Title: Should I help a nearby injured kid, or should I stay away?

Question:
There is a common area in our apartment complex where a lot of kids play. A kid may or may not have been injured playing football (I had no involvement), and I honestly had no idea what I should do. (The kid ran his head into a fence. No blood, but he also didn't get up quickly. He seemed to be "faking" for attention, but I wasn't sure if I should step in, get the other kids away, and do a basic medical check)

If I see kids doing stupid things, or getting hurt, or anything like that, am I obliged to help?

If I don't help, will I get in trouble?

If I do help, and something goes poorly, under what circumstances would I get in trouble?

I am a male. What if the child is female?

Every workplace I have ever been in has had a "don't do anything" policy. It has gotten so ingrained in me, that I am not sure I want to help out in a situation in case I get sued/fired/whatever....  They have also had a "two adults always" policy...

So, I guess I am wondering what I am expected to do when I am the only parent in a public place and a kid is doing something stupid or gets hurt.

Location: Indiana

(Not sure what flare to use on this one...)

Answer:
 there is no duty to render aid (with narrow exceptions). and you **are** opening yourself up to liability if you take action (with even narrower exceptions found in some states 'good Sam' laws).

that's the law. but this isnt an area where law should be your guiding principle.

and there's no difference if it's a boy or a girl.


Title: [CO] Being denied service due to lawsuit

Question: About a week ago I filed a small claims court lawsuit against someone I used to consider my friend because he stiffed me really badly. Today when I went to the store, I was told to leave because the guy I'm suing is really good friends with him. Now I have to drive 45 minutes to walmart for food. This is ridiculous, surely this is illegal. What can I do?

Answer:
 >surely this is illegal

Surely it's not.

>What can I do?

Find somewhere else to shop.


Title: False accusations about sexual advances

Question:
So I’m typing this still pretty hot from the conversation I just had with my HR at work so apologies if it’s not as concise as it could be.

I live and work in Texas.
I’ve worked at a software company as a systems engineer for over 6 years.I often travel with the sales and analyst team members to pursue and deploy projects.

K = on the same team as Z. My gf and I have known her for over 3 years and we sometimes see each other outside of work.
Z = the accuser
A team of 3, 2 women and myself (m), recently went to visit a client in another city. After the workday, the client offered to give us a tour of all the cool spots around the city. The majority of which are bars.
We all had a great time jumping from place to place and enjoying some drinks.
Around 12 am, we all headed back to the hotel and decided to have a last round at the bar.
After a drink, we all closed out and the clients went on their way.
 K and I decided to go back out for another round.
Z heard us talking about it and decided she wanted to join. After going to another bar, we ended up at a strip club at the very end of the night. K was getting sleepy and had a seat in  a booth while Z and I went up to the stage. We were both at the stage throwing money out. Frankly, just having a good inebriated time. At one point she got in front of me, with her hands on the stage, grinding on my groin area. I had my hands on her hips. It was brief and that’s as far as it went and with the consent of both parties.
After we got back to the hotel, K disappeared to her room and Z and I go to the elevator. While in the elevator, she realizes she’s lost her hotel key card and ID. Says she can’t get another key without an ID. I say “no problem, I have two beds. Feel free to crash on the other.”
I go into my room and she follows. I crash about immediately with my clothes still on.
In the morning, I wake up to her realizing we’ve both overslept our alarms and late for our flight home. She runs out of the room and I don’t see her again until I board the plane.

Fast fwd 10 days later and my HR rep schedules a meeting with me to discuss an incident that was reported to them.
She goes through a line of questioning. She said she can’t tell me what the incident was but from the questions, I gathered that Z reported that I made sexual advances towards her.
HR tells me that at this point they’re still fact-gathering and will follow up with me.
These allegations are 100% false and any type of contact that occurred had complete consent from her and myself.
Because there were other team members present throughout the entire night, I feel that the truth will emerge.
My question is: is there something I should be doing to ensure I’m able to protect my image and integrity?
I thought about consulting an attorney.
Perhaps someone specializing in slander and defamation of character cases.
Thoughts?

Answer:
 You made a series of escalatingly bad decisions. You shouldn’t worry about protecting your image, you should worry about protecting your job.

You say that you are confident the truth will come out and that there are witnesses but you also say that everyone was inebriated and that you invited  an inebriated person to stay in your room.  This isn’t a court of law where you need to be found guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. What you freely admit to is already problematic.

I would consult an attorney before making any further statements.


Title: [Texas]I hit a pedestrian in my car

Question:
As the title said, I hit a pedestrian in my car at a stop sign. I started accelerating after stopping and I failed to see her in front of my car, she was not hurt but just knocked over. She was a homeless person but she wanted to get my information such as DL number, insurance, etc to file a police report. However, we did not get the police to come to the scene but rather she would go to the police department to file the report. What happens next?
Since she is filing a report AFTER the accident and there was no police involved at the scene or witnesses, are there any repercussions for me?

Answer:
 You can be civilly liable for any medical expenses she has.

Because you didn't call the police, there will be no independent 3rd party to confirm either side and it will be your word against hers.

You should have called the police.Answer #2: Go to the police and file an accident report right now. If she goes to the police and claims she was seriously injured and you left the scene without checking on her you could find yourself in serious trouble.


Title: Poisonous vs Venomous in Apartment Lease Language.

Question: This is 100% a hypothetical. I don't keep dangerous animals. But I'm wondering what happens when an apartment lease specifically says no poisonous animals if someone brings in a venomous animal. Do they not make a distinction from a legal standpoint even though venoms and poisons are two very different things?

Answer:
 There's no hard and fast rule on how to interpret contract language. Context and intent matter, up to a point. So do common usage, and "poisonous" often means the same things as "venomous" to the general public.

If your landlord drafted the contract themselves and you couldn't point to any reason to believe they intended to make that distinction, you might have a hard time defending yourself in court if your landlord moved to evict you for having a venomous animal just because the lease said poisonous animal. On the other hand, if your landlord is a dangerous wildlife specialist, or if the lease makes that distinction explicit and only forbids possession of one of the two kinds of animal, then you'd likely be okay.

Playing word games with definitions is a risky way to operate, and the best way to show good faith would be to directly ask your landlord what they intended and whether you can keep a venomous animal. You know, and I know, that they'd say no - and so does a judge.Answer #2: I guess when it happens you tell them to eat your pet cottonmouth and if they get sick assure them you’ll pay for their medical.Answer #3: THESE are the kind of hypotheticals I'm on this sub for...


Title: What’s my liability if I knowingly plant a poisonous plant?

Question: Hi! I live in Charleston, SC  and I recently stumbled upon a beautiful flower on clearance at Lowe’s. I bought it out of curiosity not knowing anything about it. It’s a fox glove. I’m new to gardening. So I found out today that it’s highly poisonous. My question is, if I planted it in the front yard, what would my liability be if a neighborhood dog ate it or something? Would I be legally responsible for knowingly planting a poisonous plant? I want to clarify that I have dogs and I am not going to plant it because I’m worried they might get into it but I am just wondering what would happen if I did and someone else got into it? Thanks!

Answer:
 Many garden plants are poisonous. You can call your local university extension office and ask them about the local rules  :)

BTW Fox gloves grow wild where I am and I have added them to my yard. I love them!

We also have euphorbia as a weed(or people love it) and it’s much more likely to get its poison on someone than a fox glove. Most people who have it in their yards are not even aware that the white sap can cause skin reaction. Answer #2: While not in your state, there was a [somewhat similar question that got a lot of attention previously](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/690wtf/mn_deadly_plants_vs_teenagers/) . However, the question there was mostly kids, and I'm not sure how trespassing or attractive nuisance laws would apply to pets :D If something went wrong, you could be sued, but you can also be sued for basically anything.Answer #3: NAL but a good analogy might be using something like snail bait or weed killer. I doubt anyone who sues you will have success (although as another poster noted, they can sue you for anything).

If you, say, coated the foxglove with bacon grease to entice a dog to eat it you could be liable, but many, many plants are toxic to humans and animals, including hydrangea, peace lily (aka everyone's houseplant fern), lilies, daffodils, etc. Anyone who has a decently diverse garden is likely to have something toxic planted, unless they have actively avoided it if they have small children or a stick-happy dog.


Title: Friend's company is taking his entire paycheck for this last week. What are his options?

Question: So my friend has been working this moving job for about 8 months. Its always been a bit of a sketchy operation but he has no other choice while he looks for another job. Today he overslept and didnt show up. His paycheck was supposed to come in and  be around $700 dollars. He owed a coworker $360 and they took that directly out of his paycheck and gave it to him. Now they are taking $140 dollars to pay the guy they replaced him with today and and taking the rest for a "fee" for no call no showing. Is this at all legal? On top of that, they have made him ride in the back of the truck while there is client's stuff in the back in 100 degree South-Eastern weather.

Answer:
 > He owed a coworker $360 and they took that directly out of his paycheck and gave it to him.

Not legal unless the friend authorized this in writing in advance.

> Now they are taking $140 dollars to pay the guy they replaced him with today and and taking the rest for a "fee" for no call no showing.

Also not legal unless possibly he authorized this in advance (and probably not even then).

> On top of that, they have made him ride in the back of the truck while there is client's stuff in the back in 100 degree South-Eastern weather.

Legal.

Your friend can contact his state's department of labor, who can get him paid and can fine the employer.  Or the US department of labor if your state is like Florida in that it does not have a state department of labor.

If the DoL doesn't help then he can sue the employer in small claims court for what he is owed, plus court costs, plus any other damages he had because of his pay getting docked.


Title: [MI] Feds claiming FOIA exemption after prowling around for me and I filed a FOIA request to get to the bottom of it.

Question:
TL;DR:

* I was legally going about my business, and contacted by past associates to be informed that they had been questioned by an FBI agent about me.
* This was troubling to me at the time since I'd not only done nothing illegal but also nothing politically subversive.
* However, I do have various crazy family members that I have been trying to stay away from. They're convinced that I'm crazy and don't want me to be out in the world freely, and some of them do have government connections. I want nothing to do with them because they're fanatic religious lunatics, but assumed that they must be behind the effort to track me down.
* I filed a Privacy Act request to get to the bottom of the whole thing, assuming that it would be a straight forward approval.
* The request was denied unusually quickly, and I filed an appeal.
* About a month later, I received a letter, included below, affirming the denial of the request, and raising even more troubling questions. The denial affirmation letter suggested that I might be on a secret watch list and I theorize and brainstorm on the possible scenarios of reality below based on the explicit and implied information and the cited laws below.
* The whole thing is quite troublesome and I would like to find out what is actually going on, which probably means fighting the FOIA denial. Does anyone have any thoughts about how I might proceed, here? In particular, I would love to know if anyone's aware of any civil liberty groups who might be interested in taking on the fight. I'm thinking like something along the lines of the ACLU or EPIC or PaperPlease. I know that Appelbaum and Greenwald have been part of a recent resurgence of interest particularly on issues pertaining to secret government watch lists.

Sorry that the first version ended up becoming so long. I've structured it a bit into linked sections, and hopefully that helps. I've obviously also made a TLDR summary above this paragraph. My initial version of the post follows.

----

Alright, so I was contacted by two business associates some months ago, saying that an FBI agent had stopped by their workplaces asking questions about my apparent state of mental stability. One was very up front and honest about what had happened, while the other just gave a very suspicious voicemail almost surely as though he was trying to fish for information on me so as to assist the agent that contacted him.

The bizarre thing about it is that I've done nothing illegal. In the past I have had various political inclinations that were expressed through various activities, and I know that the FBI historically and recently has been responsible for a lot of political repression, but I must note that I've never been involved in any political activity that wasn't unequivocally legal and constitutionally protected, as well as that I have not been involved in any political activism or other controversial activity for several years now. So I was quite startled to learn that the feds were trying to locate me, and I suspect that it had to do with a well-connected relative that wanted them to track me down under some justifiable guise like mental instability.

The transparent and informative of the two mentioned associates seemed to have been initially lied to. The agent said that the investigation was for my sake, because I'd filled in a welfare application and they needed to verify me by investigating my responses. Later on the nature of the questions didn't fit with that, and he asked if it was rather a missing persons type of thing, in response to which she was just evasive.

I googled the agent's name and verified that it was a real FBI agent of the bureau's local field office. Further, the agent was publicly personally connected to local fusion center and counterterrorism initiatives.

So I submitted a FOI/PA request. I was promptly told that the median processing time for Privacy Act requests such as mine was 6 months, yet in less than half of that time I was told that there were no responsive records corresponding to my request, aside from any that may had been legally exempted. I filed an appeal through the DOJ OIS's online eFOIA system, and was very soon replied to with a letter from a DOJ lawyer stating that they'd conducted a comprehensive review of my request and affirmed that the response was legally sound. It was hard to interpret the response which was obviously written to obscure the facts in as much ambiguity as possible, but the denial, which follows, included the emboldened wording pertaining to my implied presence on government watch lists. That's really unsettling to me, but also very bizarre. I say implied, because the investigation was clearly undertaken, and the two options it gives are pretty much either that there were no records that they could find, or that relevant records would confirm or deny an individual's placement on a government watch list. I don't see any other individual that the provision might be relevant to, and it strikes me as simply impossible that an agent was clocking paid hours on duty to go around town to investigate me at different places of business around town. I'm no professional, but my amateur mind is legalistically inclined, and it occurred to me after reading the letter once and later googling stuff on my phone without access to my email that FOIA Exemption 7(E) would not be applicable to my request since mine was a Privacy Act Request, and not a Freedom of Information Act Request. The letter's prose explaining the watch list provision in elaborating on the cited exemptions refers to "FOIA Exemption 7(E)", which I looked up. After I was back at my email, I checked the response again, and saw that it had also cited 5 U.S.C. SS 552a(j)(2), which I gather is the corresponding exemption provision of the Privacy Act. So much for that idea. I thought I "had" them for a second.

Now, what would be their actual incentive to withhold responsive records to my request? My thought before the response to my appeal of the original denial of the initial PA request was that they were trying to protect whichever bureau officer was ordering investigation of me on the basis of "friend of a friend" sweetheart favors for my crazy relative. Is this idea reconcilable with the affirmative appeal response's citation of 5USC 552a(j)(2)? The whole thing makes no sense to me, but from what sense I can make of it all, the two possibilities are: I'm on some kind of watch list which raises a whole lot more troubling questions than it answers, and: my crazy relative got someone to do them a favor by trying to track me down, and because it would have been a good person to have owe one a favor, they entertained the relative's craziness and did some detective work in order to give the crazy relative face and seem helpful in the relative's eyes. What doesn't add up about that scenario is that they would seem to have their hands tied at the point when I filed the appeal. I simply can't imagine, like I said, an on-duty agent making official visits to interview an investigation subject's business associates without some records being generated, so the most logical way to carry out that scenario would have struck me as being to: a) start a file for the investigation with "subject's family is concerned about them," and conveniently, "innocently" leave out the actual corrupt motivations for taking the family at all seriously - "ignore" the fact that if any old family member of an arbitrary adult contacted the feds wanting them to check up on the person without some ulterior motive for the feds to appease them, they'd be harshly snubbed, at this stage, b) set out to go around town following leads and questioning people, c) give up after giving it so much effort, d) receive my PA request and find their hands tied, but with nothing to worry about, because the records don't actually contain anything that reflect badly on anyone (cf. step a)).

So, what gives? The whole thing is unbelievably disturbingly bizarre. General suggestions of how to proceed are welcome. However, I was specifically wondering if anyone is aware of any civil liberties groups focussed on innocent victims of secret government watchlists that might be interested in helping me to fight the FOIA request denial. My goal is to just get to the bottom of this. First I wanted to explain the bizarre investigation, which I thought they'd have no choice but to give me the full documentation for. Now I have something else that's troubling and unexplained, which is the denial of the request itself and its actual motivation, and the suggestion contained in the appeal response that I'm somehow on a government watch list.

----
Here is the whole body of their response letter to my electronic appeal of the PA request denial: [**link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/42k55a/mi_feds_claiming_foia_exemption_after_prowling/czb05bt)

----

The relevant section of 5 USC 552a: [**link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/42k55a/mi_feds_claiming_foia_exemption_after_prowling/czb06nh)

----

My commentary on the relevance and applicability of 552a(j)(2): [**link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/42k55a/mi_feds_claiming_foia_exemption_after_prowling/czb07op)

----

I must emphasize that I'm not and have not been party to any significant criminal activity. The most illegal thing I've been involved in has been buying $10 of weed each couple of months and occasionally lighting up, but that hardly seems like FBI material, and even that I stopped doing about 4 months ago for reasons that had nothing to do with legality.

Answer: I didn't read your massive wall of text, but I think you should talk to a psychologist about your concerns before you pursue legal routes. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that is going to be a better and more productive option for you.


Title: [CA] Girlfriend accidentally stole a strong bass as a kid

Question:
Like the title states, my girlfriend kept a string bass that was given to her in orchestra at the age of 12. She claims that an instructor at the time told her to take it and did not ask her to fill out the normal forms that parents are required to sign to let kids borrow instruments. She did not touch the instrument for seven years, at least until she sold it to an old teacher to get some money for college.

Last week, she received a text from the buyer asking if she knew that it was owned by the school district. It had been considered stolen for the last 8 or 9 years. The buyer also sent an image of the bottom of bass, which was written into with the school district's initials (I think that's the proper description). My girlfriend does not remember that being there. Now, the district has the instrument back and would like to speak with my girlfriend sometime next week.

I apologize for the wall of text (I'm on mobile), but what would be the penalty here? Is there something that we can do? I would hate for something to happen to her when this was just a series of misunderstandings. Any advice or comments are helpful.

Answer:
 It's possible she'd face a theft charge.  Your girlfriend should politely decline to speak with the school and consider talking to an attorney.

Also: I have a hard time believing that this was a "series of misunderstandings" and so will most people.  She took a giant upright bass that said "property of school X" on it home.  She knew they were loaned out to everyone else but somehow thought this was a gift?  And "nobody asked her to fill out forms?"  Answer #2: And her parents never thought anything of the fact that she had a string bass and never learned how to play it? Sounds a little off.Answer #3: So, she stole that bass. She knows she stole it, and years later she saw nothing wrong with selling it knowing it was stolen. Morally she has done something society thinks is reprehensible, and cannot even say she had any sort of legitimate pressing need. As her BF, ood luck with that.

Legally, statute of limitations for theft is 1-3 years in CA, depending on value. She seems well past that mark.

With that in mind, Tell her to keep her mouth shut, and that includes talking to the police, the guy who bought it, you, or anyone else. If the cops become involved, demand a lawyer an neither confirm or deny anything.

Not a lawyer. Don't want to be hers.Answer #4: DO. NOT. TALK. TO. THE. SCHOOL.

Nothing good can come from thatAnswer #5: She shouldn't talk to anyone about it


Title: I just spoke with a lawyer specializing in on the job injuries. He told me my only options right now are be disabled for life or have a surgery which will make me impotent. I'm 33.

Question:
Tbh he was kind of a hotshot and didn't want to hear anything else I had to say so I wanted to voice my concerns here in the hopes that someone here has experience dealing with Labor & Industries (Washington State) and on the job injury.

**MY MEDICAL STATUS**
- 2 failed spinal surgeries
- currently physically disabled/not working/recieving time loss payments.
- Facing a major spinal surgery which will leave me impotent.

**OTHER FACTORS**
- I have discovered the 3rd party administrators knowingly chose not to adjust my pay after I lost my personal health insurance, when they were contractually obligated to do so.
-Same thing with my pension.
- 3rd party not offering any other options to me when the state says I may be eligible for a settlement, re-training, etc.

**MY THOUGHTS**

I am between a rock and a hard place. I don't like any options because they are permanent and life altering. I feel like I am over a barrel with nothing and no one to help me.
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer:
 You probably shouldnt listen to a lawyer about what your medical options are anymore than you should listen to a doctor about what your legal options are.Answer #2: Medical malpractice is beyond the scope of this sub.  If you don't like the advice your lawyer is offering you then I'd suggest you hire a new lawyer.

Also, don't take medical advice from your lawyer.Answer #3: You can't file a complaint to change the reality of your medical situation. What is your goal here?


Title: By dogs "attacked" another dog. The dog walker is now claiming injuries.

Question:
In PA BTW

I let my dogs in one day, and about 10 minutes later I had 2 officers knock on my door. They were looking at my gate which was busted the wrong way.

After dealing with the animal control paperwork and getting my vet certificate to them I picked up a copy of the police report. Apparently the dog received (the walker had indicated no injuries initially but later the owner's found a "bite") which was resolved in a single stitch.

Now apparently the dog walker (This may be the owner but the Animal control officer stated it was the walker) has already contacted their lawyer for damages during the incident . Apparently she was hurt enough to walk away and call a lawyer?

Now from the report no one, except for the dog walker / person who called the police, saw anything (this includes the officers as the dog walker pointed out my property). No citations were issued from anyone.

My questions:

- I probably know the answer to this one but.. should I reach out to the actual dog owner and offer (in good faith / without accepting responsibility) to pay for their vet bills.

- Should I reach out to my homeowner's now? Or should I wait until I am formally served, if ever, with papers?

Answer:
 I can't speak specifically to PA but I can give some general advice.

Paying their vet bills will effectively be admitting fault. If you're worried about a lawsuit over injuries then you may not want to do that. That said, a little bit of care and contrition can go a long way to resolving issues without any legal proceedings.

It sounds like your dog was secured (behind a fence). I imagine that counts as having taken reasonable measures to avoid in your jurisdiction. Generally speaking the burden would be on the plaintiff to show that you knew your dog had a tendency to act in such a way (jump/leave the gate, attack other dogs).

I'm not sure what you mean by homeowners. HOA? Landlord?


Title: I married a woman with 6 kids! (xpost /r/divorce)

Question:
Will try to keep this as short as possible...

Summary of me, stepdad_to_6: I am 32, from Australia, now in California USA. I met my (soon to be ex) wife in USA on vacation 4 years ago. With the help of technology we kept in touch and over time feelings developed. I visited several times, some times for up to 3 months (90 day visitor visa). I proposed. I left my family, friends, career, country. I got married. I was happy, despite the stresses and huge undertaking of an instant family.

Summary of (soon to be ex) wife, we'll call her Emma: Lived in America her whole life, now 35. Married at 18. Had 6 kids. Boy, Boy, Boy, Twin Girls (surprise), Boy (surprise). Oldest is now 14, youngest is now 5. Officially divorced 3 years ago. Ex husband is an alcoholic that makes constant poor choices (sent them bankrupt), who is still around when he wants to be.

Story: We have had troubles with communication. We just don't do it well or sometimes don't do it at all with everything else going on. She retreats and I want to talk whenever there is an issue. It's been a reoccurring problem and nothing ever gets solved.

For the last couple of months she has been very emotionally distant. She opened up to me about how unhappy she is with life. How she feels work is hard, kids are hard and our marriage was hard. I did everything I could to give her a break by doing all the household chores (laundry, meals, dishes, get kids off to school/sports/friends/bed etc). I thought this would give her space to sort things through. She went to a counsellor once and was booked in a second time but said "she didn't have time." Nothing changed. She was pushing me away.

Fast forward to last week... things were looking up... we put an offer on a house that we wanted to purchase. we went to a friends wedding (first date night in about 10 weeks) and had SO much fun (the sex after was great, too!). Things are looking good, right?

Fast forward to last Sunday night, she shut down and I couldn't handle it anymore. I got pushy and expressed my concern about our problem. She got angry and told me to leave her alone. I didn't, I pressed on saying that we need to deal with it, that we can't stop ignoring it, that she constantly pushes me away. She asked me to leave. In anger, I agreed and stayed with a friend for the night.

She called the next morning (Monday) and asked for a divorce. On the phone!? She called later that day she told the kids. Without me, while I was at work?! She called again that night and told me to come by tomorrow (Tuesday) while no one was home to collect my things. I saw my kids with their grandmother (her mom) at one of the boys baseball games and they were very upset. Asking me why I left and why I can't come back. She had told them that I moved out and I told her it wasn't working out.

The facts:

1. We share a bank account with about $2500 (opened a new one today but reluctant to withdraw from joint to not start a war)

2. I own a pickup truck (it's in her name, with 13,000 left on loan)

3. I'm in the USA on marriage based immigration. (I have a green card valid to Dec 2016)

4. I've very short term accommodation (already overstayed) and don't know anyone else who will help.

5. I work 8:30a to 5p. Hard to find time for seeking out things.

6. I know nothing about divorce in California.

7. I love my kids and they love me, too.

8. I have no family or close friends to turn to here, I've relied on her family for support previously.

9. It's not over another person, she has no time to cheat.

10. It's now Wednesday afternoon. I'm rattled and don't know what to do.

Help!

Original:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Divorce/comments/34c7co/i_married_a_woman_with_6_kids/

Answer:
 Do you have a questioin? It will be like every other divorce. But these are not your kids, legally. You have no rights over them.

Hire a divorce attorneyAnswer #2: > I'm in the USA on marriage based immigration. (I have a green card valid to Dec 2016)

The bad news is that you will probably want an immigration lawyer to handle this part if you want to stay in the US.

The good news is that you're eligible to stay in the country based on a legitimate marriage to a US citizen, even if it has ended.

The bad news is that you'll need to convince USCIS that it was in fact legitimate. Hence the lawyer.

The good news is that this is not particularly time sensitive, your green card is still valid. Take care of yourself first.

The bad news is the froyo is poisoned.Answer #3: Not legal advice, of course, but it sounds like she might be depressed. Sudden drastic changes , overworked, little thought for the kids ( telling them like that.)Answer #4: None of the children are biologically yours, correct? Have you adopted any of them?Answer #5: If she wants the divorce, she will file and serve you.  Follow the directions on the papers.  Hire a lawyer if you can.  Otherwise you will go through mediation, hopefully reach a property settlement, wait 6 months, and that will probably be that.

If you can't agree, things get far more complicated and expensive.  You're also going to want to contact an immigration lawyer if you want to stay here.


Title: [Germany] Study group wants my friend to pay for blood test

Question:
A few weeks ago I joined a study. To participate in the study you had to join via e-mail, then have a blood test done at an external lab and finally submit a urine sample. The study paid 150€ + 50€ per referral, so I joined and asked a friend, Rajid, if he wants to join.

--------

Here is a rough timeline:

Week 1: I contact the study group and ask them to add Rajid. Rajid gets the information package and is asked whether he wants to join and has the prerequisites (age, no travel outside Europe for 6 months, etc.). Rajid writes back that he has the prerequisites and wants to join.

Week 2: The study group sends out an e-mail saying that in week 3 we have to go to the lab to do the blood test. According to the mail the study group gets the bill and the participants the results, which they then have to forward to the study group. The study group asks Rajid for his personal address, saying that he may be thrown out of the study if he doesn't. Rajid misses that e-mail.

Week 3: Rajid goes to the laboratory. He says that he is there for the study, they compare his name with a list of participants. His name is on the list, so they do the test. He provides them with his ID, but doesn't sign anything.

Week 4: Rajid gets his test results. He sends it to the study group, together with his address and bank information. They send an e-mail back according to which he had been thrown out of the study and they will tell the laboratory to send the bill to him. The e-mail was also CCd to me.

Today, week 7, he has received a bill for 120€ from the laboratory.

------

Does he have any obligation to pay?

Should he contact the study group or the laboratory or just stay quiet?

Answer:
 If it's a legitimate study he would have signed an informed consent form (either in person or online) telling him what the study group is responsible for and what he's responsible for. I work in clinical trials and sometimes our subjects are billed by mistake (usually when a vendor's billing department isn't aware that they are a research subject), so it could be a mistake with billing. Though, cc'ing you on an email makes me think that they aren't following any type of GCP guidelines since you aren't your friend's caretaker or legal guardian.

I'm in the U.S. so I'm not sure if similar rules apply in Germany.Answer #2: I know nothing about German law, but can you explain any possible reason why he should not contact the study group to discuss the issue?


Title: I sued two banks in small claims because of an ATM issue I had (the ATM bank and my own bank) and received a settlement offer from each for the total asking amount. Do I take half from each?

Question:
edit - location seattle wa

So I tried to withdrawal money from an ATM and it shut down and didn't spit out any money.  I filed a dispute with my bank but they said the other bank said everything was fine.  After getting fed up with the back and forth I just filed a small claims against both banks.  After 2 weeks they reached out to offer me my asking amount in total, but it doesn't seem like either of them talked with one another.  Do I just split the amount between them?  They both want a signed settlement dissolving them of any wrongdoing.

Answer:
 You should not have filed separate cases against both banks.  If you wanted to sue both of them, you should have done it in the same case.

But too late for that.  At this point, the best thing to do is to accept the settlement offer from the bank that you think is actually responsible (probably the one that owned the ATM) and let the other know that the situation is resolved.


Title: [Maine] How to proceed when an executor of a will is being uncooperative

Question:
My fiance and I would like to be able to view the will of her deceased grandfather who we know has left her posessions yet the executor (her uncle) has failed to acknowledge and is being generally unhelpful.

Does anybody have any advice? Apparently in my state they have like 3 years to file in probate.

Answer: They probably have three years, but they might not know that. You can probably get a lawyer to send them a letter.


Title: I'm on SSDI and recently married, some months I don't pay a fixed rent, is this an issue?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Ignore the other user. They don't know what they're talking about.

If you are on SSDI, there should be no issues. SSDI benefits are based on your lifetime earnings. Any income or support you receive, as long as you are not working, does not affect your monthly benefit.

There could be an issue if you are actually on SSI, which has a resource limit ($$) and considers support from other sources. It sounds like that is not the case here because your wife's income alone would probably disqualify you for SSI.


Title: Is my bank doing anything illegal?

Question:
After reading the recent post in r/personalfinance about Wells Fargo reordering transactions to charge customers overdraft fees it made me think about some recent things I noticed with my personal bank account.

I'm back in college and my funds are super limited and recently I've seen my credit union screw me over two times with the order of transactions. For instance I had $45 in my account and went to Wendy's and spent $4 then paid a bill that (I knew it would) over drafted my account. In this case my bank posted the bill payment then posted the Wendy's transaction. Most definitely in the wrong order. In fact the Wendy's transaction didn't appear until almost a day after I made my actual purchase with the date I swiped my card listed in the transaction notes. Therefore I was hit with 2 overdraft fee's instead of 1 as expected because they got me for both the bill I paid and the food I purchased.

This has happened twice recently. I'm wondering if it's happened other times when I didn't notice? Maybe it's affecting more then just me?

Looking for advice. I could be completely wrong but am I experiencing exactly what Wells Fargo is doing with their "reordering of transactions"?

edit: Located in Florida

Answer:
 In my experience using a debit card, different merchant's charges come out of my account anywhere from one to three business days after I swipe the card, but never the same day.

On the other hand, ACH transactions like some bill payments can happen very quickly.

I'm not saying that your bank isn't reordering transactions to their advantage, but it's also possible that your bill payment arrived at your bank before your Wendy's payment did.


Title: Friend tagged me in an anti-government post on Facebook. She says the police may come see me.

Question:
I'm going to try to keep this brief, but my friend posted some anti-government stuff on Facebook and tagged me. She just sent me a message that the cops may be knocking on my door.

I never even saw the post. I barely use Facebook. I am in Canada. I only started talking to her again recently (5 weeks).

Should I go to the police and try to explain?

Answer: Your friend sounds to be full of crap.


Title: I paid for nudes from a girl on Omegle who lied about being 18.

Question:
I'm stressing the fuck out. Please help me. I'm 25 years old and a male.

Last night I got on Omegle and met some girl who wanted to take the conversation to Kik. Log on there, we start talking some more, she claims she's 18 and willing to sell me nudes for $10. Links me her Paypal. I comply, she sends the pictures.

Now this is where things get sketchy. I then contested the transaction on Paypal because I thought being a dickhead was funny. Put down, "Bought cheat codes for a game, seller never sent me cheat codes." She sees this, understandably gets pissed, then tells, "I'm actually 17 you fucking idiot. Now fix this shit before I wake up my mother and call the police." What's worse, because it was Paypal, she knows my first and last name.

I freak out, delete our entire conversation history since it contained pictures of a minor, and end up just Paypaling her $10 through the friends/family option because I can't figure out how to cancel my original contesting. She tells me she won't bother me anymore after this and stops responding to my messages.

Ten minutes later her "friend" messages me on Kik apologizing. Says not to worry, her friend has done this before and she's just fucking around. But yes, she is actually 17.

I've since deleted my Kik and deactivated my Facebook. What else should I do? I'm not a pedophile, I swear.

Answer:
 It doesn’t sound like there is anything else to do. If you’re contacted by the police (that seems unlikely) politely decline to answer their questions and get a lawyer.

Stop trying to rip people off in your deals. It’s not really funny. Also maybe stop paying for nude photos. There are dozens of people who post their nudes to reddit for free. Answer #2: You paid for nudes from someone who you don't know.  Maybe she's 18.  Maybe she's 17.  Maybe she's a 45-year-old man who sells nudes he finds online for easy money from gullible and stupid people (hint, hint).

So step 1: Block this person.  Have nothing more to do with them.  It's highly unlikely that the police are going to become involved.

Step 2:  Don't buy nudes from anyone.  You can get that shit online for free.  Paying someone for nudes is idiotic, and can open the door for additional trouble (as you've already seen).

Step 3:  Only request/trade nudes from *people you actually know* (and who are cool with sending/receiving nudes).  And I don't mean random people you met on Omegle or are chatting with on Kik and have chatted with for a while and gotten to "know";  I mean people whom you have actually met in person.  Anything else risks you being catfished.


Title: Mother won't tell my dad that I graduated college and will be moving out because she wants child support

Question:
I live in New Jersey.

I am no longer a minor and my parents are not divorced but separated. My dad is barely in my life. My mom is a narcissist and extremely crazy and she wants me to not tell my dad that I graduated college and will be moving out on my own so that my dad will continue paying child support.

I told my therapist this, who then spoke to someone in the legal field and found out that when my dad DOES find out that I am not living at home AND have graduated college, I could be charged with criminal charges and have to pay for the money she got retroactively. I don't even benefit from the child support money at ALL.

I don't want to be a part of this at ALL. My mom is completely insane and I barely correspond with my dad. I want to somehow absolve myself of any responsibility because right now I am working my butt off to get away from BOTH of my parents and their unhealthy ways.

I don't know what the best thing to do in this situation would be. If I tell my dad, shit WILL hit the fan and my entire life will become a huge catastrophe. Is there anything else I could do?

Answer:
 >found out that when my dad DOES find out that I am not living at home AND have graduated college, I could be charged with criminal charges and have to pay for the money she got retroactively.

This is whacky. You aren't a party in this. You have no responsibilities here legally. Ethically, it's probably a good idea to tell your dad so that he can start the process of clearing this up.

I'll note, though, that the specifics of whether or not he owes child support will likely depend on the support order and whether or not he's in arrears.


Title: Should I pursue sole custody of my child or is it unnecessary in Ohio?

Question:
I have an almost 4 year old son with my ex. I've known this man since we were 14, he was once my best friend growing up. I've never known him to be violent (aside from his profession as a pro MMA fighter and boxer) or impatient, until recent years.

We had our son in 2013. Since the day he was born, my ex will see him once for a day and then disappear from anywhere between 1-3 months at a time. The average time before he starts asking to see him is around 8 weeks. Of course I've tried everything to make sure they have a relationship, driving him the 45 minutes to his dads house, being flexible with our schedule, and I've been way more relaxed than I should about him disappearing for a couple months and then wanting to get him for a day. But over time he has seemed to lose touch, whether this is due to stress (this is what I'm thinking) or mental illness, I'm not sure.
In February he was arrested in front of our son for not paying child support. I went to court the next day and asked for leniency since we were finally trying to come up with a regular every other weekend schedule. He was released and then promptly disappeared from our son's life for 3 months. Since then he has gotten our son on an every other weekend schedule.

The problem: He has completely lost touch. I obviously don't trust him at all. I knew he had an older child, whom I'm close with him and his mother. He also has a child a year younger than our son and I just found out about a mystery baby that he was just proved to be the father through DNA AND the oldest son's mom is pregnant with their second child. That's 5 kids and he's losing his mind. Now he is lashing out at all his exes.

I have tried to trust him even with everything going on and the fact that our son doesn't really know him. When he went over last he said "its none of your fucking business what I do with "son" here. Don't fucking ask me what I'm doing with him or where he's at." We proceeded to get into a long argument about communication.

 He lives with his oldest son's mom. I have texts from her saying "Ex started screaming at me and saying he was going to slit my throat and watch me bleed out." I have heard him say things like this exactly. My son went over to their house and she text me saying that she was so sorry they got into a fight in front of our son, he screamed at her and called her a fat bitch and to get the fuck out of his face. The oldest child was crying and my son was holding his ears. When my son was dropped off to me, he was dirty and dehydrated and not even in a car seat. The first thing he said to me was "Daddy is a bad boy, he makes people cry." When I asked what happened he said "Daddy say get out of my face I tired of your shit." I asked if he said this to him and my son just shrugged.

SO - For now, my son will not be over there until he gets his act together and calms down considerably. I have texts of the arguments and threats and texts from his first ex of their violent fights as well. Because I live in Ohio, I'm not sure if it's worth to pursue sole custody or if I should leave well enough alone. With the behavior he's portraying, his oldest son's mom agrees, that he doesn't seem far off from being one of those parents that you hear just snaps and kills their kids. I never thought we'd be in this position, I never expected this from him. I want to protect my son from his dad. What should I do?

Edit: I should also make note that I don't actually think he'd ever take me to court for custody, but weirder things have happened. I'm not sure if I should take him first or just wait.

Answer:
 File.

Without a court order giving you primary or sole custody, if unstable dad opts to NOT return your child and takes off with him instead of taking off alone for a few months, you won't have the right to ask the police bring him back.  Right now, your ex has just as much right to keep son from you as you do from him.


Title: HELP- Idaho. 2 Misdemeanors/ 2 Felonies. CRAZY STORY

Question:
NEED LEGAL INSIGHT!

Let me share the story;

An acquaintance of mine was pulled over in St.Anthony, Idaho which is located in the "Bible Belt' so drug charges from hearsay are not taken lightly. The officer pulled the person over for a "traffic violation" according to the officer, the driver claims she was passing an 18 wheel then got pulled over. The officer approached the vehicle claiming he smelled weed, Ask them to step out the vehicle. Found less than a gram of weed and a pipe which he charged the passenger with as 2 misdemeanors. The officer proceeded to grab the passenger's docket in the backseat, found 1 pill (1MG) and a half pill (half of .5mg) total by themselves in a pill bottle which was not prescribed to anyone but were just loose pills. One pill was  Xanax and the other was Alprazolam.  The officer then charged the passenger for 2 felonies. The defendant has a clean record and is a well-standing, white collar, out of state traveling, citizen will now have to spend his Easter weekend in jail until he is released on bail early in the week. The defendant has been told he will be serving jail time for a while from the officer. He claims the pills were left by an acquaintance of his to hold and had no knowledge of them still being at the bottom of his docket. The defendant has hired a lawyer and there is only one judge in this town which is a bible ran town which does not take cases involving drugs lightly. The case has yet to be presented to the court.

Questions:

1) Do you think with the circumstances once this trial court is held, will the defendant serve jail time?

2) What do you know about drug felony court cases in Idaho or the bible belt?

3) What should the defendant do to help his chances?

4) Any Tips?
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer:
 1. Unless someone in the sub is usually acquainted with the daily goings on in the St. Anthony courthouse, nobody knows.

2. Idaho is not in the Bible Belt. Cases are negotiated the same here as anywhere else.

3. The defendant should discuss the case with his lawyer, who *does* know the daily goings on in the St. Anthony courthouse and will also know all the specifics of the case. Without that information there's not a lot we can tell you about his chances other than he needs to follow his lawyer's instructions to the letter.

4. As your said this is a first offense, he needs to ask his attorney about pre-trial diversion or negotiating with the prosecutor. Pretty much anywhere there are options for staying out of jail. It takes someone who knows the ropes locally to know how to negotiate for them.

In short: your friend needs to breathe and trust the lawyer he hired.

(Also, tell your friend "I'm holding the drugs for my friend" is an excuse that has not worked on any cop, lawyer, or judge anywhere on Earth for decades.)


Title: Judge That Won't Rule On or Respond to Motions

Question:
Hypothetically, in a civil case, what would a Plaintiff or party do if the Judge refuses to even acknowledge or rule on important motions dating back for two years in a case? Including discovery requests, etc. Would the Plaintiff ask the state appeals court to rule on them instead?

Additionally, what if it was discovered that the Judge had numerous financial connections to the opposing party in said case?

Answer:
 A person in that case should immediately hire an attorney specializing in whatever sort of case it is, with a good reputation in the jurisdiction.
One should refrain from acting as one's own attorney.  An attorney who has themselves for a client has a fool for a client.


Title: MI, USA | Can my employer ask how I spend my money, and then use that information to justify a pay cut by telling me to cut my personal spending?

Question:
I'm looking at making a lateral move in my company, but I would I would be losing a bonus equal to ~$.50/hour, in addition to taking an hourly pay cut of $.50/hour. When I attempted to negotiate to say that was unreasonable, considering the new position is identical in every way position to my current position, my HR Director demanded to know how I spend my money. I was so thrown off that I divulged that information before I thought about what was happening, which I entirely recognize was a mistake. What I want to know is, can they even ask in the first place how I'm spending my money? And can they justify cutting my pay with that information?

Yes, I know I'm an idiot for giving the information. I was a little emotionally compromised at the time due to an unrelated event, and I think the HR Director used that instability to get access to the information I wouldn't otherwise give.

Answer: Sure, just like you can justify leaving the company and getting a better paying job. I wouldn't want to do anything with this company, it sounds horrendous to work there.


Title: Apartment is charging me 11k for something I didn't do

Question:
Hey guys, Texas here.

I lived in an apartment complex and I had a roommate. Both of us are on the lease. I was away on vacation and I come back to find that my roommate drove his vehicle into the apartment gate and ruined it. They had to replace the gate, which took a month and a half. During that time, they hired a security guard to protect the place overnight.

I just got our final move-out charges and they want over 11k for everything (6k gate, 5.5k for the cost of hiring a guard). In 30 days, they said they will send it to collections. Should I hire a lawyer or am I seriously responsible here?

Some facts real quick: his insurance denied his claim, they have him on camera doing this, the apartment complex managers won't return my calls, I don't have 11k :(

Answer:
 INAL but- Get an attorney to get you separated from this. You should not be responsible for damage outside the apartment that they have proof he did. That’s ridiculous.

Texas has modified the joint and several liability laws so you are only responsible for paying for whatever portion of the damages that you are responsible for, in this case 0% so $0 responsible. And since there is proof of you not being in the car and I’m sure you have receipts for gas or junk food or at least some witnesses and pictures of being out of town at the time it happened... well this should be easy for you to get free and clear of.

If there was no proof and you were home and damage happened in the apartment with no witnesses as to who caused it then a judge could rule 50/50 liability (ie the roommate set the kitchen on fire while you were in bed asleep but he claimed it was you and there was no way to know for sure)... but honestly I highly doubt a judge would hold you liable when there is evidence showing you were 0% involved and an attorney should not have a hard time getting you out of this.Answer #2: Why was his insurance claim denied?   Do you have actual evidence of that or is that just what he told you?


Title: [North Carolina]What are my legal options for nuisance dogs?

Question:
My neighbor has two dogs that are strictly outside dogs.  These dogs constantly bark throughout the night waking me and my children as our rooms are right next to the dogs.

The dogs are in a fenced yard and have a shelter but are not confined to the shelter.  I've made several attempts to speak with my neighbor about the dogs, but states he doesn't hear the dogs barking.   Implying that I'm making it up.

I've called animal control numerous times.  They typically inform me that they'll send someone out, but nothing changes.  I can continue calling them, but that gets exhausting.  I don't know what else to do at this point.

Are there any legal options I can take against my neighbor?
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 Unless you're suffering from physical impairment due to the barking, I don't think you could sue for damages. If they're destroying your property or making you fear for your safety, you could escalate it to calling the police.

Keep pestering the city/county until they cite the owners for the nuisance noise ordinance.


Title: Friends working for state agencies are being told they are not allowed to march in any protest including but not limited to the upcoming March for Science. The friends would of course not be on the clock or acting as an agent of the state.

Question: Friends are being told directly by their HR that they are not allowed to march in protests even when they are considered off the clock. They are state employees for a science based agency. This is in NC which is an employment at will state. However, freedom of speech and expression is protected by the bill of rights, so I'm unsure where this falls. Most of them are too scared to confront their HR or seek legal help as HR is quick to purge employees if it believes they will be trouble. Do they have any legal standing to fight this?

Answer: They may be covered by the Hatch Act. They should find out if they are covered. They also could be fired absent a contract or law that protects their employment.


Title: Can I be charged with murder for supplying my mother with assisted suicide medication?

Question:
I am in Arizona.

Here is my situation. My mother is 70, and is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Just to be clear: She currently knows that she has Alzheimer's, knows who I am, and she is the one who first brought up assisted suicide. She is capable of microwaving her own dinner currently, so in my view she is competent enough to make this decision. I know however that in the legal view, she probably isn't. It's not just the Alzheimer's that's the problem. She has severe osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and lupus. She is in a lot of pain, and because of the DEA, she can't get any stronger pain meds (don't get me started on the DEA).

After doing some research, I know that she can't have any doctor prescribe the drugs. In my research I found a doctor who was urging patients with Alzheimer's to acquire the drugs off the dark net markets. So I checked, and I can get the kind of drugs usually prescribed (In the right dose) for her.

I know that of course obtaining the drugs in this fashion is illegal (don't know how illegal), but as her only child, and thus (I guess?) legal guardian, can I be charged with her murder just for acquiring the drugs for her? She hasn't been judged incompetent in any legal sense, she just has the diagnosis of Alzheimer's. I plan of course for her to do the actual administration herself, so I won't actually be putting it in her hand or anything, just buying it for her.

Either way, I plan to do this, even if it does mean I am charged with murder. I just want to know what will happen afterward so I can plan.
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer:
 > She is capable of microwaving her own dinner currently, so in my view she is competent enough to make this decision.

A five year old can use a microwave to heat up food.  I don't know that I would trust a five year old to make life or death decisions.

Obviously you could be charged with some level of homicide for this- it's a terrible idea and the doctor who is advising it deserves to lose his medical license. Answer #2: > Either way, I plan to do this, even if it does mean I am charged with murder.

Your mother would not want you to throw the rest of your life away on a murder charge/conviction to spare her any amount of pain.


Title: Can an empty prescription bottle be used to prove I was selling my prescription? (US, Mississippi)

Question:
I have been diagnosed with ADHD and am prescribed Adderall, and take it as directed by my doctor. Ive been seeing the same doctor for three years.

I recently got into a relationship with this guy who turns out to have a crazy ex-wife involved. She is technically still his wife, he has been trying to divorce her for a year, but she wont sign the papers. I've been dealing with her for quite some time, the guy and I used to work at the same place, she's gone into my work to try and get me fired by telling my boss I'm using drugs and drinking on the job. Luckily my boss knew better than to believe her because she has come into the store to scream at her husband on several occasions and doesnt seem mentally well.

She found out about us and is very angry that he is dating again. She took an empty bottle I threw away in his trash can that still had the label on it (I know now I should have removed it beforehand), and now she's threatening to tell the police and my doctor I've been selling it to him, and she's photoshopped texts between us talking explicitly about buying and selling Adderall (she made these nearly a year ago.) I do not share my prescription with ANYONE, it's a medication I need to function properly and I don't fuck around with it. Every few months she starts texting me and harassing me about it. If she hasn't done it by now, I don't think she will, but regardless, I'm scared that she might actually do it and I'll lose my medication and my psychiatrist. Not to mention be charged with distributing class 1 drugs.

Does she have any legal ground to stand on? Is the empty bottle that she has in HER possession enough to get me into trouble? I believe the bottle in question is dated from last May.

Answer:
 No. If she is as crazy as she sounds, then you should have enough witness testimony to back up your side. You also have text messages harassing you about false criminal charges which may be enough to get a restraining order so she stays out of your life.

My best advice is to keep all text messages from her and report her actions because she certainly isn't playing by the rule book.Answer #2: Your pill bottle in her possession is more legally concerning for her (illegal possession) than it is for you.  It is not proof of a crime against you. To clarify - cell phone companies typically don’t keep contents of text messages for very long - if at all. They wont have the originals. You need to report her for harassment and look into a restraining order.


Title: Will a medical POA allow me to refuse to allow certain people to see my mother?

Question:
My mom is having a pretty big surgery in January. Just in case something goes wrong, she designed me as her medical POA. She has been very specific with me that if something happens and her life is in danger and she cannot speak for herself, that she does not want her parents anywhere near her. Will this document allow me to refuse to let them see her if this were to happen? (Hopefully this remains hypothetical.) thanks.

Edit: We live in Ohio.

Answer: In the hospital? Almost certainly. She can also instruct the hospital before the surgery that she does not want her parents to be allowed in.Answer #2: Also, consider talking to your mom about a general durable power of attorney.  If things go wrong and she's unable to manage her business affairs for a while, this document would let you do things like write checks on her bank account to pay her bills.  It's also time for that always awkward conversation about where important papers like her will and a list of all her assets are located.


Title: Naked wild man defense tactic

Question:
Okay so suppose someone breaks into my house. I'm naked for whatever reason, and unarmed. I decide that the best thing I could do is to try and scare the burglar off by running at them screaming.

This, I feel would be sexual assault in most circumstances, but does the fact that I'm trying to scare off a burglar make it self defense? Or is it so obscure that you could not possibly convince a judge of that?

Answer:
 > This, I feel would be sexual assault in most circumstances…

That would not be sexual assault in most circumstances.Answer #2: It's not sexual assault, and the situation you describe is not even criminal. That's self-defense.

You are not required to wear clothes in the privacy of your home and the necessity and urgency of the situation would be enough justification to not have taken the time and risk to put on clothes.


Title: [Wisconsin] I got a referral to a behavior health center from my doc. I have previously been there and saw a psychiatrist. I didn't make any progress with him so I stopped seeing him. I got a new referral and the center refuses to let me see another psych doc from that location. Is that even legal?

Question:
Sorry if this is a bit lengthy. I tried to cut out most unnecessary bits.

So for context I am a 20 year old male. But I am covered by my parents health insurance still if that matters.

I went just over a year ago to a psychiatrist at this behavioral health center. I got there off a referral from my primary doctor. I got a call from the place and they told me I would be seeing a psychiatrist. We will call him Dr. Bad.

So I see Dr. bad and he wasn't an amazing psychiatrist and I made no progress after seeing him for 5 months so I stoped seeing him and stopped caring about my mental health in general and just tried to push through life.

It comes back and bites me in the ass and my mental health declines worse than ever so I go back to my primary care doctor asking for a new referral. And he is only allowed to make referrals to this location if I understood him correctly as they are within the same company.

The behavioral health center calls me back and ask when I would like to see Dr. bad because I was referred there again. I said I would I would not like to see him and would like to see a different psychiatrist. They said I am not aloud to see another psychiatrist in there building because I have already been "established" with Dr. bad. I than asked if I could see a new one if I got a direct referral to that psychiatrist and they said it was not possible yet again because I have been "established" with a certain psychiatrist at there center.

Is this legal? I read the reviews on google and someone else had a very similar problem and I'm wondering if this is a violation of patient rights? We are denied being seen by a different psychiatrist within the same building with no explanation except for "being established" with a certain psychiatrist.

I would like to see a certain psychiatrist at this location because of the great reviews but I am being denied service to anyone but Dr bad. Worst case scenario I go elsewhere, but i am extremely frustrated with this whole situation and wonder if anything can be done
Topic:
Medicine and Malpractice

Answer: Yes this is legal, you have no right to see a specific doctor. If the practice rules say you must see this doctor, that’s stupid, but not illegal.


Title: Who owns a trademark after a company goes out of business? (TX)

Question:
For instance if University of Phoenix collapsed and went out of business can I buy a fancy printer and thick paper and sell fake University of Phoenix degrees at lower prices without the overhead than the original diploma mill was selling them for?
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer: Trademarks die after three years of non use. You could just wait that amount of time and then go to town. On the other hand, when a business goes bankrupt, at least the final bad kind of bankrupt, its assets are auctioned off. Its name and mark are an asset. So the best way to go about this is to purchase the domain name and trademark. Then you don't have to wait and can sue anyone else with your bright idea.


Title: [Oregon] I'm 18, girlfriend is 17, legally, are we in the clear if we hook up?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Yep. Age of Consent is 18, but if the older party is less than three years older, you're ok.

http://www.ageofconsent.us/state-laws/oregon-age-of-consent-laws/

163.445 and 163.335 (3)


Title: Forgive me if this is trivial, but I'm apparently facing arrest if I don't renew registration for a vehicle in my driveway that I do not use. Details within.

Question:
  So until recently, I was a South Dakota resident supporting myself with my own full-time income. However, about two months ago, I had some sort of breakdown due to pressing anxiety and depression, without the means to afford treatment, and couldn't bring myself to work anymore. So I packed all my stuff in my car and went to stay with my parents in Minnesota until I can fix my life again.

  Anyway, the registration for the vehicle I drove has since expired, and is static in my parents' driveway. I haven't driven it since I moved back in with the folks, and don't plan to operate it until I have a reason to do so again.

  However, yesterday while my mother was outside, she was approached by a deputy of the local Sheriff's Office and informed that the vehicle must be registered within 5 days or a warrant will be put out for my arrest. I find it difficult to believe that I should face arrest for not registering a vehicle that is not being operated, and did find [at least this](https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=168.09&year=2016) pertaining to registration laws, which indicates to me that so long as I don't drive it, I should be in the clear. But I did want to seek some advice if at all possible, so perhaps any of you know what I should do in this situation?
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 According to this, Minnesota has some [strange laws](http://jalopnik.com/stupid-stupid-minnesota-law-says-cars-parked-in-a-drive-1785644847) regarding unregistered vehicles on private property.

Anyway, you probably won't be arrested but it sounds like law enforcement can make you remove the car (or at least screen it from public view) and give you tickets.Answer #2: Can you register the vehicle as non operative?


Title: Simple Hypothetical Legal Question- If not classified correctly please alert me and I'll remove:

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Law enforcement doesn't generally care about what address is on the insurance, they care about verifying that the insurance is current.


Title: My Brothers and squatting

Question:
Hello,
I live with my two brothers (19 & 21) and my best friend (25) for the past four month. The older one hasn't paid rent in 3 months and the younger one hasn't paid in 2. There is no official lease and it was just decided that we split it your ways. This week they went up to gainsville because the oldest had a court date for something, and me and my best friend finally decided we want them out. They are filthy, steal our things and bring over a plethora of friends to smoke while they don't do anything, plus according to some texts between my brothers and his friends that the younger left on my dad's phone that they are also doing cocaine here. They've been gone since Tuesday but we have no idea when they'll be back. We cleaned their rooms out (they only owned the bed and bong in there)  And packed up they're xbox and all their clothes and put it off the property in the lot of grass over. How long does someone have to be away for squatters law to void, if at all? I just can't live with them. Our neighbors are super anal and the stress that one day they'll call on my brothers and we'll all get busted I just cannot. Please respond, and thank you in advance, btw I live in Florida.

Answer: Congraduations. You illegally evicted them.Answer #2: They’re not squatters; they’re tenants.


Title: [BC, Canada] Terrible, unprofessional divorce lawyer sent me unexpectedly large bill. Best way to reduce it?

Question:
Here's a timeline of events:

1. Sometime in August 2014, I retain this lawyer. We have an initial consultation fee and I give him a $2000 retainer, which he says should cover the whole case.

2. Emails back and forth and back and forth between myself, my lawyer, ex-wife's lawyer. In November he comes back saying that the retainer has run dry and it will cost about another $3000 to complete the case. Fine, some shit came up that slightly overcomplicated things, I can understand. Give him a $3000 retainer.

3. In December 2014, we finally have a face-to-face meeting with the lawyers and both me and my ex-wife. We resolve most issues, but don't sign  papers. We decide on a number for the spousal support to be paid to my ex-wife; my lawyer advises me that it's okay to pay this (which, as it turns out, is TERRIBLE advice--more on that later). At the end of this meeting, my lawyer says that he will write a draft separation agreement and send it to OC.

Soon after I get a bill saying that about $2000 of my $3000 retainer has been used.

4. Here's where the fun begins. For the rest of December until January 22, my lawyer doesn't attempt to contact me at all. I start emailing him and calling him, and he doesn't respond until Jan 22, at which point he says that his grandmother died. As a human being, I understand so I don't press the issue.

5. No contact until end of February. I call him to basically say "yeah so about that separation agreement," he basically says "uhh oh yeah I forgot about your case." He's forgotten a lot of information from the December meeting, including key things such as us not agreeing on spousal support after 2015. And apparently his notes from the meeting are inaccurate.

6. No contact until the end of March. Again we exchange emails and he wastes my time giving me advice about being a good father and asking me to think hard about the agreement.

7. The crux of it is this; on April 20, 2015, over *4 months* after the last meeting where he says he'll start drafting the separation agreement, he finally starts drafting the agreement (by his own admission! this is on the itemized bill). He sends me a first draft and it's a shitty copy and paste job; names are wrong because they use the names from the original document for fuck's sake.

Around this time I get contacted by the CRA. Apparently, you can't claim spousal support as tax-deductible unless you have a signed separation agreement!

From here on out I start panicking because not getting my tax refund will be a significant financial hit. I call or email him almost every day because he's so incommunicative and incapable of meeting deadlines. There were several instances where he said he'd have a draft ready by Thursday, only to have Thursday/Friday pass and require me calling on Monday to do a status inquiry. Of course, I'm getting charged for all this.

8. On May 20 we meet and sign the agreement and I make it totally clear that I never want him lifting a finger for me again.

9. Yesterday, September 2, I receive an email with an itemized bill--the vast majority of charges are for emails and phone calls between myself and him, most of which are me telling him to do his goddamn job. Nearly $5000, which means $4000 more he wants me to pay to him.

Oh and during all this, I should mention that my ex-wife said that *her* lawyer also had difficulty contacting him; according to her lawyer, he was busy moving into his house with his new fiancee! As if that's a fucking excuse!

---

So my main arguments for a bill reduction are:

1) A nearly 5 month gap between saying he was going to start drafting the agreement and actually doing so. Having a 5 month gap means he forgot critical details (such as spousal support figures) which required additional time on his end for researching.

2) Most of my emails and calls were necessary due to his unresponsiveness. If he were doing a better job I wouldn't have needed to call and email so much. Since every email costs $50-100, this adds up to a significant amount of money--most of the bill, in fact.

So my questions are--

1) I'm not being totally unreasonable here, *right*? Having a lawyer take 4 months before drafting a legal document is really absurd and unprofessional, **right**?

2) Is the best approach to just kind of explain that I received terrible service and shouldn't be paying for a lot of those emails/calls? If you remove anything that's an email or call between myself and my lawyer, the total bill is $2500 which is a hell of a lot more reasonable.

If it's not possible to reduce the bill, I'm fully willing to go to the Canadian Bar Association and file a complaint. I don't want to say that as a threat but I honestly feel with such unprofessional and terrible behavior that this guy should never work as a lawyer again.

Answer:
 The Canadian Bar Association will do nothing for you. You will need to file a complaint with the [Law Society of British Columbia](http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/).

Your best option to contest his bill is probably to use the assessment process. An independent judicial official will examine his bill and hear your story and then decide how much you should pay. [You can find more information here.](http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/supreme_court/about_the_supreme_court/Legal_Profession_Act_Review_Process.aspx).

Under the circumstances it's hard to say how much you should be paying. You have not really made clear to me how much he's billed you for in total and what precisely he had to do for you. It seems like you paid him $9,000 to negotiate, and draft a settlement agreement and divorce; that's not entirely unreasonable.

You may be able to get a bill reduction due to the spousal support tax issue, though you may not. Oddly, I have seen a number of matrimonial lawyers who are not familiar with this point of tax law, though you think they would be. You could attempt to sue him for professional negligence for your damages.


Title: Apartment I lived at 5 years ago just put a collection on me for $1200 dollars (NM).

Question:
In 2013 me and my buddy moved into an apartment complex near the college I was attending. It was by far one of the worst apartment experiences I would ever have. There was roaches everywhere, the area was a crimezone, and they unfairly towed my car on several occasions. I was counting down the days until my lease ended in July of 2014.

Towards the end of the lease me and my roommate had begun to drift apart and I had expressed that I WOULD NOT live there after the lease ended and id still be open to living with him just not at this apartment complex, he never really followed up on finding a new place so I then signed a one year lease at my college's campus apartments.

He stayed living at there at the shitty apartment for another 3-4 years on a month to month basis after the originally lease ended.

I remember going into the office and giving them my 30 day notice that I was moving at the end of July 2014 but my current roommate was staying and moving his brother in my place.

I then turned in my key and gate pass and signed some piece of paper that i dont quite remember what it was and went on my way thinking I was free and clear of that place.

Now 4 years after I lived there a collection for 1200 shows up on my credit report.

What do I do legal advice?

Answer: You can ask the landlord of the apartment what the charge is for.  You can also ask the collection agency.  If you do not get any satisfactory answers, you can dispute the negative mark on your credit history (if there is any) through Equifax or the other credit reporting agencies.


Title: [GA] Taking my sexual assaulter to civil court

Question:
In April of 2016 I was sexually assaulted on my college campus. In the ensuing year long legal battle I was mocked by fellow students and was driven to a suicide attempt and a subsequent week long stay in a mental hospital. I also failed the majority of classes that semester.

In april of 2017 my assaulter pled guilty to simple battery. I was afraid the jury would not convict as both he and I are males. I spent a significant amount of money in treatment following my assault, and I would like to recoup some of that. I've been thinking about it for a bit, and I feel like my life has finally settled down enough to do this.

Is this worth going to a lawyer about or is it something I'll get laughed out of the office for?

Answer: Yes, it is worth speaking with a lawyer. You certainly won't get laughed out of the office.


Title: Arizona. I’m on call next weekend and I have to stay close by, and sober...does that seem fair? That’s my personal time.

Question: I live in Arizona and I’m payed hourly.

Answer:
 Are you being paid to be on call?

SO is in the medical field and has had some on call in the past. Her hourly rate for hanging out at home was higher than my part time retail job.


Title: CA my car was totaled by a motorcycle while I was stopped in traffic. His insurance paid now I got letter

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You haven't been sued yet, but it seems like distinct possibility.  You should call your insurance company.  If you are sued, they'll hire a lawyer to defend you.

This is not an uncommon tactic when there are catastrophic injuries, which seems to be the case here.  I can't imagine that the motorcyclist walked away from this under his own power.  He's definitely got an uphill battle, but if he's facing the prospect of medical bankruptcy and found a lawyer willing to try, you might find yourself in court over this.  Likely he'd only be after your insurance limits and want to settle out of court.  But that's a lot of guesswork.Answer #2: FYI as a former adjuster, it was never a good thing to reveal limits to opposing lawyers, and to only do it if we had to because almost always the lawyer would immediately ask for policy limits in compensation, and that would be his starting point in negotiations.

Lawyers who knew limits were able to get higher payouts than lawyers who didn't.


Title: Landlord (mother) kicking me out for yelling at her after she wrecked our truck.

Question:
I'm a 25 year old male in NC who lives with his mother. I pay $100 every other week for rent (a verbal contract we came up with `2 years ago because I started working again and she needed money).

On Friday (1/12/18) she wanted to stack all the vehicles in the driveway to make getting out easier after it snowed. The short version is that the Chevy truck that is ours (both my name and her name is on the title) got stuck. She tried to pull it out with her Ford truck (only her name on the title) and pulled it into the neighbors ditch and into their mailbox causing gouges in the paint and multiple small dents. When that happened I lost my temper (worse than ever because I know she won't pay for it, I'll have to) and yelled some very mean things at her.

During the yelling she told me I had a week to get out. Tonight she asked me if I had been looking for places to live which I haven't because her threats are usually hollow. This time is probably no exception but I still want to be prepared.

I have 3 questions.

1. Can she evict me for this?
2. Is she required to give me a written eviction notice and if so how much time do I have?
3. The title for the truck she damaged (which I predominantly drive) has both our names on the title, I also pay the insurance on both vehicles. Could I remove her name from the title so that I can take the truck with me when I leave? It's dirty, I know, but I need a means of transportation and it's hard to have remorse for a person as toxic as her.

Answer: In NC, a week-to-week tenant is entitled to two days' notice and a month-to-month tenant gets seven days. I'm not sure which one you would be, but regardless, you should plan on moving. You cannot remove your mother's name from the truck title, which is a good thing, because she also cannot remove yours.


Title: Hostile Roommate

Question:
A couple of weeks ago my roommate took my bed out of the house and put it in the garage (My guest bed which was being kept in the dining room.) I have guests coming over next week so I told her I would be bringing it back in. She grew belligerent and began cussing me out. She threatened that if I brought it back in the house she would get it out of the house and it wouldn't be in the garage it would be gone. My name and her name are both on the lease. I told her I would press charges on her for stealing if she did that and she said fine. She also leaves the door unlocked every time she leaves the house and I'm still inside.

Since she has already told me she intends to steal it, if it goes missing will that be enough proof? I also told her if my bed leaves the house her dogs will leave the house (I worded it this way bc I have no intention of stealing her dogs, so I could just be saying the backyard, though I said it in a vague way as a way to dissuade her from considering actually stealing my bed).

Should I contact my landlord? I don't really think I need to since he already thinks my roommate's delusional. My roommate started threatening months ago and last night that she would tell him I was running a photography business from home which is against our lease, but he knows I have contracts proving none of my paid shoots happen at the house. However, should he know ahead of time that she made threats to steal my stuff, or that she leaves the door unlocked when she leaves the house?

Answer:
 Why do you keep your guest bed in the dining room? Is it possible that your roommate is pissed that you have left a mattress hanging out in the common area? Is it possible for you keep your guest bed in your room? If there was a random mattress hanging out in my common area (without a, "hey would you mind if I left this here.") I would probably react the same way. Maybe look into getting a fold out couch, futon, or murphy bed?Answer #2: This is not your landlord's problem. Leaving the door unlocked with you inside isn't against the law and probably isn't against the lease. People do it all the time.

If she steals your bed, call the police.  You can tell them what she said and what has happened. Moving it to the garage really doesn't fall into the stealing category since you know where it is and have access to it.

Do not retaliate against her or her dogs unless you also want to be in legal trouble.


Title: Splinter in sandwich

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You deserve a refund on the sandwich. That's it. Civil law typically doesn't take "what might have happened" into account.


Title: Parents are kicking me out, and keeping my car too.

Question:
So I'm 23 years old. My parents are going to kick me out in the next day or 2, and keep the car that I've been driving for almost 2 years. I paid $3000 for the car, bought it from my mother and it is still in her name unfortunately. However I paid for it and was the sole driver. Though there's no proof I paid, as in no written agreement or anything.

I would just drive the car away to my new place and keep it there, except for the fact that it needs a new battery or starter and has been undriveable for the past week. So I'm stuck... and in a kind of shitty place.

Is it legal for them to keep the car indefinitely when I bought it from them??

I live in Florida

Answer:
 Did they give you notice to move of longer than a few days? They can't just do that, even if you're not paying rent you're still a tenant. If you have somewhere to go then don't worry about fighting that.

Without proof that you paid for the car and the fact the title is in their name, it's legally their car and it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to prove in small claims that it's your car. Do you have anything in all in writing from them saying it was meant to be your car? Why did the title never get transferred?Answer #2: Legally it is their car should of transferrd the title. Unless you can prove you bought it your up shit creek.


Title: (FL) Terrible attorney

Question:
I was the victim of a burglary a few months ago. I have the standard state attorney that is prosecuting the suspect and who has prosecuted him in the past.

My problem is this, the suspect is being charged as a misdemeanor rather then a felony when it is a felony case, the attorney also has not read the file because the suspect is a convicted felon with a long history and gave my family and I death threats which is in the police report and the attorney knew nothing about it and so he bonded out that day. This felon also has past charges of possession of a firearm as well as his mother whom he lives with and just recently was arrested on those exact charges. This attorney is not doing their job. I would like to know if it is possible to even get a new attorney in this case, if I can get the charges fixed at this point (as far as I know he is presentenced on the report and I am not sure what that truly means). The attorney also does not answer or return calls.

Also related, what exactly is a competency hearing? I was told the suspect was incompetent to stand trial and released in "hope" He would seek treatment. In which during that time he broke into my home.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 The attorney is not your attorney. He represents the state, and he has no duty to you, nor are you in a position to have him replaced.

If the suspect is incompetent to stand trial, it essentially means that he is cookoo pants and doesn't understand enough to be tried for the crime. He will get mental health treatment instead.


Title: [North Carolina] Ex refusing to honor visitation agreement

Question:
I kept out some details but the summary is below:

I live in Kansas City, MO and my ex-wife and children live in Cherokee County, NC.  I have been divorced since June of last year and have three kids, ages 11, 14, and 17.  The divorce decree states that I have visitation one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer.  Earlier this year I moved from Knoxville, TN to Kansas City, MO for a job opportunity that has taken off and is going great.  When I moved my ex-wife agreed that since it was so far away she would let me fly the kids out to see me during the Summer and on long breaks.

Since being divorced she has made it increasingly difficult for me to see the kids and telling them one lie after another to make them not want to come see me.  My 17 year old has not spoken to me in over 8 months and now the other two refuse to speak to or see me.  When school let out for Summer I texted my ex about dates for plane tickets and after a week of no response she informed me the kids don’t want to come and she will not make them.  She has a repeated habit of taking away their phones and tablets so they can’t talk to me then telling them I don’t care about them because I never try to talk to them.

I am re-married and have daily witnesses to what goes on and the trouble I have with her. I have witnesses to support how good I am with my kids and how much I try to contact them.  I pay my child support on time, maintain health insurance on them, and do everything I can to support them.  Now I’m living in Missouri and can’t find an attorney in NC who will take the case because of the distance involved.  What can I possibly do to ensure the safety and welfare of my kids and get my ex to honor the visitation agreement and stop poisoning my kids against me?

I have read on the circumstances and done some research and I know it is contempt for her to not honor the visitation agreement and it’s illegal for her to coerce and manipulate them against me.  I also know she has a legal responsibility to include me in decisions regarding the kids and keep me informed about their health, welfare, and schooling.  She does not talk to me about them at all and refuses any communication unless it’s about child support.

I don’t know what to do at this point.  How do I fight a legal battle from halfway across the country?  Where do I find an attorney who’s willing to take this case and not charge me a fortune?  I make decent money but am still in a lot of debt from the divorce.

Answer:
 NAL

You either keep contacting attorneys until you find one willing to take your case, or you [file pro Se](http://www.courtwatchnc.org/GeneralinfoProSeNewAction-Revised6-12.pdf) (without legal representation) for cause/contempt.

Either way you will have to resign yourself to traveling to NC when needed for court appearances.


Title: (NJ) Can I use my parent's info (name, SSN, etc.) to get a job online?

Question:
I'm 17 years old and I want to make money online, and I found a website I'd like to try, Amazon MTurk. But you need to be 18 to work for them, and they check your SSN to see your age. Would it be illegal for me to register and work using my dad's info?

The money would go to him, he would pay income tax on it, and he would give it to me after tax.

Answer: Yeah, that's tax fraud. Go find a job willing to hire a 17 year old.


Title: Update: Landlord Charging $100 to Mow Lawn

Question:
I know this didn't get a whole lot of attention, but I figured I would post an update anyway in case anyone is interested. [Here](http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/37sdk6/landlord_charging_100_to_mow_lawn/) is the previous post, quoted below.

> I am a student that lives in Golden, CO with 4 other students. Our landlord is a management company that owns many of the houses for rent in the area. According to our lease, we are responsible for yard maintenance, in case it's needed, I pasted the relevant section of our lease below. About 2 weeks ago, an email was sent to all tenants of all houses owned by the management company reminding us of this, and stating that yards should be mowed often enough to keep the grass length under 3", and if they got too tall they would hire a lawn maintenance company and pass the cost onto us. Without going into detail, this did not happen, and our grass got significantly higher than 3". Today, my roommates and I received an email saying that they had to hire a handyman to mow the yard, and to include an additional $100 with next month's rent to pay for it. While I understand that we did not uphold the lease, $100 is significantly more than it would cost to hire someone to mow our lawn (lawn is generous, it is a strip of grass between our gravel driveway and house, probably 5 feet by 20 feet). Do we have a right to some sort of evidence that they actually paid someone $100 to Mow our lawn? I know this probably isn't relevant, but they did not provide us with any lawn maintenance equipment (lawn mower, weed eater), so if we were to mow it we would have to purchase them ourselves.
As promised, here is the relevant text from our lease. " Agent in its sole and absolute discretion may determine the appearance of the exterior of the building or anything visible from the exterior of the building. Resident is responsible for keeping all trash picked up around respective Premises, snow removal and all yard/grounds maintenance and shall reimburse Agent if services are performed by Agent.“
Thanks in advance for any help!

I sent my landlord an email asking them to confirm that they did actually pay someone $100 to mow our lawn, and they came back with the following cost breakdown:

$35 - Mowing Fee

$45 - Landlord Fee for Property Inspection and Set Up to Coordinate Person to Mow the Property

$20 - Admin Fee to Send Lawn Reminders, Bill tenant for Mowing Fees, and Record invoice in Accounting System

Though I will likely just pay the $100 to avoid any potential trips to court, any advice on what to do from here is appreciated as the "landlord fee" and "administrative fee" seem unreasonably high.

Answer:
 This is an interesting one.  On the one hand, the lease states 'Resident ... shall reimburse Agent', and there's no mention of paying an Admin fee.  Is there another portion of the Lease that references this kind of thing?

Then, there's the part that says, 'Agent in its sole and absolute discretion may determine the appearance of the exterior of the builidng...'  That tells me they already incur that expense on a regular basis, that is, inspecting the property.  I don't see why you should have to pay for an inspection.  But, again, should you pay for them to arrange for the service?  The other part of the lease does say 'reimburse'.

Finally, if you haven't heard back from someone with an actual legal perspective, then I'd say just suck it up, and arrange to pay the handyman directly, and save $65.  That 3" rule isn't the Agent being a jerk; there are municipal laws that likely come into play.Answer #2: I remember your initial post. I did believe that you were properly on the hook for the mowing costs.

Although this cost breakdown is horseshit.  They billed you $20 to send you a bill??


Title: My Neighbors Run a Craft Fair

Question: Okay, I want to know if what my neighbors are doing is legal or not because they do it every year and it’s extremely annoying for us. Every year on the weekends leading up to Christmas, my neighbors put out signs all over the city saying that they’re having a craft fair at their house and they let in strangers to buy from a store they have in their house. This leads to cars being parked on the street all the way down and I’m a new driver so it’s super annoying because I’m afraid I’ll hit one of them getting out of my own driveway. We live in Wisconsin. Are there any laws against what they’re doing?

Answer: They may need a business permit from the city. Call up the city and ask. They may be able to direct you to the proper office.Answer #2: code enforcement would be very happy to hear they are running an illegal business out of their home..


Title: Accountant hasn't filed 2015 taxes

Question:
I'm not sure if this is the right sub, however we're more interested in the legal side of this than the financial.

We live in Iowa.  My SO had an LLC with a partner.  They send both their personal and business taxes to an accountant.  We have just found out that, despite being told otherwise, he has not yet filed the 2015, yes I said 2015, taxes.  Initially he said he had.  Then he said he had a question for my SO but got it figured out and then filed them.  Then he told us he lost a W2 and finally last night it culminated in him telling us his hard drive crashed and he lost all of my SOs items.  None of this makes sense.

Do we have any legal standing here?  We're currently trying to gather up all of the documents and go to an actual qualified and professional accountant, however we're more than steaming mad about this.  I don't know if anything could be pursued, but hope someone here has input.

Thanks in advance for any possible help you may give.

Answer: Is this accountant licensed? At minimum he owes her whatever amount of money she paid for him to do the work. She still needs to file her taxes for 2015 and might owe some penalties to the IRS, which the accountant should also be liable for.