Title: Please help: my girlfriend has $18k in credit card debt in her name, and her parents are responsible for all of it.

Question:
So here goes: my girlfriend was very financially naive up until we started dating. It turns out that back in the day, her parents went with her to the bank to cosign with her on a credit card. Then another. And another. They told her not to worry about it since they'd pay it all off and it would "build her credit". Fast forward to now (2 1/2 years later), and we're both discovering how big of a problem it really is.

According to credit karma, they never cosigned on any of the cards. They all say "responsibility:individual", and they're all in her name only. They did this because their credit was so bad that they couldn't get any more cards. My girlfriend's credit score is 578, and while she has perfect payment history, she's utilizing 58% of her credit line spread over 15 cards. All of the debt is on things her parents have bought. My girlfriend doesn't even have 13 of the cards. Her mom told her to leave them with them. 10 or so are maxed out. They make the minimum monthly payment each month, but her credit score is shot and they'll never pay the debt completely off.

To make matters worse, we're both students. I have no debt whatsoever, but she has an additional $22k in student loan debt. It'll be closer to $40k by the time she graduates. They also have refused for years to even let her know how much debt she has, credit card or student loans. Only two weeks ago did we get access to the site where it shows all student loan debt in her name. Again, she was very naive, and they've kept her in the dark her whole life. They're incredibly controlling.

I spoke with a friend who worked in a bank for a few years. She mentioned something called "adult financial abuse", something like that. Is that a real thing, and if so, would it apply here? I googled it, but it only came up with examples of adults abusing their elderly parents.

So a few questions:
Is there any way to legally transfer that debt to her parents? Maybe debt consolidation or refinancing in their name?
Is there a way to do all of that without a lawsuit?
Since she was 18 when she signed all of the forms, is she screwed, or could this classify as adult financial abuse?
I don't know if they've applied for any cards in her name without her consent, but if so, does that change things?
Any other advice?

Her parents live in California, and that's where all of the cards were applied for. She goes to school in Idaho.

Thank you all so, so much in advance.
Topic:
Credit Debt Bankruptcy

Answer:
 She needs to close or remove her name from all accounts, if possible.

If she signed for the cards, she's responsible for those charges, even if her parents said they'd pay it back and didn't.

That's the risk you take when you cosign on credit cards, and now your girlfriend has learned an important lesson.

There is such a thing as adult abuse, but that is when you're taking advantage of senior citizens.

If they did apply for cards without her consent, she needs to file a police report about stolen identity.

She can run a credit report and find all her open lines of credit, and contact each one of them about closing the account (or at least freezing it so no new charges can be made).Answer #2: Obligatory IANAL

/r/personalfinance has a lot of similar questions like this and advice on helping your girlfriend recover from this situation.

A credit freeze with PIN is in order post-haste so that they can't open more without your girlfriend's consent, and possibly speaking to a lawyer and/or the police regarding criminal charges against her parents if they opened up cards fraudulently.

Again, /r/personalfinance will have a lot more advice on this matter.


Title: [TX] Disability advocates for HOA

Question: I am trying to figure out disability rights in regards to my HOA. I’m in a wheelchair, veteran, and limited in what I can do. My HOA loves sending vague letters about things: “dirty bricks”, “mow lawn”. All tasks I really cannot do. But they don’t listen to my concerns, or seem to care. Would this fall under reasonable accommodations? Usually my parents can come help with some things, but not all the time. They’re lack of empathy is tiring, and I don’t want to send a disability lawyer after them to get them to back off, but I feel like I’m running out of options. I do address their concerns, if just takes longer than I think they’re happy with.

Answer: You still need to follow your HOA's bylaws. Allowing you to not follow the bylaws if not considered a reasonable accommodation, especially when you knew the bylaws when you purchased your home. Hire someone to keep your yard in compliance.


Title: I'm a Chinese citizen living in the US. I have a Green Card. Is a necessary for me to have a Chinese passport?

Question:
My Chinese passport expires at the end of this month but I've been a Green Card holder for 14+ years. I'm thinking about just letting my passport expire and applying for naturalization. Can I do that, or do I need a Chinese passport at all times, since I'm a Chinese citizen living in the United States?

FWIW, I'm not planning on going back to China or taking any other international trips in the next year or two.

**EDIT:** Thanks for your answers, everyone! Since my application for naturalization is being submitted later this week, I think I will just let my passport expire, since there is no legal need for me to renew it.

Answer:
 IMO you should have a valid passport for practical reasons, if nothing else.  What if there's an emergency and you need to go home?  Answer #2: without a passport any international travel will be very difficult.  Is it expensive to renew a Chinese passport? I couldn't find renewal fees but other fees seemed to all be under 200 bucks.

even if you have no reason now that you plan to travel overseas, allowing that to become impossible seems unwise.


Title: (NYC) Landlord wants to Renovate, gave me three options. What are my rights?

Question:
My landlord sent everyone in our complex a letter stating that they are performing renovations in June and we have three options to choose from: Relocate temporarily into a building they own (same rent), Relocate permanently as long as I'm approved for the apartment  (rent is market value), or break the lease.

Background: My lease says that my apartment is rent stabilized. It does not state that I have to vacate for any renovations. My two-year lease expires on July 31, 2016. I pay $929 for a two bedroom apartment in Inwood.

The notice states that I have the right to come back to the apartment, "it's your choice," but it doesn't mention if the new apartment will come with any increases.

I'm worried that I'll have to relocate to a place farther away from my job, and end up having to move again if the rent is too high.

Can I simply ask them to buy me out? What are my rights?

Thank you!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Oldest trick in the book. if you move out, your regulated lease is _gone_ (effectively, not legally) and you will **never** get back in.

LL does not have to renovate. He does not have to replace the staircase. he does not have to tear down the building because it's unsafe.

all he has to do is follow the rent regulation rules. which state that you get your lease, with minor increases over time, for the rest of your life.

if you'll consider a buyout, you can negotiate one. Answer #2: Since people are indicating that your landlord may being a bit of a shifty fellow, just a reminder to document everything, save all correspondences, and any deal you make get it in writing.


Title: DUI of .07 [Virginia]

Question:
I was charged with a DUI in Virginia in late July. I admitted to having three beers and was given a field sobriety test. The officer asked me if I  wanted a field breath test, I agreed. I blew a .10 at the stop. About ten minutes later in the car he offered to give me another breath test and I blew a .09. At the station, a good thirty minutes later, I blew a .07. I was still charged with a DUI, despite me not driving intoxicated (I got pulled over for a license plate light). I've obtained a lawyer and am set to meet with him next Tuesday (the 7th) before my court appearance (the 15th).

I took multiple consultations and all of them sounded very interested. I went with a decently priced attorney with a solid track record. However he seems to be a tad distracted with his other clients. I asked for a meeting this week and was put off for an extra five days. I'm not only worried about my conviction now, but his preparedness for the upcoming trial.

In your opinion, what's the likelihood of me getting convicted? The law states an official BAC of .08 and my official number is .07. I was very cooperative and have a minimal criminal history (possession of marijuana dropped after completion of first offenders program about four years ago).

Should I start preparing for a DUI conviction?

Answer: As far as I know, 0.08 is "legally" DUI, but it's absolutely possible to be convicted of DUI for readings under 0.08 as well.


Title: My young son got a speeding ticket in Arkansas and then failed to appear. I could use some help please!

Question:
Specifically Little Flock, AR which might as well be Bentonville. First things first, the failure to appear. He has open court on the 24th of this month. I would like to get that dropped for him. What is the best method there. The truth seems best but I am open to suggestions. He wrote the wrong date in his calendar and missed the actual date. In the interim he lost his job and his mom moved two states away. He freaked out and didn't do anything. (He's 18) Explains it all right? I was thinking go early to court and try to talk to the prosecutor, tell him the story and hope for the best. Any other suggestions?
Second question. He was going 40 in a 25 and the officer wrote him for "more that 15 miles over the speed limit". Do that math! If we plead not guilty to "more than 15 miles over" does the officer just write a new ticket or does the judge dismiss it or what?Any and all advice would be appreciated. I am just a dad trying to help his kid and maybe save him some money.

Answer: Okay nope this is not good handling of the situation. Take a good long look at that ticket. What boxes are checked on it? Because going over 15 MPH over in AR is considered reckless driving and a serious offense. He's looking at jail time so your little plan of "Just explain a little whoopsy" Is very, very, very ill informed. He dodged a criminal proceeding. He doesn't need to talk to the DA, right now he needs an attorney. He is facing a $500 fine, between 5 and 90 days in jail (your lawyer might be able to get this closer to 5), and having his license suspended in full for a year. His consequences might be greater for having missed that date then not done anything. It's not looking fabulous for him right now.Answer #2: That is a terrible excuse. Your son doesn't have an open warrant for his arrest? Have you confirmed this?


Title: Signed contract with wedding photographer over two months ago, but she hasn't sent the invoice yet, not responding (AR)

Question:
Hi, everyone.

In June I emailed a photographer I went to high school with about shooting my wedding reception in Arkansas in November.  She took about a week to respond to the inquiry email, but since June is peak wedding season I wasn't too concerned.  She gave me her rates (we are paying just like any other client, no special treatment), but it took a couple more weeks for us to finally get a contract signed (July 1).  She told me she'd send the invoice for the retainer fee as soon as I signed the contract.

Two weeks later (July 15) I still hadn't received the invoice.  I emailed her again asking for the invoice, saying that I understood that she was probably busy but I still needed the invoice.

Fast forward to this week (September 11), still no invoice and no response.  I emailed her yesterday asking her to send the invoice ASAP, but so far I haven't received a response.  Her personal Facebook profile isn't private, and I see that she's been online recently.  I don't know if she's avoiding me or what.

At this point I'm considering hiring another photographer.  What I want to know is if I'm still obligated to pay her $500 retainer fee even if she never contacted me with the invoice.  I don't know her physical address or even her phone number, just her email address and Facebook profile.  There's nothing in the contract specifying how responsive she has to be, so I don't know if this constitutes a breach of contract.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 There is a way to send a message to a facebook user your not friends with an have it go straight to their inbox for $1, I would do that as a last ditch effort.

After the lack of response from this person, are you sure you would want them to take photos of your wedding?


Title: Landlord is basing his reference of me off my roomate’s actions

Question: I’ve lived in the same Washington residence for 3 years. My ex, his brother and I are all on the original lease. My ex and I broke up and he moved out, and landlord kept saying he would write a new lease but “never got around to it” About a year ago, when my ex was still here, our hot water tank blew a leak and I went into the closet where it’s kept, and my roommate had piled his excess trash and it was literally stuffed to the point you couldn’t open the door. All the way to the ceiling. I guess I had just slowly grew accustomed to the smell because I had no idea this was happening. Since the water tank was leaking I had no choice but to call the landlord right away and have him see the mess before I could fix it. He gave me 2 weeks to fix it or be evicted. I told him I had no idea this was happening, that it was my roommate, but I would make sure it was taken care of. We managed to get it all out and cleaned, with me doing the majority of the work. Since then I’ve been taking his extra trash to the dump but he wouldn’t  pay me. I did it to avoid eviction. After my ex left I didn’t have any other options for housing. Everything is going ok for a while until one day I come home and roommate has brought a cat into the house. He never asked, just brought it home. I called him out and he said it “wasn’t an issue and would be fine” I called the landlord to ask him if a cat was ok, roomie wants one, and he said it was fine. Fast forward and the cat is now grown and spraying everything. I told roommate to get his cat fixed and he agreed but never did. His cat ruined the carpet in his room and the entire house smells of cat piss. We are now being evicted because of this and I was extremely lucky to find a place that nobody had applied for yet when this area has a HORRIBLE housing market. Everything was going amazing until they called my LL and he told them about the trash and cat piss as if it were my doing and also said that I smoke, but I do not, my roommate does. I was very clear with my LL that the issue had all been my roommates doing. I was always the one working with my landlord to fix the issues. Is there anything I can do? This is my housing reference for the past 3 years, I can’t just skip it on applications.

Answer:
 > I told him I had no idea this was happening, that it was my roommate, but I would make sure it was taken care of. His cat ruined the carpet in his room and the entire house smells of cat piss.

Generally speaking, everyone on the lease is jointly responsible for everything having to do with the lease, including rent and the upkeep of the residence. On a joint lease, the landlord couldn't just evict your roommate and not you, even if he wanted to.


Title: Our landlord lied and told us that we didn't have a basement, it even says so in our contract. Now, (a year later), we are moving out and we found out we had one all along, anything we can do legally?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 How did it take you a year to figure this out...?

EDIT: Misread, you have no claim.


Title: Took candy from a teacher’s desk while working in their classroom and feel terrible and terified

Question:
I’ve been having a very difficult time with my eating lately and was working on some stuff in a teacher’s classroom after school, and ended up seeing if there was any candy in their desk and, when I found some, eating a few pieces. This was literally the most immoral and dumbest thing I’ve ever done, and I’ve been so anxious and sick thinking about it that my work actually is suffering.  I feel awful because I am in a trusted position and have always been a very trustworthy person, and I feel like I changed that forever, especially given the context of working in a school.

My main question here is whether or not this rises to the level of an actual crime, or if it’s more something that would be detrimental to a reputation (and something that I’ll have to deal with internally).  It definitely makes me sad that it could mean I wouldn’t be able to do jobs in education, and even at the specific school district. Would this be something that, legally speaking, would need to be taken up by the individual teacher? I read somewhere that theft of any property from a building, even if personal, escalates the crime as well, and I have no idea how accurate that is.

I think I’m just trying to determine how bad this actually is versus how bad I think it is!

Answer:
 I'm very sorry you crossed your morals and feel so bad about this.
 If I may ask, how old are you approximately?  Many people wouldn't think much of "borrowing" some candy like this.

Petty theft is a misdemeanor.  MN theft valued less than $500 is punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and up to 90 days in jail.

It would be foolish for you to confess to this and ruin your career.  Please don't do that.  I suggest that, instead, you discuss this with a counselor or minister.  Perhaps do something symbolic to atone for your action.  But please don't let this eat you up so much.  You're obviously a good person who made a single, very small mistake.

Really, you didn't hurt anyone here but yourself.


Title: I (accidentally) received 4 NFL Season Tickets. Right name, Right Address, Wrong Package?

Question:
Last night, I opened a package. It had my name and address, but I'm under the assumption that what was delivered is not for me (unless I have an anonymous person gifting me this). The package contained 4 season tickets to a NFL Team.

A few Questions:

1. Who should I contact to confirm if package is meant for me. It has my name on the box, but I did not order 4 season tickets.

2. If I was to keep it, and it ends up not being mine, is there any legal risk?

3. What would you do in this situation? Keep them, return them, etc.?

**Edit: I did some more sleuthing. There's a sticker on top of the package with my name and address. Under that sticker, there's another stick with the name and address of someone else (Similar Name. I.e. Johns vs Johnson).**

4. Should I contact: (1) The NFL Team, (2) UPS, (3) Person on sticker beneath mine?

Answer:
 Ticket office of the team would be who you contact.  When whoever ordered the tickets doesn't get them, they probably call up the ticket office, get new tickets issued, and you end up standing there at the gate discovering your barcodes don't scan.

e: Per your edit, if it looks like UPS just goofed up with some kind address correction, you can contact UPS.  Probably via the email form on their website, their phone system sucks.


Title: Should I snitch (pa)

Question:
Obviously a throwaway. I need advice on accepting the consequences of my actions and going to jail or being an informant for no jail (or less) and probation...
I'm currently out on bail for a retail theft charge. I just got caught again and was offered to be a informant for a reduction in whatever I would be facing. Of course I want this to be as easy as possible and don't want to go back to jail-especially since I'm a heroin addict.
I was offered the opportunity to be an informant, and those I would be helping them catch are people I know well and have known all my life.
I'm not sure if my questioning this is mainly the fear of being found out (they told me my name would stay out of it all), or knowing that since this is a crime I did I should just take what's coming to me.
Please help me make this decision. I have until Monday to decide since I was asked to meet up at the DA's office to start the ball rolling.
Thank you all ahead of time for feedback/opinions given.

Answer:
 Working as an informant can have great benefits, and it has high potential costs.

You should get an attorney, and have him review the potential deal with you.


Title: Speeding ticket advice

Question:
I got a speeding ticket this morning. I was going 73 in a 55. I was passing a car at the time in the left lane. Everyone on this stretch of road averages about 65, so to pass this car, the speed I was going was not ridiculous or dangerous.

After the cop let me go, I passed four other cars that were pulled over within a mile stretch, so it was obviously a speed trap the police had arranged.

I've never gotten a speeding ticket, or any ticket for that matter. The cop said that I will receive the citation in the mail and it will explain everything. He said its just a fine, as opposed to points against my license and report to insurance. He didn't say how much the fine is, I assume that will be in the thing I get in the mail.

 I plan to contest the ticket, but I want to know if there are any negative things that could come out of me pleading innocent to a ticket. For example, would they have it switched from just the fine to something that puts points against my license?

Answer:
 > I plan to contest the ticket

On what grounds?


Title: Dealership kept all of my aftermarket parts I wanted

Question: I bought a Jeep from a dealership.  They sent me pics and it had a lot of the mods done already that I wanted on it. I told them I’d take it, bought it, but they pulled the aftermarket stuff off without telling me.  The aftermarket parts are around $800.   I’ve contacted them and they said they said they’d look into it but haven’t heard anything back.   What are my options?  I feel a little hosed and that was one of the reasons I went with this Jeep.   This was purchased in ks

Answer: Did you already sign the paper work to buy it? If not, then tell them you are now offering them $800 less than what you first agreed on. If you did, well then politely tell them to please put the aftermarket parts back on as shown in the photos THEY sent on which you based your offer and agreement to buy the Jeep. If they refuse and also refuse to let you back out of the deal, then you can basically remind them that the photos are part of the written contract which you will be using in small claims court to recover your money.


Title: Drugs prescribed to me incorrectly and has resulted in charges.

Question:
State: Colorado
County: Douglas

Backstory: I am diagnosed Bipolar 1 and function incredibly well on my lithium. Last wednesday (4/1) I had my third grand mal siezure and was prescribed Keppra (see side effects [here](http://www.drugs.com/sfx/keppra-side-effects.html)) this was prescribed by an ER doctor and a drug that should NOT be used for those with mood disorders.

On 4/2 I was hospitalized with unpredictable behavior (aggression, "Manic talk", anger, suicidal, ran from officers, etc...) and was given Ativan (5mg) to stop the talking. I was out of it and cleared for release despite the indisputable effects of the Keppra side effects and that i had verbally refused treatment until my parents arrives (Med power of attorney/HIPA signed.)

4/3 - Side effects continue, i get incredibly violent in my household, attack family members, run through a window, break phones, etc... (I have no memory of this account) and next thing I know I'm awake in county jail on Sunday 4/5 with no memory.

Questions:

1) Would it seem that the hospital that on day one (Prescribing Keppra) and day 2 (holding when I was obviously not clear for mental release) be in any trouble for this situation as if they had done their proper hold, the legal issues on friday would not have occured at home. Should legal action be taken? (Hospital 1/2/3-after arrest) are all the same company and completely missed what was going on and caused some serious issues.

2) What are the chances that the judge/DA would agree to drop charges due to the proof that the Keppra was behind what is called the "Keppra Rage." I am out on PR bond. How should I proceed?

Answer:
 1. For the drug, you aren't a doctor, so it depends on why you believe that the drug was inappropriate. Did a medical professional tell you that, or did you just read it on the Internet? For the release, it sounds like you were in a pretty bad state of mind, so you really don't know whether you appeared clear for release. (This is true even if you *remember* being obviously not clear for release; memories aren't always accurate.)

2. You would probably need a doctor's opinion that there is a thing called "Keppra Rage" and that you had it.

Your next step is talking to a lawyer about your defense. That lawyer will help you figure out what kind of documentation you should get to show that this drug mitigates the severity of your crimes.


Title: Boyfriend believes that I stole his debit card.

Question:
I am from Illinois and I am a minor, and my boyfriend is an adult. We are both still in high school.

This morning, I threw up at school and decided to go home sick. Once I texted my boyfriend this, he urgently insisted that I take his keys and drive home using his car. Evidently, he had forgotten his debit card at home and wanted me to go find it before his "family stole it" (his family recently moved in with them from the Philippines and he does not like them).

I told the nurse this, and she said that a parent needed to come and sign me out of school. I told my boyfriend this and he got mad and told me that whoever came to pick me up would need to drop me off at his house to get his card.

Having thrown up less than an hour prior, I just told him that I was tired and needed some rest, and doubted that my conservative father would pick me up from school only to drop me off at my boyfriend's house.

Needless to say, my boyfriend became furious, told me some very mean things, and said something about how he would be late to work and it was all my fault due to the fact I wouldn't just do what he said.

He told me not to go to his house or talk to him anymore, but I just figured that if I found his card, he wouldn't be mad anymore. So, I somehow convinced my dad to drive me to my boyfriend's house. Once I got there, I couldn't find it anywhere. I texted my boyfriend, and he just said "Get out of my house" and then blocked me on every social media platform.

Now, my fear is that he will be unable to find his card and call the police saying that I broke into his house and stole it. I am especially afraid since he technically told me not to go there before I went. He has called the cops on me before (because he said "you're annoying me. get out." and I didn't take him seriously).

Do I have any defense here? I definitely did not steal it, but technically I guess I was trespassing.

TL;DR - My boyfriend wanted me to find his lost debit card at his house. We got in a fight and he told me not to go to his house anymore, but I did anyways because I thought me finding the debit card would dismiss things. I didn't find it, and now I fear that he will accuse me of stealing it from his house.

Answer:
 Title: Boyfriend believes that I stole his debit card.

Post:  No mention of an accusation

He can accuse you of whatever he wants.  That doesn't mean it holds any weight.  You didn't take it, right?  Then you have nothing to worry about, legally.  No money missing, no evidence you have the card, and he can cancel his card and order a new one with no harm.

Also, find a new boyfriend.  This one sounds like a real winner


Title: (M/19/Tx) going to traffic court by myself, broke college student. Advice on fighting the ticket.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Checking your post history, you can afford weed.

You don't get to play the "poor me I can't afford insurance" card when you consistently post on /r/houstonents.


Title: question about bankruptcy that i've always been curious about (ny)

Question: I've never understood the full extent of bankruptcy nor do I know anyone who filed for it but I've always been curious about it.  For instnace lets say someone was 500,000 in debt and they couldn't pay it and they filed for bankruptcy.  Ten years later they win the lottery for 2 mil.  Are they required by law to pay back the 500,000 ten years ago?

Answer: Once a debt is discharged in bankruptcy and it is not reaffirmed by the debtor it can never be collected again or the creditor can not sue the debtor for the debt.


Title: Custody battle when dad has tbi

Question:
I am living in Louisiana. My son is 5 years old and his dad(actually grandmother) is trying to obtain sole custody of our son, with me only having supervised visitation. His dad has always lived in California with his mother since she has legal guardianship over him since suffering a traumatic brain injury. I have always allowed them to visit with our son when they come to town, even on a few occasions allowing him to visit them in California. My boyfriend has been with me since my son was 10 months old. They have never gotten along with my boyfriend who has a palestinian background. The grandmother recently posted on social media a photo of a gun she bought with the comments that she purchased it to protect her grandson from the Taliban.  When I called her to clarify what she meant by that she said it was about my boyfriend and then removed the post. The grandmother was recently in town and came to pick up my son and a verbal dispute broke out and my boyfriend had to call the cops on her for her to leave.  After the incident I was served with the custody papers. I was never married to my sons dad and we never lived together when my child was born. He recently received a settlement from the job where he was injured. The trial was in January and they had statements from a therapist saying that he was severely incapable of caring for himself for the rest of his life and of course won the case. Now five months later the same therapist is saying that he is fit to be a parent. The affidavit that was sent to me in the citation for custody is saying that my current boyfriend who my son calls dad is an unfit parent and should be considered abusive due to statements made in affidavits by the fathers mother and grandmother. (Second hand information) One of the statements even says that we shouldn't have custody because we don't allow my son to wear shorts! What are my options here and does the father even have a case? Again he moved to California and isn't active in his sons life. Any interaction he has is because we make our son call him via FaceTime, or arraignments made when the father visits family here in Louisiana. Arraignments we make. The father has never made any payments for child support, nor have I asked for anything. The allegations that my boyfriend who has done nothing but provide where the father has not simply aren't true. We have a stable home life and regular schedule. My son has lived with me since his birth and doesn't know his fathers house as home. I don't know what to do or what my options are. Anyone know anything that might be helpful. I'm not tying to prevent him from knowing his father. We've pushed from day one interaction between the two. I just don't feel that his request for sole custody is just, and that I should have supervised visits? It doesn't add up. He knows me as mom, my significant other as dad. Our home is his home. He has his room and his toys. I don't know. Oh, to add to the fathers list of cons, his whole family smokes marijuana in California. The grandmother thinks it's cool to hangout with her teenage children on the weekends with all their friends. They constantly have hangouts or parties at their home. Kinda rambling at this point. It's hard to list it all in a concise statement. Thoughts? I just need to hire an attorney? Sue for custody? Child support? (Even though I don't want it?) thanks in advance.
Topic:
Disability Issues

Answer:
 >What are my options here

You can negotiate an agreement that you both think is fair, or you can bring the case to court and duke it out, or you can do nothing and see if he brings the case to court. A lawyer would be helpful for all of these options.

>does the father even have a case?

I can't really give much detail, since I'm not your lawyer and I haven't heard his side of the story. He'd need a truly exceptional set of facts to get sole custody if you've held it for five years. (Understand that asking for sole custody may be a strategic move, rather than an outcome he actually thinks is realistic.)


Title: Got my first speeding ticket in CA

Question:
I got my first speeding ticket a few weeks ago. The officer asked me how fast I was going and I replied with "85." He later said he got me at 97 but he brought the speed down to 85 meaning i was going 15 over the speed limit (70). I told the officer I was going the speed of traffic. I was in the slow lane (2 lane highway on my way to Arizona) and I was on cruise control as well behind a truck. Keep in mind there were cars to my left going roughly the same speed as me. What should I do? Should I fight it? Or just pay the fine and traffic school?

I also have a bad right knee due to ACL and meniscus tear so I could prove that I was on cruise control due to my knee hurting when I push on the pedals.

Answer:
 you have no defense here, the ticket is valid. the only way you win this fight is if the officer doesn't show up to court. this does happen, so you have to decide whether it's worth your time. if the officer does show up, you can ask to attend traffic school in lieu of a point and you'll probably be granted that, so you'll be in the same situation as if you didn't fight the ticket. but is it worth it? that's up to you.

if you haven't done traffic school in the past 18 months (i'm guessing you haven't) and your violation wasn't a misdemeanor (it wasn't), you can pay the ticket and go through traffic school; no points on your license or hit to your insurance, but, yeah, tickets are expensive here.


Title: (WA)Ticketed for having the wrong plates, even though I had the right ones displayed.

Question: I made the move/drive from Texas to Washington after my brother passed away to be closer to the family and all that.  I got my new plates near the end of february, but have yet to swap them out but instead have them displayed on the dash.  It's been on my to-do list, but given that I had the new plates displayed and would have to go out and buy a screwdriver(left a lot of my stuff in Texas so I could travel light, should have prioritized more tools), it wasn't high on the list.  The officer that ticketed me made it seem like much more of a big deal than I had assumed.  I get that 2-3 months is a bit irresponsible, but considering I had all the required documentation it felt wrong to still receive a ticket.  It's not a super expensive citation so if I'm totally in the wrong, lesson learned and I'll move on...but if I can avoid paying and also learn the lesson that would of course be preferable.  What do you guys think?

Answer: Did you take the old plates off?


Title: Landlord sent me a bill rather than a deposit.

Question:
In California, my landlord sent me a bill for ~$350 for cleaning on top of a deposit of $1,000.

When I moved into the place, it was a mess, but it was cheap, and close to campus.  I took a few pics, but admittedly, I was not very good about documenting.  Fast forward 3.5 years when I move out, we arrange a meeting for him to meet me so we can do a final walk through.  He doesn't show up.  Instead a property management company, which I have never dealt with that he is turning the place over to once we move out, has a representative do a walk through without me.  I give her an address to give to my landlord. I voice my concerns that the place is in disrepair, but no worse than when I moved in.  She says that he is "one of the honest ones" and that I should get a fair return on my deposit.

Waiting for my deposit, I get a letter from the property management company, not my landlord, for a bill rather than a check.  So now I have minimal documentation from when we moved in, none when we moved out and an outrageous bill.

What I do have is the envelope of the bill that has a postmark of the June 23rd, 23 days after my move-out date of May 31st. According to [this website](http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml) along with a few others, he only had 21 days to get me these receipts or my full deposit.

Is this credible? Does he owe me my full deposit? If not, what are my options?

Answer: Sounds like they missed the deadline. I would mention this to them and demand your deposit back.


Title: Should I sue my warehouse for wrongfully terminated.

Question:
I need help in your opinion whether should I sue my old warehouse job? I used to work for a vondrehle corporation for at least 4 years I have been harassed by two co-workers and treated unfairly by my shift manager and my human resource.

what should I should do?

I live in Memphis Tennessee

I will put more detail later

Answer: We need A LOT more details. What was the harassment? Did you report it? Why were you fired? We need the full story.


Title: My friend just lost his job for wrecking a car

Question: Hey, everyone. My friend just got fired by an IT company in Raleigh, NC. Apparently his boss was selling him his car, and my friend was in the process of paying it off. However, he wrecked it over the weekend while it was still on his boss' insurance. His boss was furious and fired him this morning when he found out. I know North Carolina is a right-to-work state, and my friend doesn't have much money. Just trying to figure out whether this is legal and what his options are. Thank you for any help.

Answer:
 I hope his boss's rates go through the roof. He was a fool for turning over control of his car like that. He probably violated the terms of his policy if he was no longer the primary driver. The proper way to handle this would have been to sign the car over to the seller and have the seller make payments. Answer #2: The phrase you're actually thinking is "at will employment". Right to work involves unions.

And your gut is correct - absent a union or employee contract it is perfectly fine to fire an employee for crashing a car.

Your friend can file for unemployment benefits.


Title: If two intoxicated people have sex, what happens?

Question: If I attended a party and ended up blackout drunk, meaning I could not consent to sex, what happens if it turns out that the guy was also blackout drunk, meaning he could not consent to sex either. Is it a matter of who files a report first? Would it get thrown out if he filed a report as well? Technically speaking, since neither of us were consenting parties, we sexually assaulted each other.

Answer:
 An intoxicated baby?

Isn't that how it works?


Title: Cited to court because of lack of car insurance, except I do have insurance and I showed proof of such

Question:
On Mother's Day weekend I began a four hour drive from the state I live in, Alabama, to Georgia in order to visit my family for Mothers Day. About half way there, a cop stops me in Georgia and tells me that unless I provide him with proof of insurance, he will impound my car. I show him the cards to my insurance (which had just renewed like two days before) but he then tells me that my car has been without insurance since November 2015.

I've been paying insurance for almost a year, but in November 2015 I switched companies because the premium on my previous one was going up far too much. So I found a cheaper option and switched.  Apparently the new company messed up and did not notify the state that the car was actually insured. So I had to frantically call the company and told them to send me proof of insurance from November through May so I could show the cop that I had been paying for insurance. The reason why the state never found out was because the VIN number the insurance company had was off by one digit, and they never really notified me of such. In any case, I show the cop the proof and he still decides to cite me to court. This is kind of weird to me because if I proved to him that I do have insurance, why do I need to go court? He said it was protocol, but is it really?

In any case, he cites me for July 19th to a court in Georgia. Today, I get a call from my mom that I got a letter from said court saying I never showed up to court so they're going to suspend my license on 6/16/2016. I was not notified that my court date had changed so I am assuming this is a mistake on their part.

However my question is, do I need to get a lawyer in order to fight this? Like I do have my court citation for July 19th that was signed by the cop. Also, is it really necessary to cite someone to court after they prove that they're innocent?

Answer:
 >Also, is it really necessary to cite someone to court after they prove that they're innocent?

Apparently this cop believes he has proof that you are not.  He's not concerned or responsible if your insurance company screwed the dog and left you out to dry.

To make sure I understand your post, the insurance cards you had were supposed to be for your vehicle but the VIN was wrong by one digit, correct?

As for the court date debacle I would start by contacting the clerk of court that the citation was issued for.  Ask about your court date and the conflicting letter.  It also sounds like your address on your license isn't current to your actual residence?


Title: Attempted to receive a Canadian Pardon using a pardon service, I believe I was scammed and want to know what actions I can take.

Question:
About two years ago I began my pardon application using a pardon service called "Trusted Pardon Services" I paid them $700 to process my pardon, and no resolution has been reached at this time.

I tried early in the year to contact them and I received no responses. After I few months I got angry, and around March I threatened to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, suddenly I started receiving responses. I was told that my file had been temporarily put on hold because the person handling my file had left the office, and that there would be no more delays as they office manager would be handling things personally.

A few months later I attempted to contact the person claiming to be the office manager requesting an update (my trust in them had been tarnished, and I wasn't about to wait around for nothing to happen), but I received no response. A week later I sent another email asking for an update and again threatening to report them to the Better Business Bureau... when they didn't respond AGAIN I filed that report. This was about 3 days ago, the Better Business Bureau is giving them until June 15th to respond.

At this point I just want to be done with them, I just want to receive a refund and file my pardon on my own. If they continue to ignore my emails, what can I do? Can I attempt a law suit? I'm concerned that that will just cost me more money than I've already spent.

Here is the companies website (http://www.trustedpardons.ca/), there's not much there as they have stopped accepting new applicants... I have used the email address on that site to attempt to contact them, in addition to directly contacting the "office manager".

Any advice is appreciated.

Answer: The Better Business Bureau is just old Yelp, not a legal agency.


Title: Caught on the roof of my High School (Southern California)

Question:
I'm very worried about what will happen due to this situation, and this is actually my first time ever posting on Reddit! Hope I can get some help from you guys, because I have nowhere to go.

IMPORTANT BACKSTORY: The past 2 days of school, my high school band class had a very absent-minded substitute teacher. We had 2 free days to work on homework, read a book, etc. He just sat there and did his work. I found my way to the boiler room in the corner, (that nobody ever quite goes through) and eventually worked my way up to the dark staircase that lead up for about 20 or so feet, and it lead to a 20 step ladder, reaching up to a very dark, but open, hatch! I decided to be brave and climb up there. I turned my flashlight on and looked around. There were wooden pathways, that lead to the very seldom used "light/tech room" which seems like it's been abandoned for many years. I explore and happen to bring some friends up there (in many separate occasions).

Anyway, that's how I found the place. I eventually also found out that there was a ladder that lead to the roof of the auditorium. My curiosity got the best of me and I went up there. I also ended up bringing more friends up there to show them (both days, even during lunch) All the kids in the class pretty much knew who it was that went up there. So after going to the roof on the second day to take some pictures of the campus, (because that's cool as fuck, right?) I saw a helicopter circling around me, at least 5/6 times. I got very worried and ran back to the ladder, went down, shut the hatch, and ran all the way back to the room.

As I walked past the room, 30 seconds later, my principal walked in with a security guard and they both went into that boiler room. I quickly went into my locker and changed my shirt from a green t-shirt to a white button up. I sat in one of my practice rooms as I was obviously freaking the hell out. I just tried to stay calm and keep collected. The bell rang about 5 minutes later, and as I walked out of the hallway, in came the assistant principal, with a police officer. They both walked by me and didn't even glance at me. I was obviously just yelling at myself in my head and trying not to panic. I went to my 6th period class and just sat there until the bell rang. Right after that, school ended and spring break started.

My question is: What do I need to worry about?

I've considered writing an anonymous (e-mail) letter and sending it through TOR with a VPN to protect myself to my principal saying that I was a student and I pose no threat, there were no bombs, and nothing like this will happen again. I think I am saving that if things go from bad to worse.
I need some help, folks. I'm still kind of freaking out and it's been 6 hours.

Answer: Don't incriminate yourself. IF someone asks, just tell them you didn't know you weren't supposed to be up there. It's not a big deal.Answer #2: If they don't got you on camera anywhere you'd good .


Title: I was told to cross post from /r/casualconversation to get some advice from you guys about my situation.

Question:
***Original Post***

Hi guys. So I've been an avid photographer for the last year and a half or so. It first started with just stuff around the house on my canon, then it turned to going out and taking pictures for my photography class. It was only very recently (the last two months or so) that I really started getting into street photography and rooftop photography.

I always knew the risks of going to rooftops for the shots I get of the amazing view but never once did it cross my mind that it was illegal to go up there. So my friend and I decided to go into New York City to shoot and we went to this roof that I had been to two weeks ago and was fine.

We were up there for about 30 minutes and as we were leaving, two of New York's boys in blue walked onto the roof with us. At first I thought we could just talk our way out of it but they asked us questions and told us to turn around against the wall as they patted us down. We both got cuffed, walked out of the building and brought down to the precinct.

We stayed in the holding cell for three hours...THREE. HOURS. I didn't know how slow time moved when there's legitimately no way of telling what time it was. We got fingerprinted, got our mugshots taken, and ended up being released with a DAT (Desk Appearance Ticket) where we have to go to court next month and hope to get off with just paying court fees as its both our first time getting arrested.

***Addition***

* The DAT offense charged is PL 140.10 0E

* The officers never read me the Miranda Rights (idk if that is even required for this type of offense but I figured its probably important information)

* Should I be getting an attorney? If so, where do I even begin to look?

* What are the odds that the judge will just waive the ticket entirely or at least allow it to be expunged from my record?

Answer:
 > We stayed in the holding cell for three hours...THREE. HOURS.

That's not very long.

> The DAT offense charged is PL 140.10 0E

Should you be convicted you will have a life long criminal record for a misdemeanor that will follow you throughout your life. [Here's more](http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/PEN/THREE/I/140/140.10).

> The officers never read me the Miranda Rights

Not required unless being questioned while in custody.

> Should I be getting an attorney?

Absolutely. Call the bar association or call friends to recommend a criminal defense attorney.Answer #2: >The DAT offense charged is PL 140.10 0E

Or trespassing, for those playing at home.

>The officers never read me the Miranda Rights (idk if that is even required for this type of offense but I figured its probably important information)

Doesn't matter in the slightest.

>Should I be getting an attorney?

How much does a clean record mean to you? It's a misdemeanor, and will probably mean a fine but no jail time. If you work (or want to work) in an industry that cares about this kind of thing, get a lawyer and see if you can get it reduced. That's what I'd do.

>If so, where do I even begin to look?

Referrals from friends, the NY bar association.

>What are the odds that the judge will just waive the ticket entirely or at least allow it to be expunged from my record?

That's impossible to say. Maybe you'll catch a judge in a rare mood and he'll let you off. I'd say that isn't likely at all.


Title: Lyft is now supporting fraud and charged us.

Question:
This past week I have been fighting a charge of $150.00 that Lyft applied after a ride that someone threw up in.  No one threw up and the driver claimed we did.  The driver sent photos to lift and said that's puke.  The liquid was black, and I've never met a human the pukes black liquid, so that's that. Then I decided to look into the photo, because I clearly knew there was no vomit.  If you pull the photos metadata, you will see the photo was taken in a part of town that we were not near.  This is after she fake cleaned up the puke with paper towels.  I will post the full story below, but my question to you is: how can I be charged for this fraud and Lyft refuses to refund me?  I have solid evidence showing the photos are fake and they decided to still charge us.

The full story:
I put a complaint in with the support team, and have not received a reply.  This is the follow up to what I was mentioning before, about how we were wrongfully charged for damage to the vehicle.  We ordered a Lyft to pick us up from PLACE A and to drop us off at PLACE B.  The driver passed us once or twice while we stood outside of Brick Bar, when (The requester) decided to call her.  When the driver picked up, she said she couldn't find us and then the requester told the driver we were in front of PLACE A, where we set our pick up location at.  We understand that most drivers need to pull over at a safe location, and there were safe locations within 20 feet of PLACE A; but instead she parked near Jim's Steakout on the street; Jim's Steakout was about 350 feet away.  It was an inconvenience, but something we accepted to deal with since it is a busy night.  Then when we entered the driver's vehicle we saw that we had about a minute left until we were going to get charged for not showing up, this was after she drove past us and then made us walk 17 times farther than we should had needed to.  This was the first indication of the driver trying to scam us.  We got in and she told us how it had been a long night and this would be her last ride of the night since she just had to come from Angola.  So we had small talk and after a while we had stopped the small talk due to the fact that the driver was more interested in our conversation than driving properly.  Each turn was a hard turn and just about every red light except one, was ran.  This turned into a drive home to a drive that was dangerous for everyone.  When we turned down our street where we getting dropped off, the driver asked if someone had thrown up cause she could smell it.  Everyone was confused since not a single person puked in the vehicle, so after getting confirmation from everyone I told the driver that no one had puked.  She didn't believe me and started accusing us of puking in her vehicle.  The driver then rolled her window down all the way, and stuck her head out the window while covering her mouth with her shirt.  I would assume another attempt to scam us.  This time the scam became serious since we knew she would accuse us puking in her car.  So when we arrived at our drop off destination, we all got out and the requester went to look at the car.  The driver immediately went to the back seat of her car and tried to point out a vomit mark.  There was no mark, and it was confirmed by the requester, myself, and two other passengers. The driver then proceeded to "clean up" the "vomit" that wasn't there with paper towels.  This was obviously turning into a scam.  So when we got into the house where we were dropped off at, I asked everyone if anyone made a noise like puking; nobody did.  I could assume the driver thought we were coming from the bar and that we all were intoxicated; that is false, there were five of us and only one person was slightly intoxicated.  The one person that was intoxicated would be classified as buzzed, she had two alcoholic drinks in a two hour span.  What I am telling you is, there was no one in a condition to puke due to intoxication.  Along with that there were no vomit markings when we looked at the vehicle.

So this morning when I was told about how the requester was charged $150.00 for something that never happened, I was a little agitated.  So I decided to fact check what information was sent to us.  The two photos that were sent to us were of a seat with some liquid on it.  The first thing that stood out was the liquid was a dark black, I do not know of a human that can discharge a bodily fluid of that color.  Secondly, the photo was very close up, where we could not distinguish were the fluid was in the vehicle.  And finally I decided to look at where the photo was taken.  Being in the Cyber Forensics field, I am able to analyze photos in a way the will determine where the photo was taken, when the photo was taken, if the photo was altered in any way, and much more information.  With this background that I have, I was able to pull the metadata (data that is stored in a photo taken digitally, it hold any information on the photo).  The metadata read that the photo was taken at 42 deg 52' 11.68" N, 78 deg 48' 18.38" W which if you place into google maps, places the origin of the photo at Fenton Street, in Buffalo near Clinton street and Fenton Street intersection near Key Bank.  This is obviously no where near PLACE A; Or PLACE B; or anywhere in between.

What I am saying is that we were wrongfully charged that $150.00 and I request that you refund (the requester) for the full amount that you had charged him.  This is obviously fraud and I hope that your team will correct the mistake made.  I do not want to make this a huge deal, as people are people and make mistakes, but the driver was in the wrong and we will not be at a disadvantage because of it.

Let me know what you guys think I should do.

Answer:
 >The liquid was black, and I've never met a human the pukes black liquid, so that's that.
>
>The first thing that stood out was the liquid was a dark black, I do not know of a human that can discharge a bodily fluid of that color.

That's your argument? Are you some kind of expert in puke that you can determine that from a photograph? Get off that argument. It's irrelevant and it discredits you because you don't know whether it's puke or not. You didn't cause it so therefore you can't possibly confirm that or not. You can't make both arguments. You either didn't cause those stains so you don't know what they are or you did cause them so you absolutely know they aren't puke. That's probably why Lyft didn't believe you.

&#x200B;


Title: Apartment I signed lease for not what it seemed

Question: I just made a cross country move (from SF to Philadelphia) to an apartment nightmare. I am taking over the lease of the prior tenant (sublease) which I thought would be great since I didn't have the money to fly out and view the place and would have a shorter rental until I found a neighborhood I liked. Boy do I regret that. The apartment I saw via Skype was not the apartment I just walked into today. The unit has cracks in it- not small cracks, but large building cracks that are clearly structural damage. The wall on one side blushes out at a bend of 1 inch where you can see the wall buckling. The ceiling has pretty bad water damage and stains, the place reeks of mildew, and the entire building is in disarray. I haven't put down my first months rent or my last month's- just the security deposit. I was supposed to drop it off after my arrival, But frankly I don't want to stay here. The landlord received the credit check money and the security deposit on the 15th of Sept, but failed to get me the lease to be signed until two days before I was to move in. He was unresponsive when I tried to get keys from him, and generally has been a hassle regarding communication (except when he wants a check). Trouble was that by the time I realized how bad he was, i was to fly out to the city in less than 48 hours. I want to know that now that I am here, and I see the damage that was hidden from me-- what are my options? How can I get my security deposit back? I am in philly so if any legal people from the area can give me advice that would be greatly appreciated. I just want to wash my hands of this place and try to find a new apartment within a week.

Answer:
 You might look up code enforcement and have them check if it's structurally sound and fit to live inAnswer #2: During the Skype showing, did the landlord say something like: "This is the apartment that you'll be signing a lease for"?

If so, then you *might* be able to argue [fraudulent misrepresentation](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fraudulent_misrepresentation), which would void the contract. You would need to show that it's more likely than not that the landlord showed you the wrong place, knew that they were showing you the wrong place, and that had you seen the actual place, you never would have signed the lease.


Title: Can my parents legally kick me out of the house (I am 15)?

Question:
Unfortunately I did not get a chance to get tested today or yesterday. My sister is taking me to the PP center either tommorow or Monday. My parents are thankfully not coming back today. They are coming back on Tuesday. Apparently they wanted to enjoy the Caribbean some more.

I think my sister has pieced together what happened and I think she knows I did something wrong and hired a hooker or something like that. Thankfully she hasnt said anything and hopefully she doesnt tell my parents when they come back. I also almost made a huge mistake. I left my condom we used in an empty trash can in my room but its safe now (I buried it near one of our apple trees).

Ok noe unto my questions.

1) Can your parents legally kick you out of their house?

2) can I get a lawyer if I am 15?

3) who pays for the lawyer because I have no money.

4) can my parents sue me for the $300 i stole.

5) was I legally allowed to remain alone in my house? My sister left me all alone and im still wondering why my parents didnt just hire another maid to watch over us. We have one but shes on vacation and idk why they didnt just hire another maid to watch us

6) can i legally make my sister not talk about what I did?

Answer:
 OP hired a hooker and has been freaking out about it for days.

OP, calm down.Answer #2: If you're worried about evidence, be careful burying your used condoms.  That's where rubber trees come from.Answer #3: Where are you? Assuming somewhere in the US...

No. They can't kick you out at 15 without providing you with another place to live.

A lawyer for what? If you're charged criminally, maybe. Your parents aren't going to sue you for  $300. On the off chance that happened, you're not entitled to a lawyer for that. You cannot force your sister to say nothing.

Edit to add that the reason that them suing you isn't a thing is because you're a minor. Suing a minor is real dicey. Often not possible. Don't worry about that.


Title: Just came home from work, my wife, son, and most everything is gone.

Question:
All that remains is what is clearly mine. Our son is a toddler, all his toys and possessions are gone. My wife's possessions are all gone. No note was left. I have no idea where they are, or when they will contact me. I've tried calling her once.

We talked about getting a divorce a couple weeks ago and agreed it was for the best. She shut down the conversation when I tried to discuss custody. Nothing has been filed as of yet.

What do I do? I feel like my son has been stolen from me this isn't right...

Location: Oregon, United States.

Answer:
 You need a lawyer to file emergency custody orders, unless you know how to do that yourself.

The same lawyer can probably also help with the actual divorce and the rest of the custody matters.

More practically, ask your in-laws or her other friends and family if they're with her, or check social media to see if you can locate her and your child. Answer #2: Get a lawyer on Monday. They'll walk you through an emergency petition. I can't speak for judges in your district, but those I've dealt with (all in my district, some nearby) **hate** this leaving without notice crap. Barring abuse or breast feeding the judges in my jurisdiction almost always grant emergency custody in these situations. I'm not in Oregon, though.

From one father who has dealt with this on a *personal* level, try to relax. You can't do anything for the next day or two. Hang in there.Answer #3: Better check the bank account/credit cards. See if she left you anything.Answer #4: You need a family law attorney asap. He/She will guide you through the process. Ask the attorney if you should file a report with the police.


Title: Have to pay restitution worth more than the phone I damaged

Question: [Ga] Long story short, ex and I had an argument and I ended up cracking the screen and getting arrested, yeah only in America.. Anyway court said they will drop charges if I pay restitution. I cracked the screen on her 16 GB iPhone 6 Plus, worth maybe $300 new... She went out and bought a brand new iPhone 7 Plus 120GB valued at $1000. Talked to the prosecutor and he said it is what it is... How ON EARTH are they allowed to do this?!? For one she could have just gotten the screen repaired and two I got charged with damage to property under $500 so I have to pay $1000 now?? I go to court tomorrow is there anyway I can fight that?!? Thanks

Answer:
 Only in America does grabbing someone's expensive property and breaking it lead to civil and criminal repercussions? You gotta be joking.Answer #2: > I go to court tomorrow is there anyway I can fight that?!?

Sure. You can explain your situation to the judge. The judge can award her the value of the phone, or can offer that in exchange for dropping charges, you will pay for a new phone ($1000). I mean really, a judge could make you pay her $2000 if they wanted to. Alternatively, you could say no and proceed to court.


Title: Incorrect Diagnosis in My Medical Records

Question:
I am feeling beyond annoyed, right now, because I have searched everywhere for answers to my questions and returned empty-handed. To make a long story short, when I was six-years-old, I was diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism and OCD. Additionally, I was diagnosed with Anxiety (Not Otherwise Specified). I now believe in my completely sane state of mind that these diagnoses were incorrect. I have tried to look for information about addressing incorrect diagnoses previously. In my experience, I have ended up with one of the following answers:

1.) Advice about the 72.5 percent of autistic children whose diagnoses are "lost," whose diagnosis was later replaced by another diagnosis. In other words, the children were discovered to have been MISdiagnosed. I have not been MISdiagnosed. Although I presented symptoms of dysfunction as a child, these could be explained by numerous factors: the fact that I was a child, the fact that I had an unfortunate early living environment, the fact that my mother pressed for a diagnosis, the fact that I misunderstood many tests, the fact that reports were heavily biased at the time, etc.

2.) Advice about the 2-3 percent of autistic children, who had achieved Optimal Outcome (OO), which is as far as I can tell a fancy word for "full recovery in which the child displays no autistic symptoms." In this case, they still seem to classify the child as autistic, refuse to let go of the label, and point to various, minor differences between autistic and non-autistic children (e.g., likeability).

3.) Information about amending incorrect information in medical records where the answer always seems to be that the medical professional(s) can decide that the information is an "opinion" and, therefore, the complaint is the result of an overly sensitive patient. In most cases, some form of legal dispute is mentioned. Second opinions are mentioned, but seem to do nothing to affect diagnosis.

4.) Misguided advocates of the idea that autism can be cured.

As of now, there appears to be absolutely no information about children that have been genuinely incorrectly diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder where no disorder is at all present. All cases of a "lost diagnosis" point to evidence that the diagnosis was "overcome" with therapy and the child is merely faking normalcy. No information at all is present in the case of a child, who has genuinely never had a disorder and was instead diagnosed because of normal, childhood behaviour, given their circumstances. Is there anything that I can do about this? I live in the UK, but I move to the US soon.

Answer:
 There is nothing you can do about the historical medical records. You can go and get a new diagnosis but that will simply state that currently you are not diagnosed with the conditions, it won't affect that you were before.

Unless the medical history that you feel no longer applies is affecting your life in some significant way, I suggest you move on and ignore it.


Title: wrongful termination in michigan

Question:
A friend of mine was fired from his job as a waiter. He had taken another position and was about to put in a month's long notice. This restaurant has a history of firing people when they give notice, and he knew that.

He asked for a meeting, somehow they found out that he was leaving, and they called him on the phone and fired him. The reason that they gave was that he wasn't reliable because he and his wife only have one car at the moment. He had not missed a single shift due to having one car.

So, Michigan being an at will employer, does he have any sort of case or even viable complaint to the better business bureau.

Answer:
 No, the company is allowed to fire him a wide variety of reasons, including taking another job.

He can file for unemployment if he otherwise qualifies.  He might only qualify briefly if he has another job lined up to start in a month.
Answer #2: > wrongful termination

No, that generally involves protected class status and a few other exceptions, like the public policy exception.

> viable complaint to the better business bureau

As effective as complaining on Yelp about them. BBB is a business-oriented private organization. Actually Yelp is probably 2.1% more effective.


Title: [CT] What is the possible legal justification for movie studios to disable my DVD fast forward and show that stupid FBI warning on discs I purchase legally?

Question:
Ok, so I recognize this isn't exactly the world's most pressing legal issue, but I just got another batch of discs that somehow disable my remote control so I can't fast forward or skip, and then either make me watch an FBI warning that must have been made in 1980 or, even worse, previews for 19 other shitty movies I don't care about.

If I legally purchased these movies, how do studios get away with this?  Why are they allowed (required?) to mess with my private property?

Answer: What could possibly be illegal about this? It's how the discs were programmed. This is like asking why Microsoft Word doesn't support complex spreadsheets even though I own my computer.Answer #2: Any manufacturer who wants to use the [DVD logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/18/Dvd-video-logo.svg) on their DVD players has to sign a [trademark licensing agreement](http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/pdf/LicenseAgreementDraft_150101.pdf) with the [DVD Forum](http://www.dvdforum.org/forum.shtml). As part of the contract, they agree not to ship any products until an independent testing laboratory has confirmed that the product complies with the DVD standards. That includes compliance with the [User Operation Prohibition flag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_operation_prohibition).


Title: If you go into business knowing there's no possibility of turning a profit, can you still benefit from tax breaks or whatever?

Question:
I've heard of people using failing businesses as tax shelters. While that isn't the intent here, I'm wondering if you have to go into business with a good faith hope of success.

Like, for example, suppose I opened a movie theater but I didn't charge admission. There's no way in hell I'd ever make a profit doing that, but if I opened such a theater could I still claim the losses and expense?

edit: In the USA
Topic:
Tax Law

Answer:
 Accountant: that's a very complex question, so I'll give you a 10,000 foot answer that I will caution should not be construed as actual tax advice. Like law, tax is incredibly fact specific.

Very generally speaking, there are two kinds of income: active and passive income.  Think about active income like a job that you work, and passive income like gains or losses from investments that you hold.  If this business is something that you are actively engaged in it's possible the losses on that business could offset earned income from another job. However, if you're just investing in a business, the passive loss on that business can't offset active earned income.  If you have other passive income, it can offset that.  Net passive losses can be carried forward for a few years to deduct against future passive income.

HOWEVER, i'm going to make a general point on the idea of tax deductions, because it seems like people misunderstand this often.  I saw someone on r/personalfinance the other day recommend that someone running low on money donate to charity to reduce their tax burden. What you are talking about is not really a tax shelter. You are talking about actually losing money to avoid paying some taxes. Most often, that's nonsensical. Let's just assume your marginal tax rate is 25%.  You are saying that you're willing to invest in a business and lose $100 in cash to avoid paying $25 in cash to the government? Why would you do this?


Title: [Fl] Desperately need advice for a family crisis.

Question:
My older brother is shacked up at our mom's house with his baby momma, their son, her 5 y/o daughter from a past relationship , their son (2), and my little brother whom he's guardian of. Just now, I find out a long time friend of my brother's fucked his woman, who's all around scum (junkie, narcissist, etc.) Dude got his ass beat in a fit of rage, and called the cops. But he just came by with his broken nose and whatnot and the two hugged it out because they got history. Can he drop the charges? is that in his power? He said he would, but also says there's currently a warrant for my brother's arrest.

My brother is willing let the little girl go, even though he's raised her for years, but wants his son, and we want our nephew. I told her I'd give her bus fare to go home to Alabama, take her daughter, and let things sort themselves out. She says she'll leave, but with both kids (just to try and hurt my family.) I think my mom would be willing to formally evict her from this house, but we'd rather avoid it and put the filing fees in her hands to get her to just leave.

She also has a tiny bruise on her arm and claims to be in agony, claims my brother did it, and claims she's going to go to the hospital for it.

Any advice on moving forward with this situation is welcome. Hiring an attorney is not an option, because we have no money whatsoever.

Answer:
 No. He didn't bring the charges. The state did. Hugging it out doesn't change that your brother broke the law. Get an attorney

Your family sounds like a messAnswer #2: >She says she'll leave, but with both kids (just to try and hurt my family.)

Or, she doesn't want to actually leave her children. You need a more rational, uninterested party involved. Get a lawyer.


Title: So, if say a fence goes down in California then people Trespass, is still "Private Property"?

Question:
Hello! So I live in some hills in California, but no fence(Yes I know but it's pricy). 4Th of July have a lot of Trespassing because we have a good view of the Fireworks.
We were out today, but I roped off our property with caution tape.
A long with the caution tape, I printed a few colored signs that say "STOP PRIVATE PROPERTY DO NOT ENTER" then taped them all over entrances.

So my question is, if I took pictures earlier of the fencing, and come home with people all over my land cause they tore it down, can I still call police? Would it still be "private property"?
The last thing is, if people park in my drive way, can I have them towed?
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 Yes it's still private property regardless of the signs. If you see people actively trespassing, give them a verbal warning to leave immediately. If they don't leave, call the police.

Try getting plastic signs at a hardware store. They are like $2 a piece and more durable than paper.

Yes, you can get people towed for parking on your home's driveway. You should also get a durable 'no parking' sign and place it somewhere conspicuous in your driveway.


Title: [CO] My landlords have been letting my dog outside unsupervised and he has destroyed the fence in some places. Do I have to repair it?

Question: I have told my landlords numerous times to not let my dog outside unsupervised because he will jump fences. They have not been listening and as a result he has destroyed their fence in some areas trying to jump over it. Am I liable for the damages?

Answer: Why do they let him out?  Are you saying they let him outside without your permission or that you'd prefer they supervise him?


Title: Brazilian international student in Canada. My mentally ill mother is threatening to cut my education funding and drag me back into her abuse home. What are my options?

Answer: How old are you, and how are you paying for your school right now?


Title: Dirt bike track built next door to my house...now my kids can't sleep!

Question: I live in the mountains in Southern California. A few years ago a neighbor bought the plot of land across the street from us and built a dirt bike track. It's no more than 50 yards from our house. Now, there is constant noise and dust whenever they go out riding...sometime from 8 am til 6 pm, no joke. I have three kids, 4 years, 2 years, and 7 months old. It's been hell for the youngest for sure...because it can wake her up at any time of day from a nap (through double pane glass), and she's a light sleeper already. The middle child is now scared to go outside, and when the dirt bikes are running past the girl's bedtime, they can't sleep. I'm the first to let things be and let people have their fun, but when it affects your kids and their well-being, you want to try to make things better. Other neighbors have asked for some kind of compromise, to no avail. Cops said they can come for a disturbing the peace call, but there's no rule about riding dirt bikes on your property. We wouldn't have bought our house if we had known this would happen, and now we're stuck living next to a race track. Outside of moving, what kind of options do we have? Any advice is desperately appreciated!

Answer: Do you know if there is a local noise ordinance?Answer #2: Ask a property lawyer if, among anything he/she can think of, if this qualifies for a common nuisance suit.


Title: (York, SC) Girlfriend substitute teacher placed in class with known groper with no warnings

Question: My girlfriend substitute teaches through a temp agency.  She was placed in a class and was fully groped by a 5 year old boy.  She called the office and they just said that he does that.  Apparently he does that to every female teacher he's ever been around.  There were no warnings that came with the class.  Is there anything she can do legally?  I feel like the class should have come with a warning so she could have avoided the situation.  I know the kid was 5, but sexual assault is sexual assault, and I feel like if you know it's going to happen and decline to put up a notice to whoever is taking over the class, there should be repurcussions.  Maybe I'm living in a dream world...

Answer: This is something that should definitely be raised with CPS.Answer #2: IANAL but I am a mandated reporter and it's likely your girlfriend is too. Sexual behavior of this type in young kids is a classic sign of abuse. Think about it: He had to learn that behavior somewhere. In my view, though maybe not the law's, this behavior is tantamount to a disclosure that must be reported by mandated reporters. She should report it to CPS and may, in fact, be legally required to do so.


Title: (US) How would the law rule in a case where a homeowner grew ghost peppers knowing a nearby child would eat them and become sick?

Question:
This comes from the post that hit the front page today:

http://np.reddit.com/r/childfree/comments/299vri/glorious_glorious_revenge_was_had_this_day/

tl;dr - Neighborhood kids were stealing vegetables from a lady's garden.  When the parents of the children failed to stop their children from stealing and eating the vegetables, the owner of the garden planted as she described the "hottest peppers known to man" and stated that they made people sick when eating them raw.

One of the children ate the pepper and had to be taken to the hospital leading the mother to become enraged by the ordeal.

Would the mother and child have a case if they took the homeowner to court?  Sorry if this is not the proper sub for this type of question.  If there's a hypothetical law sub, I'll gladly repost it there.  Just let me know.

Location - Not sure but let's say Louisiana, USA.

Answer:
 I think you should take the story with a grain of salt. Childfree forums are quite often full of people trying to one up themselves with revenge stories.

For starters, I'm at a loss to think of a kid stupid enough to eat a pepper.  Or for that matter, that eats peppers raw to begin with. Typically if you're stealing from a garden, it's carrots and peas, not food that's normally cooked.Answer #2: Why did you pick Lousiana?  It's the hardest state to talk about *because* it's law system is a hybrid of Napoleonic code principles and English common law;  the rest of the U.S. is mostly based on English common law.

Answer #3: > Would the mother and child have a case if they took the homeowner to court?

They very well could, yes.  The homeowner could face criminal charges for assault, as well.

Realistically, there'd be a difficult hill to climb; especially given that these peppers are meant to be grown.  Such issues generally arise when someone does something outside of normal bounds, in an attempt to get someone hurt.Answer #4: I'd like to know who these kids are that steal vegetables.


Title: My dad is having trouble with his tenants in another state.

Question: A few years ago my dad bought a house in San Antonio,  we live in Nevada though. We were supposed to move out there but the plans fell through and so my dad rents the house out.  The oven broke  and my dad wants to buy a good condition used oven from a local store and order them to deliver it and install in the home. The tenants however, paid a thousand dollars less in rent this month. My parents question is whether we're allowed to buy a used stove for the tenants or if it has to be new.

Answer:
 They get a working stove. New or used doesn't matter.

Why did they pay a thousand dollars less? Has your father not resolved this in a timely manner? They need to pay thier rent in full, don't allow them to make thier own rules.


Title: Got hired and negotiated salary with employer. Employer never told me he expects a 45 hour work week. [NYC]

Question:
I got a job a year and a half ago. I asked for $47k, and the employer said after my training was done I could make $47k, but I'd be at $45k now to start. I agreed and got hired. What the employer failed to tell me was that we work 9 hours a day, for a 45 hour work week. I negotiated my salary based on a traditional 40 hour work week.

 After training took a while, I asked for $50k, which was about 6 months after my hire date.

My questions are:
Am I entitled to overtime?
Can I take any action against him failing to disclose a 45 hour work week?
Would I be entitled to back pay?
If there are other employees who have experienced the same, would this be a class action lawsuit?
What kind of lawyer would I talk to?

Answer: Are you salaried exempt from OT?  If so you have no recourse here.  You should have asked more questions.  You can try to renegotiate for more, but the company has no obligation to do so.


Title: [TX] Can a job legally withhold bonuses from workers for no reason?

Question:
I do not wish to identify where I work, but lets just say everyone reading this has shopped there for groceries and maybe gotten their oil changed there as well.

I work for the largest supermarket chain in america and I think my boss has not been giving me or my immediate co workers their bonuses for no reason.

I work in the electronics dept and we are the highest grossing area but also have the highest shrink. On good bonus periods other workers report receiving a check double their normal paycheck, on bad one they get one about equal to their normal check.

I have never received a bonus check. My boss told me that you start receiving bonuses after 6 months. At six months they told us 8 months. At 8 months they told us 10 months. At 10 they told us a year. Well not being one to lie down and take it, I talked to several people who started around the same time as I did. They all received bonuses.

The only ones who do not get bonuses are the ones in electronics who started around the same time. With this knowledge, I went to my manager and assistant manager and demanded my bonus checks. I told them I know of several employees who started after I did and they receive their bonuses but I have not received mine.

The store manager passed the buck and said it was the responsibility of the area assistant manager to distribute them and tried to leave. I looked at him and said that she clearly has not been doing her job. He left saying to talk to her. She refused to even listen to me and told me she was about to write me up for not being in my area. I told her I was going to complain to HR if she didn't give me my next bonus check. She wrote me up and I refused to sign it and called HR.

After that the four of us did not receive our bonuses, however the two new employees did. Black employees. The four white employees did not. So the four of us filed another complaint with HR claiming racial discrimination. We were told that it was not possible to discriminate against white people. (This one has my blood boiling)

So the four of us are planning to quit without notice at the same time this saturday when the four of us are scheduled to work at the same time.

My question is are we owed back pay for the bonus checks we did not receive? If I average it out and low ball it I am owed at least 1.5k on the low end. Almost 3k on the high end.

Answer:
 Your boss can withhold a bonus for any reason except to the extent that: it reduces your annual pay below minimum wage; your bonus is contractually guaranteed; he is discriminating against you because of your membership in a protected class.

Putting the race issue aside, you are not entitled to this bonus at all, it is not back pay, it is not guaranteed pay. However, having said that: your HR is wrong, it is possible to discriminate against white people. You may have a S1981 claim, and if you believe this is race discrimination, you should talk to a lawyer.


Title: My car flooded a few months back and my insurance and bank still cant figure out how to settle.

Question: So I had an extremely low sports car and lost it in a really bad flood in my city (in Texas). Insurance deemed it a total loss, I had gap insurance and full coverage on the vehicle. Although the insurance company sent my bank a check for their declared value, they are saying that my windshield had a small crack in it and they are not paying the fee of $685 to replace it. When I say small crack, I mean almost 3 inches, completely unnoticeable until you get up close to it. Before anyone asks it's an expensive windshield because the car had a heads up display which shows RPM/MPH in the actual windshield. Fast forward to now, I just got an update from my credit report and this has made it's way onto my report. How on earth can they prove the vehicle had pre existing damage (windshield) and is there any way I can fight this? I was never told something like this wouldn't be covered and really feel like it's wrong that they're handling it this way. Am I screwed, I want this off my credit report if possible.

Answer:
 Post over in r/insurance to see what they say.

 I work in flood insurance and I know flood insurance won't cover preexisting damages but this should be covered by your auto insurance which I know nothing about.


Title: Wife got arrested for something that didn't happen. (Washington)

Question:
We live in Washington state.

TL;DR : 911 got called by my wife while having a depressive/suicidal episode. During the episode, I took two incidental blows. She was arrested for domestic assault on the charge that she punched me in front of the responding officer. She didn't.

Labor day weekend. Went to a bar with wife, drank to much. Headed home before her (on her advice). She got home drunk, upset, depressive, and crying about not having a purpose in life and not wanting to be alive. I tried to console her and calm her down. In doing so, I got bonked twice. First, I went to hold her, and she didn't want to be touched so she flailed and I took a knock to the head. Second, I tried to follow into the bathroom while she closed the door bonking me on the forehead. She ended up demanding I call 911 while I just wanted her to come to bed and sleep it off. She tried to cut herself with a shaving razor. At this point, I dialed 911 into my phone without hitting send and handed her the phone saying, "If you are sure it is what you want, you make the call."

She made the call, and a cop was on scene in minutes. He had my wife sit in the back seat of his cruiser before asking me to recall the events of the evening, I did, including the two bonks (which I told him I considered incidental and unintentional). He arrested her and told her that she would get the opportunity to see a mental specialist. He walked me back to my apartment and told me that I would get a call.

The next day, when no call came, I called around and found out she was in jail! At her preliminary hearing, I convinced the judge that I felt in no danger and that we would eradicate alcohol from our lives. My wife was released to me.

Turns out my wife was told repeatedly that she had punched me in the chest in front of the officer. This did not happen. She has since been going to a therapist and a probation officer. Her court appointed lawyer pointedly told her, "I'll call you." when she called. We do not know her court date and are very worried about both the falseness of the charge and the severity of it.

What can we do? We have little/no money, and I don't know how far my word will go in the whole situation since I am the alleged victim. The only thing that we can think is that the officer may have seen my wife turn to me (her back to him) and hand me my phone. From his vehicle, it may have looked like a punch?

I appreciate any advice or recommendations that you all can give. So much editing and paring down. Mods, I hope this is brief enough.

Answer:
 You have a way of downplaying the fact your wife hit you twice.

She wasn't arrested without cause.Answer #2: Washington has mandatory arrest laws for domestic violence. If there is evidence of domestic violence,  the officers must arrest the alleged perpetrator. By your own admission, your wife clearly committed domestic violence.Answer #3: >In doing so, I got bonked twice.

There is greater than zero substance to this case.  And even if that's not so, your wife needs an attorney nonetheless.

>I don't know how far my word will go in the whole situation since I am the alleged victim.

You saying this didn't happen that way is unlikely to be sufficient to solve this.  Your wife needs an attorney.


Title: My girlfriend was raped at a party at gunpoint a year ago in Switzerland and she resides in France. She recently opened up to me about this trauma and she wants to see her legal options.

Question:
There were eye witnesses to the man threatening people to leave the room at gunpoint and an apology he later sent referencing the incident to his friend of which she has a copy of. What is the best way for her to pursue such a matter?
Topic:
Non-US

Answer:
 First, we have to divide the two possible ways to pursue this matter: criminal (pénale) and civil. They are independent and you can pursue both.

On criminal charges, we are looking for one to ten year prison term under CP Art. 190. The procedure can be initiated by the police or the prosecution (Ministère public). In my experience, I would contact the prosecution over the swiss police in this case. French consular authorities could also be of assistance.

Here are the links in french of relevant swiss law: https://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19370083/index.html
https://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/20052319/index.html

On civil matters, it would be more complicated. You will need a swiss lawyer for this and civil law jurisdictions are very conservative in this kind of claims, requiring proof of economic damage on this generally. For more information look at articles 41-61 of Swiss Obligations Code (Code des obligations).


Title: Former employer charging me for training costs

Question: I am a firefighter outside of Atlanta, Ga. beginning in January 2015 I was hired at a department that required new employees to sign a contract that says if they leave employment prior to working on shift for 3 years, they will be charged a prorated amount for their training costs. Basically it was $5000 to train me they claim and I've been on shift for 1.5 years so they're saying I own $3300. However, I've been told by multiple people that they have no legal means to force me to pay this and it cannot affect my credit if I don't. Is this the case or was everyone wrong? (Can post the contract if needed but I haven't because it could lead to me identity)

Answer: That could absolutely affect your credit if they sued you and won and you didn't pay the judgement.


Title: [MO] Being told that if I don't get security clearance I may be terminated

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Yes. If the job conditions change to needing a security clearance, they can terminate if you don't meet the requirements.


Title: Jury duty - keep excuse letter?

Question: I was excused from jury duty (I was away at school when they requested me) a while back. How long should I keep the confirmation of excusal? I want to keep it long enough that I know there's no issue in their system that says I just skipped out. So in other words, how long should I keep the letter to cover myself?

Answer: Scan it & email to yourself. Then throw away the paper copy.


Title: My car was stolen this morning

Question: As the title says, walked outside to find my car was gone. I thought my wife was playing a prank on me but sadly no. Called the tow companies to make sure it didn't get repossessed on accident or something and it didn't. Called the cops and they said an officer might come talk to me. I honestly don't know what to do.

Answer: Report it stolen and call your insurance company.


Title: FBI took my computer, when will I get my stuff back?

Question: A few months ago, any time between april 29 and may 11, the fbi raided my home due to a sibling of mine getting involved in swatting people. They confiscated any digital media device in the home, and I was wondering when/if I will be retrieving items back that do not have any incriminating evidence on them (and if any devices do whether or not we will be able to get those back). When the FBI were at our home, an agent told us that it would take around 4-5 months. Just wanted a second opinion.

Answer: 4-5 months is a reasonable time frame.  It could be a year or longer, though, depending on their backlog.


Title: Just received my DUI police report. Says I refused chemical test even though I did a blood test and it's recorded

Question:
I just received a notice that my license is suspended for one year because I refused a chemical test. My police report seems to be a little contradictory. At one point it says I refused chemical tests but then it says I said I would do a blood test and has the signature of the nurse who did it. The officer told me I could do either a blood or breath and I chose blood. There is also another mistake where it says I hit two parked cars but the officer said I hit one and my insurance only has records for one.

I don't have an attorney and can't afford one, I was going to get a public defender from the court. I'm freaking out now. How likely will I be able to fight this on my own?

Oh I'm in Southern California.

Answer:
 Chemical test is the breath one. You refused that and took blood.

Edit:  chemical actually covers both but colloquially cops use chemical for breath.  Either way it's irrelevant as long as he didn't check "refused" on your admin per se


Title: [US][IL] Help! The police stole my iPhone! (Need advice)

Question:
It was first stolen by some junkie, I called the police and made a complaint. The junkie dropped it an EcoATM a week later. EcoATM contacted me, I called the officer in charge, he had it delivered to the police station. A few days later, the officer called me and asked me my unlock password (to run forensics and confirm it was my phone, he said). The next week, I call back and ask him when I could have my phone back, he says not soon: "it's evidence now, it may take a year or two before we hand it back to you".
It's a brand new iPhone, this situation doesn't look fair at all to me, but the iPhone is hardly worth enough for me to get a lawyer involved.
What do you guys think I can do?

Answer:
 > A few days later, the officer called me and asked me my unlock password (to run forensics and confirm it was my phone, he said).

I sure hope you didn't give him your password... because that would have been a dumb move..Answer #2: Call your homeowners/renters insurance and see if they will cover it. You may also want to check if you've been paying for protection via your phone provider.Answer #3: Because the court system takes a while, its gonna be a while before your cell phone isnt evidence anymore.  Sorry OP.

The cop lied to you too, they dont need your password


Title: [MA] Ex wants me to pay parking tickets in his name

Question:
So an ex-boyfriend of mine sent me an email today saying that there were three parking tickets from 2012 on a car that was in his name that I drove when we were together, each under $100. Looking at the scans of the tickets, I realized that these weren't from when I was driving the car, but from when it was parked overnight and didn't get moved in the morning.

Do I have an obligation to pay these? He said that he'd tell anyone looking to collect on them to talk to me, and I don't want debt collectors or anything on my back.

EDIT - To clarify...

1) I'm not sure if I'm the one who did the parking, it was four years ago. Regardless of who parked the car, he considered it my responsibility to move it in the morning.

2) Both of us used the car, not just me.

Answer:
 > He said that he'd tell anyone looking to collect on them to talk to me

He can say that until he's blue in the face but he still needs to pay them if he wants them to go away.Answer #2: It's not your legal responsibility.


Title: Class has been streaming Disney plus to a tv at school. We have been ordered to stop by the school for breaking rebroadcasting guidelines.

Question:
My class has recently been watching tv on Disney plus on days when we do not have work to do. The teacher is completely okay with it, but the school has informed our teacher that we are no longer allowed to do so because it is considered illegal rebroadcasting. Is there anyone that can help me understand exactly what rebroadcasting is and how watching a show would qualify as rebroadcasting?
State: Georgia
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 > we are no longer allowed to do so because it is considered illegal rebroadcasting

It is absolutely illegal. The Disney+ license is for PERSONAL use in someone's home, not for "public" broadcast. It is a violation of the terms of service and could land the school in very expensive hot water.

[Read section one.](https://www.disneyplus.com/legal/subscriber-agreement)