the house ready by the 1st or else I lose the tenants that took a month to find. Am I shit out of luck or is there anything I can possibly do?

Answer: Sounds like you need to find a different company and have them fix your house fast. (And tell the first company to fuck off. Have them bill you for the little work they actually did and not a penny more. You may want to anonymously request a quote from them first, describe the work they did, and get a price estimate to make sure they aren't gouging you when you cancel on them later.)


Title: Is it legal to watch someone through the cracks of a bathroom stall?

Question:
I'm at university and i was on the toilet but during an exam. i was playing with my phone and the teaching assistant stared at me through the crack and then reported me for using my phone. is this allowed? In NJ, USA
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: You are focusing on the wrong issue here. You got caught using your phone during an exam, and the legality of the observation does not bear on the school's ability to punish you. Answer #2: IANAL but I'd believe that this is an invasion of one's privacy. However, you weren't really JUST using the bathroom -- you were using your phone during exam time. I don't believe you can get yourself out of this one.Answer #3: It is invasion of privacy. However the school can still fail, suspend, expel or punish you in many ways for cheating on the exam (which I know is a thing you'd never do, don't use your phone while on the loo).


Title: Relative helped me with money 8 years ago, and now is asking to be repaid. What does the law say?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 So you think because you started a family and it's "not a good time" and because Don is wealthy he doesn't "need" to be repaid what was *clearly* a loan, that you don't have to repay it or at least not "yet"?

I call troll or an episode of Judge Judy.


Title: Who is the legal adviser or representative of this sub? I want to serve him papers. This sub's incorrect advice made me lose $200.

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 You can direct service to John Q. Gofuckyourself, at 666 Eat a Dick Lane, in Moronsville, AK.

P.S. See the sidebar:

> A place to ask simple legal questions. Advice here is for informational purposes only and should not be considered final or official advice. See a local attorney for the best answer to your questions.Answer #2: **AM I BEING RETAINED?!**Answer #3: <sniff ... sniff ... smells like troll!>

The advice you get here is worth every penny you paid for it.Answer #4: If someone on reddit told you to burn $200 and you did it, would you expect to be paid back?

Something tells me if you're as much of an entitled little shit as you come across in this post, you didn't lose your suit "due to incorrect advice."Answer #5: I'm pretty sure that it's /u/Zapopa.  Give him time and maybe he'll come here to give you all the info.

Edit: I only mention Zapopa to ensure he sees this thread. I don't think he's the advisor here.  Good luck. Answer #6: [This is the only thing you've submitted on reddit.](https://www.reddit.com/user/HimmmiBoai/submitted/)  You haven't made any comments yet, either.Answer #7: So, assuming you're not a troll, were you were advised to sue, and happened to lose the case, or you were advised to pursue a specific strategy/do certain things as part of a suit, and that specific strategy/plan failed? Answer #8: LOL


Title: Sought out therapy from a recommended therapist.. thousands of dollars later all I have to show is a massive bruise on my backside.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Was this an actual therapist or some sort of homeopath/chiropractor/"alternative medicine" quack?


Title: Ticketed as a passenger for dealership

Question: So I have been working at the dealership for 2.5 months now and I just got pulled over during a test drive where I was not the one operating the vehicle but the customer interesting in buying the vehicle was while I was in the back seat. I handed the officer my driver license, and I work for AutoNation btw. No one really takes dealer plates unless it is a long distance and my manager is not willing to give me the money for the ticket, which is 55 bucks. I have to go to my local Arizona court, there is a court date and everything. So just curious as a dealer representative I know it is my fault since I am required to have a dealer plate on whenever I take the car off the lot.   Am I allowed to be given a ticket when I am not the one operating the vehicle in the state of Arizona. I handed him my license and was completely compliant. Also when I go to court will I refute my case against the judge and will the officer be there? Thanks for taking the time to read this, I know I was suppose to have a dealer plate, I am on mobile so sorry for any typos or formatting etc.

Answer: "Nobody uses plates for short drives" isn't a defense.  If they're required by law and it was your responsibility to put them on, yes, you're the one who gets the ticket.  And I don't see a judge being real sympathetic to hearing that nobody cares what the law says.Answer #2: Why did you take the vehicle out without plates?


Title: Ticket for picking son up at the airport while in car with lyft/uber sticker

Question:
My dad picked me up a few weeks ago from Seattle Washington airport in his personal car that he sometimes drives for lyft and uber. I flew in from Shanghai China and he drove 3 hours from Portland to pick me up. He was in the pick up spot and two people approached him saying he needed to go to the uber area. He explained he was just picking up his son and the man (officer?) interrupted him and told him to let him finish explaining. During this time I walked up and put my bag in the trunk and got in the car. I didn't really know what was going on but saw my dad was confused. My dad pointed at me and said see this is my son I'm just picking him up. The man again said not to interrupt him and he was going to be giving a ticket. I was exhausted so still didn't realize what was going on until my dad told me. He was there for 3 minutes total maybe and we left. Today he received a 50 dollar ticket for "Loading in wrong drive" and a 150 dollar ticket for "Not obeying instructions of GT personnel". He never even got a chance to obey instructions because he was there so short and I walked up and just got in the car like any normal person would.

So my question is is it worth the drive to go to Seattle to appeal it? I have a copy of my boarding pass showing my flight times as proof.

Also is it legal to pick up a family member from the airport if you have a ride share sticker in your car?

Answer:
 When I drove for Uber it was very clear that you’d need to remove any signs of ride share before making a personal pickup. This was in the agreement signed when getting the airport cert. However, this was in Illinois so I would have your dad go back through his paperwork and see if it states that in his.
If not, I’d print my Uber and Lyft log to show he was not on a trip at the time and hope they accept it. Answer #2: I kinda sympathize with the officer on this one, he's likely dealt with people pulling this exact reason *as an excuse* several times.

Are you able to appeal online?


Title: Landlord trying to sell our house out from under us to a new owner who wants to have their family live in the house

Question:
Hello!
So I am in a really tough spot rn and trying to figure out my rights as a tenant. Currently we have two months left on our lease and have found out that our landlord is trying to sell our house out from under us to someone that is trying to buy the house for their daughter to live in while she goes to college (potentially with friends). They were trying to hide this fact but I directly asked the landlord about it and he said they would have more info by this weekend. My boyfriend and I are on unemployment due to COVID so it might be really hard to find a new place. What are my rights in terms of if they can do this? Legally speaking, is there anything that could stop them from removing us from the house like that? We are willing to work with them and have the daughter live here with us (we absolutely have enough rooms). Right now we’re trying to work it out amicably but it seems really shady and we’re pretty worried.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Your landlord can sell the house at any time. The lease carries over to the new owners. Your landlord or the new owners can give you notice terminating your tenancy in as little as two months, so plan accordingly.Answer #2: > What are my rights in terms of if they can do this? Legally speaking, is there anything that could stop them from removing us from the house like that?

Jurisdiction matters.

In most of the world, though, the answer is "your lease." It transfers with the sale. Whether you have a right to extend your tenancy past the end of your lease or not, and how much notice you're owed if your landlord or the buyer opts not to renew, varies from place to place.


Title: I just found out that my bank accounts, with $32k in them, have been in my dying dad’s name. How can I legally transfer the money to a different account, so that it is not considered part of his estate?

Question:
I want to start out with saying my dad is 100% behind this being my money, he does not consider it his estate but we don’t know if it legally is considered part of it. He is incapable of going to the bank

I (24) live in Pennsylvania. My dad is in the end stages of a disease which he will die from. He has had a decline in health in the past three weeks and had a massive drop over the past few days. He is in the hospital and will be going into hospice care this week.

When I was very young, my dad started a savings account for me, as a custodial account at his bank (local area). I needed him to withdraw/deposit any money for me. When I was in high school, we switched this to a “normal” savings/checking account for me but his name was still on the accounts. This was so that I could access my money a lot easier but he could also help with my bank account. He did the same thing for me sister at the time as she was going to college in another state. I was able to use a debit card, write checks, and access both accounts without him. My online account was set up by a teller in the bank, and is completely in my name, with only my information on it. When I had an issue with my password, I called the bank and they were able to reset it after I verified myself with my SSN and information, without any of his information. My accounts are in no way related to any of his bank accounts, they simply had his name on them. I use these accounts as my primary accounts and use my debit card daily

About two weeks ago a relative gifted me $25k they had saved to help with my college loans. In the stress of my dad’s health, I have just put the money into my savings account to use later on. The total in my savings/checking for this account is ~32k total, all of which I have put in personally as checks made out to my name or direct deposit in my name. My dad has not done anything with this account in over a decade aside from depositing checks written out to me, for me

While I was depositing the $25k into my savings account, the teller printed a receipt for me with my savings account balance on it. She quickly took the receipt back and said that my dad’s name was the only one on the savings account and she couldn’t give me the balance, just the receipt. Both of our names were on the checking account. I have never had this issue in the past when depositing money into my savings account. I asked what I should do about the account and she told me to come back with my dad, close the account and open a new one under only my name. They would not be able to remove his name from the account as he opened it and I apparently was not supposed to be able to access any of that money. I was completely blindsided by all of this. I have been making withdraws and transfers from this account for almost 10 years. I even previously got a cashiers check for ~$3, taken from my savings account to pay my apartments deposit, without my dad present

My concern is that if my dad passes, all of my money will go into his estate as it is in his name. He is not in a physical state to go anywhere, let alone the bank to close an account. I have since online-transferred all money from the savings into the checking account aside from $500. I plan to go to the bank and simply ask for a cashiers check for everything in my checking account. I have another bank account at another bank that I plan on transferring the money into. I am not sure if I can online-transfer the money from these accounts into my account at the other bank, or if there is a limit in how much can be transferred at once. I also don’t know if I’m legally supposed to have access to these online accounts

I am worried that my bank will give me a hard time about removing the money as they would see almost everything was just recently transferred from the account with only my dad’s name. I am scared to talk to the bank further in case they suddenly tell me that every other action I have done has been illegally accessing my “dads account”. He doesn’t consider it his money and this is also all news to him. We think there was just some kind of miscommunication when changing the accounts

Will I experience any issues with this plan? Is there another way that I should handle this? If I leave the money in my checking account under both his name and my name, would that be considered part of his estate?

I’m very new to all of the legality of estates/wills so I apologize for any naivety. Thank you!
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer: What you really need to do is make sure this joint account is set up in such a way that there is a “right of survivorship”. Most are and if it is these assets pass outside probate to the joint account holder, in this case you.


Title: [IL, WA] Being automatically rejected on apartment applications due to criminal background check, no conviction

Question:
I'm returning to LA for another issue, unfortunately!

My girlfriend and I are attempting to move from IL to WA state, and we're running into some legal issue. We've applied to the perfect apartment complex there, and have been told (within minutes of applying) that we were rejected based on her criminal background check.

About a year ago, my girlfriend was arrested at the local Target because she went through the self checkout and forgot to scan food she had on the bottom of the cart. They automatically pressed charges, despite it obviously being an accident due to being distracted. That doesn't really matter, I understand.

She plead guilty at the advice of her lawyer, and was given "deferred prosecution" / non-reporting court supervision. We were told that this does not count as a conviction. She has about two weeks until this supervision is completed. She has no criminal history aside from this incident. We were also told she can apply to have it expunged once it's over.

Unfortunately, we were ALSO told by both her lawyer (IL), the court (in IL) AND the property manager (WA) that this would NOT be a problem when we were applying for new housing. But here we are.

We have applied for an appeal (with the property manager) on the background check denial, and he has said he will do what he can, but it's been about two weeks and we're starting to assume it's going to be a rejection anyway.

Is there anything we can do about this? I've attempted to do some research on this on my own and have found articles about how lack of conviction shouldn't result in these, but I'm also just a layperson without any legal training.

We can't keep applying to apartments and paying these background check fees and getting these credit checks. Are we just screwed for years until it's expunged?? That seems... extreme, given the circumstances. Any help is much appreciated.

Answer:
 >She plead guilty

So the background check correctly flagged her.

>She has about two weeks until this supervision is completed. She has no criminal history aside from this incident. We were also told she can apply to have it expunged once it's over.

But it's not over yet, so her criminal history is not expunged yet.

>Is there anything we can do about this?

Wait until her record is cleared, or look for a landlord that will accept people with a record of shoplifting.

>Are we just screwed for years until it's expunged?? That seems... extreme, given the circumstances.

That is the predictable result of taking a guilty plea, sorry.Answer #2: >She plead guilty at the advice of her lawyer, and was given "deferred prosecution" / non-reporting court supervision. We were told that this does not count as a conviction. She has about two weeks until this supervision is completed.

Deferred prosecution doesn't count as a conviction once your girlfriend successfully completes supervision and the state agrees to withdraw her guilty plea and dismiss the case.  That hasn't happened yet, which is why it showed up on a background check.  There's no point in appealing the apartment's decision until her record is clean.


Title: Company is adding money to paycheck, having it taxed, then taking the same money out.

Question:
On mobile, sorry for formatting.

So the company i work for just transferred hands to a new one. Apparently, there is some new tax being added the company says they are paying for on our behalf. The accountant is adding 50$ to our paychecks to cover the tax, then after the tax goes through taking 50$ back out.
Im not sure how this works or how its legal or if im in the right subreddit even.
From what i understand it is adding money to be taxed away from me and then removing the initial money altogether instead of the difference.
Is this a normal thing?

Answer:
 The only way I can see this being legit is if they're considering it some sort of bonus/incentive/gift and are having you pay taxes on the value of it.

As an example, if my work held some sort of raffle, and I ended up winning a $3000 TV, they'd add that value to my check to be taxed.

You should ask payroll what the tax that they are 'covering' for you is, just to ensure it is a tax that employees are required to pay instead of the company.


Title: Losing everything because I did a good job, and a multi-million dollar company will get away with it.

Question:
*Posting here as per recommendation from another Reddit user*

I normally (ok, never) post editorial like the following, but I need to let off some steam. Looking for a little clarity/help from the Tumblr community out there, really. Skip to the very end for the Too Long; Didn’t Read if long sentences and punctuation scare you.

I was formerly employed by the Tronical GmbH(www.tronical.com) corporation in Hamburg Germany, working remotely from the United States. This company is a multi-million dollar 30 +/- man operation. If you are familiar with the Gibson Guitar Min-ETune(http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Min-ETune.aspx), Tronical is the company that actually makes and manufactures that device(formally called the Tronical Tune).

I worked from the month of September 2013 to Feb 2014, at which point I was abruptly and unexpectedly fired with nearly 4 months salary unpaid(Jan & Feb + 8 weeks severance as per contractual agreement). In January of this year we had booth at the NAMM Music Convention in Anaheim, California USA. This convention is arguably the largest single music trade-only conventions in the world. While the company paid for the booth location, all of the event promotional material was paid for by me, with the confirmed guaranty in having every penny reimbursed.

Working a total of 308 hours in the month of January alone to prepare for the convention, the convention went over swimmingly and I returned home unsuspecting of what was to happen in the coming weeks.

Fast forward to February 24th of this year. After sending nearly *A DOZEN* emails to the team back in Germany, and while working an additional 115.23 hours in the weeks following the trade show, I was finally given a reply by the CEO of the company that I was to no longer be employed “because of a slow ramp-up in the United States”. There was no mention of the $5,000(Jan), $5,000(Feb) and $4,349 (NAMM expenses) that they owed me, and no mention of the contractual 8-weeks severance that was also owed ($11,666). **In total, the company ended my contract with owing me just over $26,000USD**.

And this brings us to here. I am looking for any advice. They did finally pay my expenses, but almost a month after I submitted the report. After months of waiting, the company only offered me a $5000 settlement. I see their offer as consent that they do *OWE ME MONEY*, but they have refused to respond to any further inquiries by myself or my attorneys.

My father is an attorney and owns his law firm. He’s assigned one of his attorneys to the case, but it is admittedly not her priority, and the case has not gone anywhere. My dads firm is already extremely busy, making it hard to get anything done with my case. He’s giving me all he can, but it’s really not enough. And since this is not his practice area, he doesn’t really have any specific recommendation for an attorney that WOULD specialize in the area.He’s almost 70, works 65+ hours a week as it is, and adding this stress to him just kills me. And to make matters worse, it’s bad enough that he’s had to financially support his almost 30-year old son who was otherwise independent prior.

As the title states, I am at my last straw. I gave up four years of hard work building my clientele so that I could take this job with Tronical, and in the months following my termination I have not been able to recover enough to make ends meet. I’ve had to sell some of the very equipment that I use to make money (camera equipment, design tools, etc) but now I am at a point where I have nothing left to sell. My credit score has pretty much tanked, I have debt collectors constantly hounding me, and I am going to soon be completely out of options.

I dedicated thousands of hours (well over my contracted 200 hours a month), sacrificed my relationships with my family, friends & girlfriend, and lost four years of clients to work for this company. And to add insult to injury, the company still refuses to take down a large amount of media(photography, videos, various design) that I created for them, essentially stealing the work from me.

I refuse to be forced into bankruptcy by a company in which I, for lack of better words, helped make viable in an American market. Aside from a job teaching at a community college which barely pays, I’ve gone seven months without pay. I am not eligible for unemployment, since they did not pay into that for me, and I have completely eaten through my savings.

I need help.

***TL;DR:***

I gave up 4 years of clientele to work for a music technology company that fired me while owing me $25,000USD. Said company is refusing to pay me even thought they admitted to owing me the money. I’ve eaten through my savings, crashed my credit & am completely scared for my career and future.

*edited for correction*
Topic:
Labor Law

Answer:
 You can sue them.

You can see if you can sic the Department of Labor on them.

You can contact the German employment department, or union representing German employees of this company.  German employees have a lot of rights, generally, and you may be covered by the union agreement.


Title: -VA- Had an affair while me and my husband were separated, ended up pregnant.

Question: during our separation both my husband and myself dated other people. this is expected, right? Well I ended up pregnant. The guy I was dating and myself did not get along well at all and only dated for 4 months. My husband and myself decided we are best off together, we're happiest together. all that mushy stuff. My husband has stated that this is his baby. he's happy to have him as his. We're a happy family. Now. one of my husbands relatives posted a picture of my son on facebook the guy i was dating somehow saw the post and now knows about the baby. Should I be worried? I'm freaking out right now. I'm terrified this guy is going to come and try to take my baby from me.

Answer:
 yeah, it's possible that he can try to exert some of his parental rights, all he needs is a dna test to establish paternity and it probably wouldn't be hard to convince a judge that he has grounds.  but you won't lose the baby, unless you're just unfit and won't be able to raise the child safely.  worse case is that you'll have shared custody.

so lesson is, be careful of the shit you post online or give to other people.  all of that becomes "public" knowledge.Answer #2: You were married at the time, so [by law](http://www.dss.virginia.gov/pub/pdf/dcse_paternity.pdf), your husband is presumed to be the father.

If the biological father wanted to establish paternity, he'd need to go through the courts to establish paternity.


Title: Colorado: Was told by the practice manager (healthcare) that I was not getting the job because I'm a male. What are my recourses?

Question:
 I'm looking to transfer into a different position within the same company.   I am more than qualified for the position and all interviews went well.   The practice requires all management and providers to agree 100% on the candidate.   Apparently 2 physicians wanted a female.

The practice manager told me in person about not being hired due to not being female while the previous week they were setting up a final interview with me.

The job would have paid more and been closer to home.   What are my options?   Are they worth it?   I'm finishing my associates then bachelor's after which it won't matter.

Answer: It depends on the reason they wanted a female for the position.


Title: Can I sue a bar for burning my arm with a very hot plate?

Question:
I got second degree burn last night at a bar. I was standing at the bar nd turned around real quick and there was a food runner with a hot plate walking behind me. My arm touched it and I felt a lot of pain and rubbed it off. The guy did a “my bad” and continued walking. Tbh I thought I was fine at first. My arm looked untouched. Through out the night my arm started to bother me. I kept feeling a stinging sensation and eventually started to have raised lines. When I got home it starting blistering and this morning it became one large blister and red around it. I didn’t say anything because there was nothing on my arm and didn’t think I got that hurt and was being a bitch.

I am asking more for curiosity than anything. A lot of my friends have suggested that I sue but I feel like I have no evidence to go off of.

What do you guys think?

Answer: You have to sue *for* something. If you didn’t seek medical attention and have those bills or some sort of substantial damage to your quality of life long term, you probably won’t get much if anything out of it. Maybe enough to cover your legal fees.Answer #2: Did you seek any medical treatment?


Title: Ex-employer overpaid me and now requested I send them a check. Money was direct deposited into my account. Do I have to send it to them?

Question:
I left my job at the end of July.  I received 2 pay-checks in August, which I had assumed were my last paychecks (I should have paid more attention to the pay periods).

I do not keep much money in my checking account where my paychecks were dirct deposisted, but I do have autopay on all my bills on this account, therefore I leave enough in this account to cover my bills and move the rest of my money elsewhere.  More than a week after my last "paycheck" was deposited, I get an overdraft notification from my bank (three actually), I check my checking account and my ex employer had reversed thier last paycheck and caused 3 of my auto-pays to overdraft.

I call my bank, and open a dispute, because I ain't paying no triple overdraft.  I then contact my previous employer and they tell me my last "paycheck" was a mistake.  My bank had said they would investigate the withdrawal initiated by my previous employer and if it was legitmate they would issue them thier funds by alllowing the transaction to process.

Three weeks later, the bank has not processed that transaction, the money is in my account and my ex employer emails me and says I need to send them a check for the amount I was overpaid.

What are my options here?  I know I was overpaid, but the money is in my account and has been for over a month.

The paycheck was for \~$1500.

Answer:
 If you were legitimately overpaid, you owe it back.

I mean, if you were *under*paid, you'd want them to make up the difference, right?  Of course you would.

This is the same thing, just in reverse.  You get paid *exactly* what you work(ed), no more, no less.

A simple error on their part does not equate to free money on your part.Answer #2: How would you prefer to pay it back?


Title: University Troubles

Question:
Posting with a throwaway, just in case.
I was enrolled in a KY university on a full-tuition scholarship. This university was my safety school, so that was the only reason I chose it, as financial aid covered my room and board. I began in the fall of 2013, and midway through my second semester (spring 2014), I had to leave school due to medical troubles. Before returning to the university in the spring of 2015, I had to meet with the Dean of Students. He informed me that my scholarship would be reinstated.
The semester went by without a hitch, and summer came along. When it came time to register for classes in the fall of 2015, I registered with no problems. I was living off campus this semester, so I didn't need financial aid because all of my educational expenses would be covered.
A little less than half way through the semester, I was contacted by the financial aid office asking me to complete the FAFSA. I said that since I was living off campus, I would not need financial aid, because I had no additional educational expenses. They then informed me that I was paying for the semester in full, as my scholarship was not renewed due to failing to meet the GPA requirements. I had never been notified of this, and since students who have a due balance (which would have been the case, as the first payment is due before registration) can't register for classes, I had no reason to believe that my scholarship had been taken away. Had I known this, I would have not returned to the university in the first place. I was informed that it was likely far too late in the year to receive any legitimately helpful financial aid. As such, I dropped out of the university immediately.
I didn't hear anything from them until a couple of months ago. No bill or statement was ever sent, but I received a letter from a collections agency stating that I owed them the full $12,000+ from the semester. I've not been in contact since receiving that letter, as I'm not sure how to proceed.
There is no possible way I can pay off $12,000 any time in the foreseeable future, and I can't get into another school without my transcripts to the original school. I was wondering if there was any legal recourse that I could take, as I was never notified that I would be paying so much (in fact, anything at all) to attend. I wanted to post here before paying a lawyer to discuss this, as I don't want to spend money if it's a losing battle.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer:
 You were notified when you registered how much school cost. And you knew you didn't meet the GPA requirements for the scholarship.

And you knew you withdrew after the time allowed to do so without paying.

You are going to have to pay if you ever want your transcripts or good credit


Title: Do 'hidden camera prank' television/YouTube programs in California violate 'two party consent' wiretapping laws?

Answer:
 1. How do you know they don't sign a release after the fact?
2. If you're in a public place you can't violate a wiretapping law because you're in public and have no expectation of privacy


Title: California: Headhunted away from long-term position, terminated without cause two months later.

Question:
I spent most of the last decade working for a large public sector agency where I was a project manager on various networking and telephony modernization projects. Earlier this year I was headhunted away by a hotelier to implement new Wi-Fi, VoIP, IPTV and public display/conference infrastructure.

When I was hired I was told that they were “contractually obligated” to undertake these upgrades to their properties because of their agreements with the hotel chains. Money was budgeted, deadlines were set, RFPs had been issued.

I started on April 1st and was sent on a whirlwind tour of all the properties, they sent me to a conference in Las Vegas and they sent me to a property in Hawaii that had already been upgraded to the new standard.

Then on Monday they fired me saying that because of “uncertainty in the hospitality industry” they couldn’t undertake these upgrades at the current time. I was given no severance and when I raised the point that they had recruited me and that I had been assured that they were “contractually obligated” to complete this project the executive just left the room without saying another word and HR called security who gave me “trespass warning” and perp walked me out the front door through the lobby.

A sheriff’s deputy who just happened to be in the parking lot decided to wander on over and make my embarrassment all the greater. Loudly asking me if I had any syringes in my pockets before frisking me really, really helped the situation. (The deputy did however apologize for misinterpreting the situation, not that the security guard did anything other than giggle throughout all this.)

I don’t think I have ever been angrier or more embarrassed in my entire life.

In my former position I made ~$90,000 a year and I was in that position from May of 2007 until March. The new position was supposed to pay $110,000 with a bonus for delivering the first properties on budget and schedule.

I have more than a dozen emails from the hotelier’s management, HR and the outside recruiter all claiming that this project was highly time sensitive and they were obligated to make these upgrades, all they needed was an implementer. This was all bullshit.

Do I have any recourse for being explicitly lied to during the hiring process and leaving a stable and lucrative position based on their assurances or am I just a rube for believing these assholes had been truthful with me at the time I was hired?

Answer: If you did not have an employment contract, it will be an uphill battle.  There may be some theories (such as detrimental reliance/promissory estoppel) but they are heavily fact-dependent and not something that can be evaluated on a sub like this.  You should seek the advice of an employment attorney.


Title: Georgia- Possibly other states, Military. EX-wife is filing me in contempt of divorce decree

Question:
 Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I am a financially strapped non-custodial father who has shared custody of my 3 year old son with my EX wife who is the custodial parent. 18 Months ago I was released from employment and have not had much of a leg to stand on when it comes to disputes with my EX because she has a job in the military which pays very well.
	The terms of our divorce decree were set in TX, until recently we were both residing in Georgia, but I recently moved to another state to attend graduate school.

Recently my EX petitioned for me to sign consent to a passport, so she could take my son out of the country on vacation. I responded that I would not sign the agreement, because I do not feel comfortable about my EX having the means to remove my son from the country.
I believe that she has an ulterior motive that extends beyond a simple vacation, considering the urgency she appears to be expressing regarding this issue.

She responded back that I AM REQUIRED to sign the passport, and if I do not she will file me in contempt.
I replied that due to the language in the divorce decree I am not require to sign if I have a good reason. I then wrote out my reasons to her.
Before I elaborate on the reasons as to why I do not feel comfortable I will provide a word for word from our divorce decree.

“IT IS ORDERED that if a parent’s consent is required for the issuance of a passport, that parent shall provide that consent in writing no later than ten days after receipt of the consent documents, **UNLESS THE PARENT HAS GOOD CAUSE FOR WITHHOLDING CONSENT."**

-the fragment in ALL CAPS is not in ALL CAPS in the original document, I bolded it so as the reader can key in on the language I am using to define my case

In an attempt to keep concise, my “good cause” for denial mainly stems from the fact that, if she receives orders through the military to be stationed outside of the contiguous United States, I do not want her to have the means to leave the country with my son.
My reasons for this are:

1. She is a single mom, and her entire support network is in the United States, so I am concerned about her care plan, if something happened to her or him, it would take longer to find out about it, and my son would be staying with someone I likely do not know.

2. I believe this would have negative impact on the relationship that I have with my son.
•	Financing a trip to visit my son, or pick him up for when I have extended visitation periods would be next to impossible considering the fact I am currently in graduate school.
•	If I were able to fund the trip, a large portion of my time with him would be lost to travel.
•	Lastly and most importantly, she has a history of not honoring my rights that are outlined in the decree, so I fear if I did make the trip she may still withhold my son from me. Since we would be in another country, I do not know if said country would honor my rights, or that by the time I could get her military chain of command to take action, I may have to return back to the United States.
o	This fear is not unfounded, I have documentation of times she has denied me of my rights for extended visitation, or has deviated from what was outlined in the decree without my consent, or blatantly ignored other parts of the decree. In many of these cases I have felt forced to agree because I did not have the means to contest her threats of taking me to court to alter the decree or custody rights.

Just recently I received a call from my EX’s attorney in Georgia, and he said he is calling as a “courtesy” for me to reconsider signing the Passport consent form, or that he will file that I am in contempt of not following the decree. I have 24 hours to reply back to him that I will agree to him, or he will file, I think that my EX, and her Lawyer are expecting that I will cave as I have at other times because I could not afford an attorney, but this situation may be different.

I’m posting this to inquire about the following things:

1.	Are the reasons I’ve expressed as “good cause” plausible?
2.	Considering the broad language of the divorce decree, is it generalized enough that if this situation does go to court, that even if the judge does not agree with my reasons, am I protected from being found in contempt?
3.	I have read online that technically the judge can force me to sign, but that technically an order is not valid until filed, does this mean I can avoid being jailed if I’m at court and told to sign, but tell the judge I will not?
4.	Can I have the case dismissed since she should technically be filing in the state where the divorce decree was written?- The custody order was made in Texas, My EX lives in GA, and I just recently moved from GA to another state, if my EX files in Georgia,
5.	I am considering making a counter offer, that I will agree to signing the passport consent form, if she agrees to signing an addendum to the decree that states she will not take my son out of the country for a period greater than twenty days, or that if she receives an order to PCS outside of the contiguous unites dates, then she must relinquish custody of my son to me, and she becomes the non-custodial parent, does this seem like a realistic compromise?
6.	If she does not agree to the propositions outlined in #5, and our case goes to court, would it help my case to mention to the judge that I offered a compromise in an attempt to resolve the issue before trial. Because if she did not have any intent to take him out of the country long term, why would she be uncomfortable agreeing?  	(as I side note, when I sought a modification of my child support order because I lost my job, she used this method by mentioning to the judge she offered a lower rate, but with the contingency of changing modifying the modifying the terms of visitation to where I would have to do 100% of the travelling. Although the two things should be unrelated, which the judge even mentioned, the judge in this case then proceeded to ridicule me for not agreeing to her terms, and did not modify my rate)
7.	Say I lose this case and I am forced to sign, and since my EX is active duty military, is there any defense I have in preventing her from taking my son to another country either through the military or the regular justice system?
8.	Should I also use this as an opportunity to contact her telephonically telling her that I will sign if she agrees to my offer from #5 and also signs a modification of lowering my child support?

I understand that some of these things may rest solely on the type of judge that I get, provided this goes to court. Any input is appreciated, especially of known instances either negative or positive, but I am looking more for solutions over statements as to how screwed I am, unless of course I really have no case.

Thanks again

Edited for formatting

**Update** First off, I just wanted to thank everyone for their valuable input, the advice /u/ColSamCarter, mentioned proved to be invaluable. I did not realize that schools offer a similar support system like the military. I was able to get a quick consult and although the attorneys at the school can not represent me since this is currently in another state. The attorney's opinion referenced that I likely will not be held in contempt, since I have documented instances in which she has violated, or ignored my rights outlined in the decree and custody order. But the judge may still order me to sign. She also mentioned that my offer from #5, seems reasonable. So I am seeking counsel to work on having something drafted, and it also shows that I attempted to seek resolution.

in regard to what /u/W1ULH and /u/xGenoSide mentioned, thanks for the information it kind of falls into what I had read through my own reading online. Since I am a veteran I found out I can still use militaryonesource as well to speak with a JAG officer.
I did not get confirmation from the lawyer I spoke with yesterday about what /u/Seraphinaly mentioned but I will make the inquiry after I have legal counsel.

Thanks again for the constructive input. I will provide a later update to this once things have become more concrete.
- also if I updated this wrong please let me know

Answer:
 1.  If your "good reason" to not sign the passport is that you suspect an ulterior motive, you'll likely be found in contempt.  That is not a good reason.

2. See above.

3. If a judge tells you to do something, and you don't, you can be held in contempt.

4. You could file a motion to hear the case somewhere else, if the place where she filed you do not feel is appropriate.

5. I highly suggest amended your custody agreement if your kid gets a passport.  If she has a military job, it is very likely that your son could be put in a situation to live abroad for a long period of time.  You need to have an order in place for that.

6. No.  The time to compromise was when the original order was written.  You don't get rewarded for following the order.

7. If your cusotdy order doesn't say otherwise, then no.

8. Up to you.

Get yourself some legal aid.  Go to a clinic and get a consultation, if able.  You're not in good standing to get what you want.


Title: (US-SC) My spouse and I are certain that his child doesn't live with the mother, but instead lives with the child's grandmother.

Question:
To start, just want to say that we had to attain a lawyer last year just to get visitation with his child. The situation was complicated and would take some time to fully explain. I can provide background details if necessary.

The mother has full custody as she didn't want to give us joint and we couldn't afford to fight over that in court at the time. We settled for visitation every other weekend. The child in question is 5 years old now. Based on what the child says when staying with us, we very strongly believe that the child is not living with their mother, but is living with the grandparent. According to our court papers, the child is supposed to reside with the mother. We've had a lot of issues from this grandparent, including the grandparent telling the child that they shouldn't love their mother or father. The grandparent has also caused a giant scene in a public parking lot yelling and screaming at my husband that he was kidnapping his child because the child didn't want to go (We believe the child is being told not to like our house as the child acts perfectly fine once at our house). That's a whole different mess, but my husband and I just want to know how to prove that the child isn't living where they are supposed to be? Is a private investigator the only option? Also, is there anything we can do to minimize the child's time around this grandparent? The mother uses the grandparent as a baby sitter for the child. Thank you for your time and advice.

Answer:
 OP- Two thoughts for you:

(1) Your SO needs to have a consultation with a family law attorney to get their take on this issue

(2) Are you *positive* the custody decree actually says the child is *required* to live with her mother, or that the mother gets full decision making authority on the child's living arrangements? The difference between these two scenarios is substantial.Answer #2: NAL, but I know some custody agreements have something like a right of first refusal. If it's Parent A's parenting time, and they can't be with the child for whatever reason, Parent B has the first call on having the child. Parent A can't leave the child with a grandparent/babysitter/whoever unless Parent B can't or won't take the child. If you're going to go for a modification of the custody agreement, this might be something that you want to argue for.


Title: Oregon- when can I file for a restraining order on a neighbor

Question:
I have posted here before about the issue I have with my crazy neighbor, I can’t get into that account.

The issue I have is with a neighbor who lives in an illegal ADU ( a converted garage) behind my home.

This woman hosed my dogs down in freezing weather, to stop them from barking, at her dogs that where running around destroying my fence. - I reported her dogs multiple times until an incident was taken to court. I had to sign an affidavit of what happened with her dogs. Until this point my neighbor didn’t know I was one of the people reporting her. No one else will come forward anymore because of what she has done to me and my family. This woman has made it clear she rules our neighborhood, and if you don’t like it she will “ deal with you”

Since then we have had a horrible year, a few things that have happened are.

She trespassed onto our property, to get her dogs that where running at large.- I reported her to the police and dog control, nothing ever came of the incident.

She continued to use my yard as a way of getting to the neighbors yard. She did this at night, my then security cameras couldn’t see her. We put up a temporary fence to solve this issue.

We have had to stop using our back yard at all. The neighbor screamed and yelled at me threatening my home, children, dogs and me. All while walking my fence line and hitting my fence. I called the police they said it was a civil issue and they would not do anything.

My mom saw the neighbors daughter doing something like dealing drugs. She reported it, and the police asked for my security camera footage. Her daughter was arrested for heroin dealing ( from the ADU)

after those incident I started taking my dogs into my front yard. Where if I was outside and my neighbor was to drive passed. She would stop in the middle of the road to yell at me usually calling me a bitch. This happen 3 times.

She started screaming at us while we where in our house calling us “dog murders” “ cat killers”
Apparently her dog died and we killed it, and our dogs apparently killed one of her many cats. None of that ever happened. But that haven’t stoped her form taking to social media and blasting it around our town.

We found a raw chicken covered in antifreeze in our front yard shortly after the dog murderer comments started. It was under our window AC unit and easily accessible to my children and dogs. I called the police and they said without a camera seeing who placed it there they could do nothing.

I placed more cameras up try and get all of my property, to this the neighbor and her partner walked around my neighbors property taking pictures of all of my cameras. Called the neighbor and they made it very clear to them they are not allowed to trespass on their property.

A few weeks later all 3 of my dogs got very sick, they where vomiting  blood as well as pooping blood.  We payed for several tests to be done, the ER vet said they believed it was most likely a blood thinner ( aspirin, rat poison) that was eaten  by my dogs.  I looked back through my camera footage and you can see the neighbor walking my fence line and then they disappear. It appears they found a blind spot. This was fixed. The police refused to do anything about this, as well as dog control, the ER vet called them and they both said it was a civil issue.

The last incident happened yesterday when a CPS worker showed up to my home to make sure my children where safe. Apparently a neighbor “ anonymously” reported that my husband and I smell of meth, are users because we are skinny, leave our children locked outside, murder animals, that I expose my naked breasts to her children, we drive drunk, and don’t get along with the neighbors because we are psychos.  I was able to show the CPS worker the  binder with all of the incidents we have had and she immediately said she understands that this is a Angry neighbor call.

This call lines up with a huge fine the neighbor revived for her pit bull attacking a man a few weeks ago. I was asked by his family if I had video footage of it. I did and handed it over to them.   It also seems to be around the same time my city passed a law that might evict her from her illegal ADU. But she is friends with my next door neighbor and they said she could live with them.

I have called the police, dog control, code enforcement, the fire marshal, my county and city government. All say the same thing ‘she shouldn’t live where she is living, so there is nothing we can do’

The landlord doesn’t give a shit and has said that as long as she pays she can live in his illegal ADU. And I can “eat shit and deal with it”

I plan on selling and leaving but I can’t do that for a few months. I also don’t want to try and sell my home with this crazy woman behind me.

I am wondering at what point can I file for a restraining order?

I don’t want to deal with this woman and her craziness anymore. I can’t live in my own home or use my yard without this woman constantly harassing me, and the police do nothing.

Answer:
 IANAL, but it sounds like you'd have a pretty strong case for a RO, provided you have evidence of all these things backed up and can afford a lawyer who could help argue your case with you. If you can't afford the lawyer, you could still possibly get a RO with the evidence you assumedly have backed up and filed.

Edit: this is just of basic knowledge of past ROs in varying states, YMMV based on it being Oregon.


Title: [NC] Honked at by driver who thought I was exposing myself in public, should I be worried?

Question:
I was walking home from the store and was cold so I went to zip my jacket up. In trying to zip my jacket up I messed up and got the zipper stuck. While I was trying to fix my zipper an elderly couple honked at me as they drove by. At first I was confused but after I finished zipping my jacket up I realized it must have looked to them like I was urinating or otherwise exposing myself as I was facing away from the road at about a 45 degree angle messing with my zipper near my crotch.

They were the only ones who drove by me as I was fixing my jacket. I finished my 15 minute walk home and nothing more came of it but I'm worried they might have called the police if they didn't realize I was just trying to zip up my jacket. Is there anything I can or should do? Thanks

Answer: Maybe they liked what they saw.Answer #2: You're really over thinking this. Ask yourself how they'd even identify you or prove to the police that you exposed yourself. Answer #3: Unless you're currently a big Hollywood star, you have nothing to worry about.


Title: First Disciplinary at work (18)

Question:
so this is my 1st proper job and i just had a hearing with my employer where he raised his concerns for my phone usage at work when he told me not too and for having an internet window open

i know i am in the wrong here but he said he is going to inform HR and there will be a formal meeting to happen, what can i expect from this? is there any points i should know to protect myself?

Answer: You can expect anything from a warning to a performance plan to being fired.


Title: A minor did substantial damage to my property right before turning 18. Police advised me to go to small claims court, but I am not sure who to name (Iowa)

Question:
A minor did substantial damage to my property a couple of weeks ago.  Police advised me to give him/his parents a couple weeks to make it right, and if they don't, go to small claims against his parents as they are responsible for him.  (That is just as far as getting it fixed goes - charges against him are being pursued separately from me getting money to fix the damage).

I am wanting to start the small claims process but have one problem: While he was 17 at the time that he caused the damage, he turned 18 two days ago. I am not sure who to name for my small claims paperwork: him, his parents, or both.

What is correct?
Thanks.

Answer:
 Name everyone. It doesn't matter that he is an adult now. Let the judge decide. Answer #2: You are probably more likely to recover damages if the parents are involved.Answer #3: I'd say the parents since he was under 18 when it happened but you could also list him since he is 18 now. Ultimately the judge will have the final say.Answer #4: https://coolice.legis.iowa.gov/Cool-ICE/default.asp?category=billinfo&service=IowaCode&ga=83&input=613#613.16

Looks like mommy and daddy are liable for up to 2000 of the damage, or 5000 if it was two or more acts.


Title: Co-worker assaulted me

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Cool story. Do you have a legal question?


Title: I told by employer I was uncomfortable with a new policy and I've been removed from the schedule. (AB, Canada)

Question:
First time here.

I work in a dental clinic that's been going through a large turn around. 5 employees in the last 3 months have quit. We've been having a lot of cancellations lately for reasons beyond my control, yet was getting blamed for.

Last week I was told to tell patients that they aren't allowed to cancel their appointments. I was so taken aback that I kind of scoffed under my breath, but said "Okay I'll try my best" and the boss replied to never dare speak to him that way again.

I did as I was told and the next patient who canceled just talked to me like I was stupid and humiliated me and said they were obviously not coming. I emailed my boss and said it made me uncomfortable and then I got an email to come in to work for the rest of the week. I responded asking if he was firing me and he did not respond. I researched the government of Alberta workers rights and sent him a direct link to where it mentioned that employers must give 24 hours  notice to cancel or move a shift. Still no response.

Today he sent out the schedule and I am completely removed.

I am a single mother and this is my only income. I do not get child support or income support. I have no idea how to proceed. Can I apply to ei? Am I fired? How do I get my ROE if he's ignoring me?

I really need some legal advice from someone who's been through something similar.

Answer:
 This is called "constructive dismissal", which is when an employer fires the employee, but doesn't want to offically fire them for reasons.

I'd start speaking to employment lawyers, many of whom will offer a free or cheep inital consult. With their help, you should be able to determine your next step.


Title: carrying a firearm under 21

Question: So this is the scoop. Im a USMC Reservist and i want a good job where i can handle a firearm (brinks money services specifically). Well only thing is im 20. I am pistol, rifle, and machine gun qualified and have a lot of experience with weapons. I was wondering with Ohio law, am i able to pass for a 21 y/o job with military experience? Please and thank you.

Answer:
 No.

And as a general rule, if the only thing you care about is being able to carry a gun at work...

You probably should not have the job.


Title: Uni housing wants to move me to a different Dorm if they can't find me new roommates

Question:
(USA, Cali)

Hello legaladvice! So I have a bit of an issue.

To make a suuuper long story short, one of my roommates and I ended up having an issue to which basically I got a huge migraine and couldnt allow her bf to sleep over for the night; as they'd planned to for about two weeks ahead. She ended up coming in later in the night at 2am with him, turning the lights on and making a huge noise-fest (talking loud and such). She became aware obviously that I was in my bed attempting to sleep, and she completely ignored it. Her bf ended up giving me massive amounts of attitude and being generally rude; to which I finally asked him to leave. He refused, RA had to come and tell him leave; and finally he concedes.

I get verbally harassed by my roommate and he makes reference out of nowhere to a serial killer, asking if i'd heard of the person, before they both leave.

She ignores me, I don't care. Few days later, she gets one of her guy friend to throw an object at me and hurt me. Of course, I document this with campus PD and move on.

Next day, I talk to the CRE and he tells me
*Neither of us are in the right
*I need to acknowledge "how she feels"
*I need to take blame for breaking our agreement (letting the guy stay over)

> **d. Any resident may request a visitor to leave
pursuant to University policy.**

Anyways, obviously im peeved. anyways

Few days later, said guy is drunk and begins stumbling after me trying to stop me and I assume fight me, as he was acting pretty aggressive. I get into my building and move on.

Today, I met with the CRE again and found out they're BOTH moving out (I've been perfectly fine with the other one). Also found out they made a fatass lie that I have no idea what exactly, but 'apparently' something transpired friday between us all (???)

The fact that theyre moving out, means i *may* have to move out, unless they find people to fill the room.

I asked said CRE if he informed them of this prior to them making this decision, he finally (after dodging the question), said yes. I go to his supervisor and he lies to her face saying he didnt say that. ugh.

SORRY FOR THE RANT, ANYWAYS, [THIS](http://i.imgur.com/ltJySCd.png) says

    Room Assignments:
    a. University will endeavor to assign Student to a residence space which meets the preference(s) noted on Student’s application, but a specific college/ housing facility, room type, or roommate assignment cannot be guaranteed. University maintains the right to assign or reassign Student to any university-sponsored residence space that is available and to initiate adjustments to the room rate based on the actual room accommodation.

    b. University housing is a community living environment in which Students are assigned rooms, and roommates/housemates. Although rare, students in shared rooms may not have a roommate during a portion of the contract period. In such instances, new roommate(s) may be assigned at any time, with or without advance notification. Student agrees not to occupy or store personal belongings in vacant spaces and to welcome new roommate(s)/ housemate(s) when assigned.

c. University maintains the right to reassign Student, with or without Student’s permission, to an on- or off-campus residential location in the event of an actual or impending natural disaster, or the existence of another condition involving the health and/or safety and well-being of Student, which conditions would reasonably justify such relocation.

Tl;DR: Idiot of a roommate, can I stay in my room?

Answer:
 > University maintains the right to assign or reassign Student to any university-sponsored residence space that is available and to initiate adjustments to the room rate based on the actual room accommodation.

Often when that happens you end up paying the higher single rate.  This is something for you to work out with housing, not a legal issue.


Title: Can my employer black list me to other companies in the industry?

Question:
Hey guys,

I am being fired from my job at an insurance agency for hanging up on customers. (Stupid, Ik, spare me the lecture)

Can this insurance agency somehow black list me from employment by other agencies? Is there some sort of database ?

Thank you!

Ps the job is is nyc

Answer: Your employer is free to tell other employers any facts about you that they wish, as long as those facts are truthful.  They are also welcome to share their opinions.


Title: Father of child in custody battle with child's mother, father continually violates custody agreement and fails drug tests with no repercussions (North Carolina)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >What's the point of a drug test if failing them doesn't seem to matter?

It does matter.  As long as he keeps flunking the tests he will continue to have only supervised visitation.

The mother can file a motion requesting that a different supervisor be appointed.


Title: [Canada] I was fired for taking vacation. Today I found out they hired someone the day I left for vacation

Question:
Im going to try and make this short and simple so its not a giant wall of text. The company that I have been working for, terminated me on October 16th. I started working in January, and this company also has a 9 month probation period, prior to your benefits kicking in. The first red flag I had, was the fact that my termination came exactly 1 day before my 9 month probation was over. It seemed like an odd coincidence that it happened to be the day before my benefits kick in, but that wasnt the only reason I was questioning the validity of their termination.

Let me back up a bit here. The company I work for is a national company. Some branches are smaller, some branches are very large, however the one I was at only consisted of 4 people, myself included. We dont have the typical paperwork for time off being that were such a small branch, the majority of the time the communication is done via texting or just face to face. I had asked for time off in October to go on a family vacation that we take every single year at the same time, ever since I was born we've been going on this vacation. Being that we're such a small group, it would not make sense for me not to mention anything about this trip, especially given the fact that I know about it basically 360 days in advance.

Fast forward to the day that I was terminated, my boss texted me the day that I was to return to work(October 16th), telling me he wanted to have a talk. 'The' talk about having to part ways. Yes, done over a text message. So I was at the shop from 8am until shortly after 9:30am, waiting for him to show up. Now mind you, I was in the shop by myself this entire time. What kind of company allows the person they're firing to hang out in their shop, ALONE?!

When he finally shows up, we sit down in his office and I ask for the reason of my dismissal. I was given 3 reasons basically. The first one being that I didnt tell anyone I was taking vacation for a week. I have text messages showing that I communicated I would be gone October 5th to the 16th for vacation. I have 3 screenshot texts with my boss and other co worker. Red flag 2. The second reason given was that they wanted someone who was more skilled in the trades, someone who was ticketed in carpentry and finishing work(This bit of information will be important further on here). The final reason was that my wage was way to high compared to the other workers, and so they needed let go of someone and hire someone cheaper. Red flag 3. Someone ticketing in finishing carpentry is going to cost way more in terms of wage than someone who isnt, like myself. Not only that, but its not as if its illegal for workers to discuss wages with one another and it was very very well known that my wage was in fact 2$ an hour more than my co worker. I found all of this extremely suspicious. At this point, I made him aware that I would not be signing any paperwork and that I would be discussing with a lawyer or alberta labour board to discuss further options.

A few weeks have gone past since the 16th, and today I was given a pile of information, all of which I can have written down and signed by this witness. The person who came forward to me brought forward a lot of information that confirmed my initial thoughts.

This person that came forward, was hired by the company I was working for. What day you ask? September 29th, 1 week prior to me going on vacation. Now not only this, but once this person was hired, he was told on the Monday following his hiring(October 1st) that he actually couldnt officially start with them for another week. Isn't it kind of strange that he was hired on, but I never met or saw this guy once and he mysteriously couldnt start until I took my vacation? Is it possible they thought my vacation was starting September 29th and they assumed he was going to start while I left? Than accuse me of saying I never told them I was going on vacation, thus giving them a reason to terminate me? The day that I left for Vacation(Oct 5th) was the exact same day that he officially started working for them. Again, funny coincidence I'd say.

This person also should be noted in 5 years younger than myself, has no previous work experience, no trades experience, nothing. What also should be noted, is that this person came forward to me because the company HAS NOT PAID HIM. He worked there from September 29th to the end of October and they never paid him. They also never paid me severance packages or anything. They also have listed on my ROE(Record of employment) that my reason for leaving was "QUIT."

So now, here I am. Trying to see if I have any course of action here, or if this is just some more typical bullshit that companies now a days are allowed to get away with? Someone. Anyone. Please help me or lead me in the right direction.

Answer:
 [Alberta Termination Standards](https://work.alberta.ca/employment-standards/termination-and-termination-pay.html)

Since you worked for more than 3 months, but less than 2 years, it would seem that you are owed either 1 week’s notice before termination or 1 week’s pay in lieu of notice. Corporate probationary periods have no bearing on provincial standards.

[You can file a complaint here.](https://work.alberta.ca/employment-standards/employment-standards-complaint.html) Answer #2: Employment legislation goes by province, other than for certain jobs where legislation is set at the federal level. You'll have to spell out which province you're in.

However, if you were terminated without notice or pay in lieu, or if you are not paid in full, or if you suspect there may be irregularities with your pay, talk to your province's employment standards office.


Title: [IL] Landlord has me paying rent after lease is defaulted

Question: So I was supposed to be at a place with a couple of roommates for university this year. As it turns out there was a shooting in our house and a few stabbings outside that happened after we signed the lease. The house was trashed but the landlords fixed the place up for the most part. Now my roommates want out of the lease and my landlord says that we still have to pay rent after defaulting our lease. Is this legal? They say that we have to pay until someone else leases our contract for the place.

Answer:
 >They say that we have to pay until someone else leases our contract for the place.

Yes, this is right, or until your lease expires, whichever is first. Answer #2: I am unclear about what you mean about defaulting on the lease.

What makes you think you all can get out of the lease because of a shooting inside, which was fixed, and stabbings outside, which are out of control of the landlord?  Is there more to this story?


Title: Possibly Found Person Who Purposely Ran Me Off The Road

Question:
Last night, 7:45pm a black SUV ran me off the road while I was riding my Kawasaki Ninja. He left, while 6 other cars stayed and helped me, called 911, etc.

Well, we had no leads at all. Until today, my friend showed me a facebook post, posted at 8:10pm, talking about how he ran a kid off the road and made him \(me\) wreck.

We are currently gathering all of this, my dad is ex police/military, so we're getting everything gathered.

Any advice on what to do from here? He already admitted fault, and I am 99&#37; certain its him. If I saw the car again, I'd know. He looked right at me and ran me off.

I was in the hospital for about 8 hours with a neck brace, sever pain, now back problems.

Any advice at all? We plan on bringing everything we have to  the detective.

Answer:
 >We are currently gathering all of this, my dad is ex police/military, so we're getting everything gathered.

> Any advice on what to do from here?

Stop.

Call the police and give them what you have and let THEM gather the evidence.


Title: WI - HELP! Insurance trying to tell me I was uninsured, and am royally getting screwed. I do not know what to do, I cannot sleep, please help!

Question: I bought an additional car and notified parent's insurance agency of addition of car, which they are now saying was never confirmed, and am saying I and the car were uninsured. This evening I rear-ended a guy who had already  hit the car in front of him, and am on the hook for, at the very least, the back of his car and the front of my own. Do I have any options?

Answer: Do you have proof of insurance for the car? You should, if you're driving it. In the glove compartment, perhaps.


Title: Hypothetical: A radio station contest winner was given a choice of prize of either $5k or an African elephant and the contestant chose the elephant. and the radio station couldn't produce it, would be liable for the value of said elephant ($1.6m)?

Answer:
 Reminds me of this case which was settled out of court

[Former Hooter’s waitress settles ‘toy Yoda’ lawsuit](https://www.heraldnet.com/news/former-hooters-waitress-settles-toy-yoda-lawsuit/)Answer #2: There’s likely a clause in the official rules stating if the sponsor could not provide the prize the cash alternative would be awarded as the sole prize.Answer #3: [Probably not.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_v._Pepsico,_Inc.)Answer #4: I like this post. It reminds me of elephants.Answer #5: The courts would first seek to establish whether or not a contractual relation existed - look up "Carbolic Smoke Ball Company".
.

If the courts were to determine that a contractual relation existed, the plaintiff reasonably were justified in obtaining damages for non compliance with contractually required specific performance.

The court might reason that the radio station had assessed the value of the elephant at $ 5,000. If the radio station were unable to award the elephant, in lieu compensation of $ 5K would be a legally sustainable outcome.Answer #6: The T&Cs would cover this eventuality, and the contest would be structured in a way that it isn’t a guaranteed win but a chance at, and then they’d buy promotion insurance to cover the potential loss. I know a big retailer in SE Asia that would give away condos and expensive cars; because they knew most people didn’t actually want the specific prize, I understand they’d approach the winners and offer a substantial cash settlement in its place.


Title: How do I prove that I've resided in Minnesota for six months when I go to get my name changed?

Question:
I'm planning to get my name legally changed (not through marriage) soon. I moved to Minnesota in November to be close to family. However, since I stayed with family until January 1st, and didn't receive my ID until January, I don't have anything that really proves when I actually arrived in Minnesota, other than a flight itinerary.

Everything I can find online says that you have to have resided in Minnesota for 6 months, but I can't find anything that tells how you prove that in court (or if you're required to). The name change process requires that you have two character witnesses. One of my witnesses will be my sister in law, who (along with my brother) I stayed with from November to January.

Is my sister in law testifying to when I started living with them enough, or will I need further proof?

Answer:
 >other than a flight itinerary.

that's pretty good evidence

>my sister in law testifying

so is that.

you are documenting a name change, not proving a murder case.