Title: My family keeps taking my medicine what can I do?

Question: [Oregon] I am 15 (16 in a month). I am diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome (Makes me get bad  nausea spells without warning and I'll puke for no reason). I was given a medicine (idk the name off the top of my head) to help me when I feel ill. I will simply let the tablet dissolve in my mouth and the nausea goes away. I'm given a prescription with about a dozen pills at a time. I don't need it every single day. Usually one pill every week or so (some times even up to 3 in one week!) but anyways whenever I take my medicine I always notice the pills drain way faster than I use them. It turns out my parents and one of my older siblings have been taking them anytime they have the flu or have some morning sickness. I tried to hide my meds and they got mad saying that they could use it because I'm their kid and im on their insurance or whatever. I was a little upset but I got to my last straw this morning when I started to get sick before school and all my medicine was gone and I threw up everywhere. So basically is it a crime to take a prescription not for you, if yes how do I report it because I'm gonna threaten my whole family saying the next person to touch my pills is getting their ass reported.

Answer:
 That's awful and I'm sorry your family are doing that.

Find out what you're on. If you're on something mundane, then you should mention it to your doctor - your parents are withholding your medication, which is problematic and may have legal implications, but it might be possible for your doc to encourage them to get their own prescriptions.

If you're on a controlled substance such as an opioid painkiller or a powerful stimulant, though, what your family is doing may be a _serious crime_. Talk to the pharmacist or your doctor immediately, but recognize that they may go to jail for their actions.


Title: Avoiding a ticket on technicality, chances?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > On the summons under "first name" the officer put my first and middle name and didn't put a middle initial. Could this technically be seen as some sort of misrepresentation of who committed the offense and get it thrown out

No.


Title: Well That's Far More Attention And Effort Than I Deserve!

Answer:
 Did...did /u/zapopa figure out how to make a meme?

Best. Day. Ever. Answer #2: *Did you know*...

...although he portrays himself as a proud, upstanding American citizen online, /u/Zapopa's past is not quite as clean as he would like you to believe.  Late in the summer of 1969, after a night of debauchery out with the fellas, he was arrested after being found in a "compromising" position with a Guernsey and a backpack full of peanut butter, rubber bands and bourbon.  (Some things never change!)  Although the charges were ultimately dropped when the farm owner refused to press charges, he will likely never forget the night he spent in the local jail.
Answer #3: + /u/zapchangebot 2 zapopacoins

Answer #4: El día de los tontos de Abril, /r/legaadvice iba retraso completo.

¡Todos ustedes me puede soplar!Answer #5: LOLAnswer #6: Blow you?  I hardly know you!Answer #7: Zapopa has figured it out
So let's all give him a shout
We could give him a cheer
Or pour him a beer
Or a Maker's Mark right down his snout.Answer #8: Thank you /u/Zapopa

For making me laugh daily

Now go F YourselfAnswer #9: I was out today
No Zap-poetry
But here's haiku for you Zap
Answer #10: Zapopa, Zapopa
12 stories tall made of radiation
Present beware, future beware
He's coming. He's coming. He's coming


Title: Neighbor dumping dirt, yard trimmings, trash, etc on my yard

Question:
First of all I'll say moving is not an option. I'm renting and my landlord doesn't want to deal with it because it doesn't violate the lease on their part and the neighbor rents from a different company. This is in  Texas.

I (30s M) moved in six years ago, and four years ago this lady (60s F) moved in next door. She's been a nightmare neighbor. Leaf blower going till midnight kind of neighbor. The crux is, She has stripped her yard bare, down to the dirt, she is digging out all the plants, rocks, leaves, roots, etc and piling them in my yard. In my drainage ditch. And then dumping a ton of dirt on top to cover it up. All that dirt she scrapped off her yard. It not only looks like shit but when we get heavy rains like we did last month that's the only place for the water to go. Now the floodwater comes into my garage and the other neighbor's living room. I've tried talking to her, I've tried bitching her out when that didn't work. As I mentioned above my landlord won't do anything about it since it costs to remove and her house isn't theirs, and its not something in the lease that forces them to fix. I wrote an ultimatum note and stuck it in her door. "I hereby give one week formal notice. Remove your trash and dirt from my yard, immediately" I know its not really going to do anything since at 1am last night she was out there dumping more.

If I could put up a fence I would and be done with it, but that's against my lease, naturally. What can a poor renter do in a situation like this besides move. The noise complaints are one thing, (and while annoying aren't really pursuable either due to the legality of where we live. It's technically inside city limits, but the county sheriff two towns over is who is in charge of policing the area, so I've lived with them long enough already), but I've gotten snide comments from friends about how trashy my place is looking now. It really does, but what more can I do to get this to stop?

Answer:
 Sue her for any damages you've already had, pay to get the dirt and stuff removed and sue her for the costs of that too. Also call the police next time she's dumping stuff on your yard because that is probably trespassing.Answer #2: Look at your municipalities code enforcement section.

At least where I live disturbing that much land requires an environmental assessment and plan to be in place to mitigate exactly these sorts of issues.

And they don't look kindly on illegal dumping either. Answer #3: Not a lawyer but see if your city has something about keeping the drains clean. My parents lived in a place where you were required by law to keep the drains clear of garden garbage or you got fined by the city.

That might make your landlord move to act against the other landlord.


Title: A family that supported me (not my biological family) and paid for my college has stopped supporting me. What can I do?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 You are going to get harsh responses because you sound entitled.  I'll try to skip that.

Even if you could sue them based on their promise to pay for your education, you'd only be able to recover the damages you actually had and couldn't mitigate.  So maybe you could sue them for LAST semester's tuition which you already incurred based on their promise (if that wasn't paid), but you can't sue them for next semester's tuition or the semester after that.  They can certainly revoke any promise going forward.

I would suggest that you talk to the college financial aid people and see what they can do.  You will have to make college expenses work based on taking out loans for yourself, etc., or you will have to drop out of college and support yourself.  The financial aid office will be used to problems such as yours and will be able to point you in the right direction.  Don't tell them the whole story, just tell them the people who were supporting you have totally cut you off.

Even if you drop out, if you work at it you should be able to finish school within a few years, either at the school you are at or by transferring to a cheaper community college.


Title: Competitor using similar name and sending harassing emails

Question:
A person started a competing company. Called it "Our Name Extra word" utilized our fonts and a similar web design.
Asked them to take it down, they didn't we filed a successful complaint with Facebook then they changed.

They then tracked down a person who ran a single event "Our Name Extra word" 2 years before they lived in town. Claimed to purchase the right to that name and filed a trademark dated exactly one day before ours.
They have registered several instances of our names domain like .co that redirects to their website which sells the same product in the same city.
They have contacted new employees to set up one on one meeting to tell them the real truth about working for us and have said they are going to make sure our entire city knows the real truth how we are liars and stealing money.

Now they are sending me profanity filled emails calling my personal home number and facebooking me calling me a liar and sharing screen shoots of what I've posted on a private employee board saying that because someone sent him that it's proof he has support.

Advice?

Answer: Time to consult a business lawyer.  Train your employees not to speak to these people.


Title: Ex wife dying. Custody and child support questions.

Question:
I have a 12m with my ex wife.  We have joint custody of my son with her as residential parent.  We live in Illinois.

My ex wife was put into hospice this weekend with a body that has been destroyed by cancer.  She has been given less than a month to live.  My son has been living with me for the last 2 weeks as we realized how bad she was getting. Do I need to do anything to ensure that full custody is mine when she finally passes?
Her sister has taken power of attorney and found my ex’s finances I pretty bad shape.  I offered her this months child support to get the house utilities up to date so she can try to sell the house.  She has stated that she does not  expect any more child support from me after this. Do I need to go to court to ensure no one comes looking for me for back child support even though I have my son?

Thanks for any advice

Answer: Yes.  You would need to file requesting a change in custody and that your child support obligation be abolished.  It sounds like you pay directly, not through wage withholding (in which case it would just continue to be garnished indefinitely until the CS office caught on that she died), but it would be best to legally ensure that you have all rights to the child with respect to medical and school decisions and that the support order is dropped because you have custody.Answer #2: You will also want to contact Social Security, your son may receive benefits with his mother's passing. I wish you the best as you navigate through all of this.Answer #3: I'm sorry you, her, your son, and her family is having to go through this. Ideally you should go to court ASAP to get it over with and done, but logistically it is probably not worth the effort. You may not even get into court before she passes. You would be the person to get custody once she passes. Your support obligation would end then as well. Realistically, it only sounds like they may be able to come after a couple of months of child support from you. I doubt even that would be worth the effort to do so. I think you feel like you can trust your ex's family, you should just really focus your efforts on giving your son as much time as he possibly can get with his mother right now.


Title: (FL) My roommate drank some of my tea, got sick and now wants to sue me.

Question:
I love herbal teas and I keep a bunch around. I always label the tins with exact what's in them. We share a kitchen but have separate pantries and the fridge is divided too.

Anyway, my roommate decided to drink some of my dandelion tea while I was at work. And she (supposedly) got sick after drinking it since she has "kidney issues"(didn't tell me).

She was supposedly in the hospital from ~10am till 9am the next morning, I don't know if she was there or not all I know is that she wasn't home and left me a voicemail saying she wouldn't be home till the next day.

She wants me to pay for her hospital bill. So am I responsible for anything? Isn't it her fault that she just drank a random tea?

Answer: Ignore her until she gets a lawyer and sues you (she probably won't but you never know). If she does, do not ignore it but find yourself a lawyer. Answer #2: In the ever popular words of this subreddit, tell her to pound sand. You are definitely not responsible for her stealing your tea.


Title: Is it just me, or are general posts getting locked really, really fast?

Question:
There are some posts on the main page of /r/legaladvice which are already locked despite being <3 hours old.

The discussion is clearly not finished,but there is a generalized notation of 'received a lot of reports' followed by a lock.

I suspect every single post which gets popularish is going to have a bunch of reports by the laws of averages and internet trolls, so is this really a good reason to lock posts so quickly?

Answer:
 On the subject of locked posts, why are the announcement threads here and on bestof locked when they are specifically asking for comments and feedback? Answer #2: I wish they would lock out the incorrect legal advice from starred users and moderators. No chance that will happen in our lifetime. It's so sad. Answer #3: The update locking is one of the most misguided decisions about a sub I've seen. Used to be one of my favorite subreddits but I don't bother anymore. I was hoping it was going to be short lived but it just seems like more and more things are locked and moved and rendering the sub unusable. Everyone clamors for updates, people post updates, they are immediately locked and sent to  *a different subreddit*, which sends a clear message that updates aren't actually welcome at all. Answer #4: I don't know that I would call these locks particularly fast, but I did notice these today.

https://np.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4ncpd2/tx_so_apparently_i_am_dead/
https://np.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4ng4qt/adam_walsh_law_may_ruin_my_life_co/


Title: [FL] Independent contractor husband was fired.

Question:
My husband is a tattoo artist, he was fired from the tattoo shop where he had been working for 10 years because he took a box of gloves home. There were alot of personal issues there too, obviously.

The owners wife called and told him to call her in order to pick up all the things out of his booth. He called back immediately to no answer. The following day she texted him and told him all his stuff was outside in the rain, that he needs to come pick it up and he is never welcome in the shop again.

There are things missing. Most painful about 19 boxes of needles at $425, about 9 bottles of ink at $80 total and a few other things like a lamp and television mounts. In addition to this they are with holding his final paycheck "until they can prove he didn't steal anything else". He had to go work at a different tattoo shop but because they took some of his things he had to order and do a one day rush on ink and needles, costing us $468. The total approximate amount they owe is around $3000.

These people have always been terrible people, who punish you personally for perceived slights. What options do I have? Should I just have a lawyer draft something up? Would it be a mistake for me to call and calmly ask for the things back?

Answer:
 IANAL, but if I were in your shoes, first I personally would not call. It's not your dog in the race, it's his dog despite your relationship. He should request his items. In addition, he should immediately return the gloves and any other items he may have that the shop provided.

After that, tally up any financial damages he may have occurred due to loss or damage of equipment you can PROVE. Then tally up (and round up on this) everything you can think of that his previous employer might sue for (monetary losses only, things like pain and suffering won't fly). Then add a hundred bucks and a few days dealing with court shit and the actual hearing. Decide if that's worth it, financially.

If it is, then sue them in small claims court for his damages. If it's not, then move on and be glad it's over. If it's close, then don't bother.


Title: #Las Vegas. Being Sued and Want to Counter Sue

Question:
Back in November I was shopping for carpet here in Las Vegas. I went to multiple companies asking them if they could install the carpet by a certain date (we needed it before Thanksgiving) and only one company said they could meet our demands. When writing up the contract I even had them add to the contract they would guarantee installation by the 21st. I pay 50% upfront and agree to pay the remaining 50% the day of install, 25% before they start the install and the other 25% after they finish.

Sure enough I get a call from them a few days before the carpet is supposed to arrive. They tell me the carpet got lost, won't be here in time and there's nothing they can do about it. After I go down to the store to raise hell, we manage to find a solution. They agree to come and install a different the day before Thanksgiving and once my carpet arrives they will come back and reinstall the one I originally purchased. This was a decent solution although the carpet they replaced mine with was 1/10 the cost which also means much less quality and it's was a dark brown (I originally chose a cream color carpet).

They come the day before Thanksgiving, install the ugly brown carpet and Thanksgiving is a success. The following Monday I get a call from their office telling me my cream carpet has finally arrived (a week late). They ask if I'll be around that day so they can come and install it, I'm tell them yes but beforehand I would like to speak to someone about some sort of compensation for not getting the carpet installed on time. The lady says of course I'll have someone call you before our men arrive to discuss compensation.

The men show up and no one has called me yet. It takes them about an hour to rip up the old and put down the new one, still no phone call from the manager. The men finish, never ask for any form of payment, and leave. Days go by before I hear from anyone at the company and when I do all they want to know is when they can expect the remaining 50%. No mention of compensation and when I bring it up they say they'll have someone call me back. Months go by and instead of a call back I get served paperwork saying the are suing me and want almost 10x the original cost of my carpet. Apparently they are charging me interest on the 50% I had yet to pay and since it is now 6 months later a $700 payment is now almost $5000.

Since the contract clearly states they will collect payment before install and I also had them guarantee the install by a certain date, can they sue me for lack of payment? In my eyes they are in breach of multiple areas of their own contract and i want to counter sue. Am I in the wrong or do I have a case here?

Thanks for reading this. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. I have copies of the contract if that helps you.

Answer: There was a contract and they were in breach. However it appears you waived that preach by accepting a substitute carpet until your carpet could arrive.  They provided you a substitute carpet and when your carpet arrived they installed it.  You received your carpet only it was delayed. They attempted to rectify that delay and it appears you agreed with this rectification by installing a substitute carpet until your carpet to actually arrive.  You accepted this carpet you allowed them to install it and now you do have to pay for it. As to a breach that would negate the contract, it appears they attempted and you accepted their proposed correction of that breach. it would be extremely difficult for you to claim any kind of damages because you even said Thanksgiving was a success.  I believe any kind of suit on your part but have limited if any success.


Title: Does a cop's word hold more leverage in a courtroom than a defendants?

Question:
If it was just me and a cop, and the cop punches himself in the face and said I did it, is there any scenario where I don't get convicted? What about a regular person?

What about a traffic stop or littering for example?

Answer:
 The court looks views a cop's testimony in relation to how reasonable it is (or is not).

If a cop was testified that you punched him in the face, but you testified that the cop actually punched himself in the face to frame you, what seems more reasonable?

Also, cops typically have little/no reason to lie because they have little/nothing to gain, and a lot to lose. So, if the cop testifies that he saw you speed (or commit any crime), why would he lie? If a cop is caught intentionally perjuring himself, he could lose his job, be charged with a felony, and sent to prison. What would a cop gain by lying that you were speeding that would be worth the risk to his job?

So the word of a cop in court seemingly only "holds more leverage" because there is often the assumption that they have little reason to lie.Answer #2: I was flat out told by a magistrate that they give more weight to the cops testimony.


Title: My neighbor has a large tree on his front yard that attracts many song birds to nest there.

Question:
This is a problem because the birds enjoy coming to my backyard, harrasssing my dog (eating her food, shitting in her water, shitting on my windows ect.). Is there anything I can do to stop the birds? Am I allowed to take action due to them disrupting my property? Or do I call FLWLC and see if they are willing to help?

Side note:
I've spoken to my neighbor about him dealing with the situation, since it stems from his property and he's been only rude and unhelpful.

Answer:
 How exactly do you want to stop the birds from being birds?

You don't have a legal issue here.Answer #2: It's a tree, they're birds. You're contributing more to the situation by leaving out dog food. You can employee anti-bird devices on your ledges and around your home.Answer #3: While this is not legal advice, you may want to consider the alternatives that will inhabit the tree after you scare off the birds.

In florida, it is often rats.

Rats that also like to nest in the roofs of homes and can get into spaces as small as a nickle.

If you stop feeding and watering the birds and set up your dog’s food and water elsewhere, they will like not come into your yard or shit as much on your property.

Shooting them is almost certainly illegal.Answer #4: So....you want your neighbor to tear down a tree likely worth thousands (at least) because you don't like birds?

You can put up as many doodads on your own property as you want to scare away birds, but you can't force them to take the tree down.Answer #5: Lol I don’t think u can do any about birds we do share the land with themAnswer #6: I'm not an expert in bird law but you should definitely not kill any birds on this list. Doing so can lead to much bigger problems. Unfortunate there probably aren't a lot of options for dealing with them.

https://www.fws.gov/birds/management/managed-species/migratory-bird-treaty-act-protected-species.php


Title: MA Family - Ex wife has refused to pay child support for years. Is there anything at all to do before I give up?

Question:
I obtained custody of my three children around 2003 when they were young. All three are over 18 now but one still lives with me.  She is handicapped and I'll always be responsible for her.

For many years I tried to work with my ex to pay child support and she just wont. This escalated years ago through proper channels. Her drivers license was revoked, she was even put in jail for a weekend and ordered to get a job. Her child support was reduced to a total of $25 a week and she just won't pay anything.

I got a letter from DoR today that reminded me about this so I called up for giggles and asked what her blance is. Its of course in the tens of thousands of dollars.

I don't know if there's anything that I can do but I would hate, like really feel sick about the whole thing all over, if the only thing that I can do is just say "oh well" and suck it up again.

Any thoughts on this? I just can't believe that the legal bottom line is to just give up.

Answer:
 Does she have the money? There's a saying "you can't get blood from a stone"; that is, if she's broke then suing her won't magically make the money she owes you appear.

But if she remarried rich, or got a big inheretence, or got a new well paying job, there are probably things you can do; levies and garnishments primarily. Answer #2: The courts can go after her criminally:

http://www.crckids.org/child-support/eligibility/collecting-back-child-support-payments/

You can also engage the state that she's living in to collect these debts. If she has a job, they'll garnish and you'll at least get a little bit of what she owes.

Alternatively, you can hire a [private collection agency](http://www.crckids.org/child-support/using-a-private-collection-agency/).  A Private collection service is going to be a bit more aggressive.

That being said... blood from stone, etc. Answer #3: There are a number of ways to either get money directly from child support debtors in MA or make their lives difficult until they pay, including garnishing wages, intercepting tax refunds, property liens, and suspending their driver's licenses. There are even collection companies that specialize in this kind of thing, for those who are willing to sacrifice some of the payout in exchange for having someone else handle the process.

It will, still, require her to have officially documented money or property, and to care about the possible consequences. If she's living under a bridge and getting her income from returning cans, you're not going to have much luck.


Title: Ex-SIL plans on having her mother pick up my neice for her visitation day, won't be present for any portion of that day to see her daughter at all and we don't want my neice going with her?

Question:
This is in Oregon.

I live with my brother who has custody of their 2 year old daughter. They have a joint custody agreement but she was only given every other weekend with occaisonal daytime visitations. She barely uses her time as it is, as she recently has another baby and seems to have lost interest in my neice.

That being said, a couple days ago she notified my borther that her mother, June (not real name) would be picking up my neice on Friday. While Mom is at work then over with friends, June will be getting the baby from my house and taking her home for an overnight. Mom amd June live together currently (house being investgated by CPS) but Mom doesnt plan on seeing baby even in passing.

Brother texted Mom back that he thought that was a bad idea, because 1.) Mom hasnt seen baby in weeks, and baby knows it. We would rather switch her visitation to a day where they can see each other because Mom is barely if at all a part of her life anymore. And 2.) June has a long history with CPS. Mom had the police involved during her late teen years, right before baby, for physical abuse and neglect even. Mom alleges that June's boyfriend sexually abused her throughtout highschool as well, although no records of that as it was never reported. Moms older brother who lived there as well was just recently convicted of rape and is serving time, and Moms new boyfriend is also a registered sex offender for crimes concerning minors, as we were recently informed by CPS. Obviously we don't want baby there **at all** and are working with the state and possibly another court battle to make that happen. But in the meantime we at least want mom there watching baby when it is going to happen.

Do we have to hand her over to someone not on the custody agreement?

Answer:
 > Do we have to hand her over to someone not on the custody agreement?

Your brother should check his agreement and call his attorney, but almost certainly not.Answer #2: Is there a right of first refusal in the court order?

If so, Mom not being there means Dad has the option to take the child during mom's parenting time.

If not, It's her parenting time and her mom can babysit for it.


Title: Can my father force me to change my name/take genetic tests

Question:
Hey, I'm a 17 year old and live in Springfield, Illinois, USA.

My father I have been up and down arguing and such and he wants to get a genetic test done to see if I am his child.

I don't mind having the test done but he also says that if I am not his kid then I need to have my name changed. Is there anything I can do to keep my name even if I am not his?

Also, biological mom is out of the picture, live with him and step mom. Step mom is staying out of the ordeal.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 Change your name to what? I don’t think he can make you change itAnswer #2: He can’t make you change your name.Answer #3: I am not a lawyer. Your "father" (since it is in question, quotes) cannot force you to change your name. If he tries, you can defeat it by telling the judge it is not your wish to change your name. Source:  https://namechange.uslegal.com/name-changes-laws-by-state/illinois-name-change-law/Answer #4: Did your biological mom give up all her rights to being your parent? A legal document that says shes not legally responsible for you? That her parental rights have been terminated?

See this link

https://www.familylawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/name-changes/name-changes-for-children/196-uncontested

How close are you to turning 18? Can you get an emancipation?Answer #5: In my state, a legal name change is 50$ and a good explanation of why you want it changed.

A judge is seriously unlikely to allow the name change of a teen without speaking to the teen in question. Even if in some freak glitch of the law he manages to change it, nothing will stop you from changing it back.

I suggest you gather your identification papers and hide them and do what you can to prepare for leaving. If he is like this now chances are he will kick you out as soon as you turn 18.

Google Job Corp if you don't have anywhere else to go. If he divorced your mother it may be in a court agreement that he has to support you till you are older.


Title: Updated - How to Get Your Money Back From Stamps.com

Question:
A few days ago, I made this [post]:(https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4af3ih/bringing_stampscom_to_small_court_atlanta_ga/).

Stamps.com is basically a scam. They "trick" you into a monthly subscription with almost no warning. Do a quick Google search and you can see this has happened to thousands of people; they are rated 1/5 from most consumer review service for this very reason. I bought a 5$ shipping label for an ebay order, and without even knowing it they signed me up for a 15.99 a month subscription. This was not the case where I signed up for a trial and forget to cancel it. There was literally nothing besides an registration email that let me know I was subscribed. This went on for 10 months. Here is how I got my money back:

* 1.) I called Customer Service explaining my situation and asked for my money back. They reverted the current months charges and said that was all they could do.
* 2.) I re-called Customer Service asking to speak to a supervisor. I asked them to refund me all my money or I was comfortable taking them to Small Claims court. He got to HIS supervisor and got back to me and said they could offer me 5 of the 10 months back. I told them no, and said I would be pursuing legal action. The guy actually wished me luck and said "We have an excellent legal department."
* 3.) Wait two days, a third supervisor calls ME and offered me back my entire subscription costs.

This re-enforced my belief that Small Claims court is an excellent recourse against abusive corporate policy that preys on consumers. If any corporation owes you a few hundred in fees/costs, you can threaten small claims and they'll return it just with the threat. This is because a few hundred dollars is nothing compared to the legal costs they would incur if you actually filed the claim. The one corporation that I actually had to file small claims against was Bank of America, which settled with me for 80% of the overdraft fees they charged on top of paying me back for my small claims filling.

If that doesn't work:

> Read the terms:
For all disputes, you must first send to Stamps.com, by certified mail, a written Notice of your claim (“Notice”). The Notice to Stamps.com should be addressed to: Legal Department - Dispute Resolution, Stamps.com Inc., 1990 E Grand Ave., El Segundo, CA 90245 (“Notice Address”). If Stamps.com elects to seek arbitration, it will send, by certified mail, a written Notice to the address used for your membership account. A Notice, whether sent by you or by Stamps.com, must (a) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and (b) set forth the specific relief sought.
Following receipt of the Notice, we each agree to negotiate with each other in good faith about your claim provided in the Notice. If we do not resolve the claim within sixty (60) days after we receive the Notice, you may pursue your claim in arbitration or file a claim in small claims court. We each agree that if you fail to timely pay amounts due, we may pursue the claim directly or assign your account for collection, and the collection agency may pursue the collection of the past due amounts and any interest or cost of collection permitted by law or these Stamps.com PC Postage Terms and Conditions.

Answer:
 TL;DR - annoy stamps.com enough that they pay you to go away.

~~Alliteratively~~ Alternatively, annoy a subreddit enough they dip into their Annual Star Meet up fund to pay your fees to get you to stop posting stupid updates.

e: spulz r hardAnswer #2: I just want to say that we use stamps.com in our office and it's great. Saves a lot of time and money.


Title: Website upload in dispute

Question:
I'm located in Pennsylvania.

Hello r/legaladvice. I have received an email today stating that a client intends to file suit for not providing a means of uploading a website I have built.

My contract states that upon completion all files will be turned over to the client and that the remaining balance will be paid upon delivery. When the site was ready to be uploaded, the client asked if I could upload it to a sub folder instead of the main domain. I did exactly that and they paid me.  I did not hear from them again for three weeks.

In an email, the client indicated that they were going to make additional changes and then move the site to the main domain on their own. A few weeks go by and the client attempted to move the site on their own and ran into issues. The client had changed the configuration of the server and was then met with a very common server error. I had requested credentials to the server so that I could fix the issue. I was told that I would not be given any credentials. Several days go by and the client called and demanded that I fix the issue immediately, I sent an email explaining the error and how to remedy it. I offered to fix the issue myself if I could be provided with the proper credentials. Again, I was told that I could not have access to the host or the main server.

The client was verbally abusive and I made the decision to terminate any further relationship with them by sending them an email. I have not answered any other phone calls or answered emails.

Today, I received an email stating that unless I provide them with some way of moving the site to the main domain without server access that they intend to file suit.

I have delivered a working website to the domain that they had requested, offered assistance on fixing issues that were caused by their internal IT person, and have explained multiple times on how to fix the issue on their own. The issues that they are encountering have nothing to do with the code that I provided and are the result of their inexperience in moving the site.

Do I need a lawyer? It has been suggested to me to send a certified letter including a CD with the website files and copies of the emails where I had offered assistance. Should I respond at all? Should I send a letter? What should my next move be?

Answer:
 Wait for them to sue. Then get a lawyer.

You've gone above and beyond. If you CHOOSE to continue trying to help them be careful that you don't create any sort of additional contract with them. Verbal or otherwise.


Title: (Utah) Lady hit my car, used bogus insurance.

Question:
Basically a few weeks ago a lady hit and totalled my car (as well as did damage to others as she pinballed around). She was driving a 2016 car so I figured insurance wouldn't be an issue. There was a cop a few hundred yards away so she didn't run and there is no doubt of what happened. She produced insurance information for the cop (in turn I got them on the police report) it all looked legit 7/2016 through 7/2017. However my insurance paid me out and went after her company so that I wouldn't be out a car and have no way of getting a new one quickly. However when they contacted the company listed on the police report they said she cancelled that policy in October of 2015. They searched and found another company she had a policy through but they also denied currently insuring her. All I'm out now is my $500 deductible and ~$500 I spent in Uber (3 or so days) and then renting a car. I was told the deductible would be returned when my company got paid by hers and they could go after them for my expenses above and beyond the amount for totaling my car. I am unsure but someone overheard her claim she had a seizure and that caused this, but the cops didn't say anything so I'm not sure this is true or not.

My question is would it be worth my time to go after her or is the amount trivial? Also should I contact the police and inform them that she knowingly used insurance information that was not valid so that they can go after her for uninsured driving and using phony cards? I'm trying not to be spiteful but someone in a brand new car can surely afford insurance and I want to make sure she is held accountable for this. Thanks for any advice I'm kind of unsure what my options are.

Answer:
 We cannot tell you if it is worth your time. That is all you. You can sue in small claims

The police are unlikely to spend the time investigating this.


Title: Process of "potential" father requesting a paternity test the mother doesn't want to give [New Hampshire]

Question:
Hello! My friend just gave birth to a beautiful baby. We will call her Steph. No father was put on the birth certificate. She knows who the father is, let's call him Mike. She hasn't had contact with him since early February.

Steph is completely sure that Mike is the father but another ex boyfriend of hers (Phil) thinks that it's possibly his baby even though that is impossible. Mike agrees with Phil, and they have also included some other guy in the mix (I don't know who) that they are saying is also a potential father, which is entirely impossible. Mike and Phil have been told numerous time that Mike is the father.

Mike and Phil got very mean and Steph has cut contact with them both. Mike has a lot of paranoia issues and often abuses himself. When I used to see him, he did nothing but drink. He lives with his grandma.

Phil has been arrested multiple times for burglaries and sexual assaults.

Phil's mom found out that Steph had the baby and rudely messaged her and mentioned that she wanted a paternity test. What do Phil's mom and Phil have to do to get the test done? If they do the test and it comes out that Phil isn't the father on the test, will they test to find out the father?

Mike is the father and I don't think he would ask to get the test done.

Mike is dangerous as is Phil and Steph just wants to move on with her life and not deal with them. Can she refuse to do the test? No court or police or anything have mentioned anything about the test. Phil's mom just said today "DNA test will show" so I assume she will try to get one court ordered. How does that process go?

Thank you so so so much for reading this and any comments are a huge help. We live in New Hamsphire and Steph is 18, Phil is 19, Mike is 22 I think.

Answer: The alleged father can go to court to file for a paternity test and the court will order one. Then if the father is discovered by the test custody and child support will be determined by the court. Answer #2: Just FYI.  If she ever seeks government benefits of any kind for this child, she is going to be required to identify all potential fathers so they can be tested, and the father ordered to pay child support.


Title: I am in Ohio and my current wife wants to move with my kids...again.

Question:
I am living in northeast Ohio. What I am currently dealing with has been on going for almost 8 months. My wife pulled my oldest out of school and left the state in August of 2013 with both of our kids (6 and 4) to visit her sister before she deployed. Things are going well for us at this time. Her sister calls me and asks if I would be willing to move to Missouri and take ownership of her house. I agreed and began to prepare for the move. My wife enrolled our oldest in school to pick up where she left off. I quit my job and sold our current house and packed everything in boxes. Two days before I am to drive the moving truck to our 'new house' I get a phone call saying she is sleeping with someone else and plans to move with him to WA. In October she came home for 2 weeks. My lawyer and myself put in an 'emergency' order for separation and temp custody to keep my kids in the state. She ignored the court order and left the state anyway. My lawyer kind of just threw his hands up and said, "unless you have the money to fight this in WA she and the kids are gone." I did not at the time so I kind of just went with the flow of things.

The first few months they were there, I was paying her $500 a month to help with the kids. I later found out in December my oldest daughter still was not starting school. I cut off all monetary support for her at the end of December. I had to get the ball rolling FROM OHIO to get my daughter started in school, her 3rd school since August.

Fast forward to now and she just arrived back 'home' in Ohio. Her boyfriend was re-assigned to New York. She wants to move with him to New York in July. I do not want that to happen. Most importantly, it will be the 4th school my oldest has had to start at in a year. Second, both of our entire families are here in Ohio. Being that we are still LEGALLY married what course of action do I have? I have a court date next week for 'back' child support. I have tried to contact the lawyers in my county but none of them can prepare in time. I have no clue what I am going into. Any advice for what to expect in the coming 'battles?'

EDIT: Since so many of you keep sending me nasty PM's...I have recently got a job paying VERY well. I am pulling almost $60k a year plus my military pension. Funding my kids is no problem at all. HOWEVER, I do not want to fund my estranged wife and her boyfriend.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: File for divorce and custody. Request that the children not be allowed to move. You can do it yourself but would have a better outcome with an attorney.


Title: Mechanic charged me more than expected and won't stick to original agreement. Also won't release my car. Options?

Question:
Someone suggested I ask for advice here, but basically my issue is with a mechanic charging more than double what was agreed to. My car started doing a stutter/stop thing yesterday so I took it to a mechanic nearby today. I explained the situation with the car, but also explained my limited financial situation. He said to give one of his guys time to look it over. He came back around an hour later and said it would be $150 and we agreed he would let me do 3 $50 payments.

However, when I came back I. The afternoon it was $320-$340(can't remember exactly) and he wouldn't take any payments. He said there were some unexpected costs and more labor. Idk what to do. He's also saying he will charge me a parking fee starting tomorrow too. What do I do to get my car back?

Answer:
 Check the document you signed when you handed the car over (you should have had to sign something).  I'm willing to bet it's clear that it's an estimate, and that you'll be expected to sign the real total.  Pending any variation there, you're SOL -- that's actually very standard with car work.  He *should* have been very up front and clear on that -- I've never met a mechanic who wasn't.

As for the payment issue, I'm less certain there -- there should be some sort of credit option, but unless it was written into the original contract, I'm not sure what your options are.


Title: I am 17 and a classmate crushed the eye of another classmate who's a girl, he whanted to hit me with the pen, now the girl sued him and i am now a witness!

Question:
The trial is going to be in a few weeks and i think both of them have different storyes
His story is that i asked for the pen(witch i didnt) and accidentally hit her, there was a good 6/8 meters between me and him, and the girl was in front of me, i was talking to her desk colleague and it hit her
Her story coud be 1 of two, either he whanted to hit me or try to trow it into the garbage.
She got multiple surgeries that costed a lot of money, his family paid but now there is one more that cost a lot and his family can't afford to pay.
What shoud i say, shoud i say the truth or what?

Answer:
 >shoud i say the truth

That's exactly what you should say and nothing else.

Tell the truth. Don't add opinions and don't make assumptions.


Title: Selling a lovesac to some random dude

Question:
Sorry for horrible formatting as I am on mobile.

I posted on a few apps similar to craigslist about selling a lovesac (giant bean bag chair) that I no longer want. One person told me they were interested, but he said he was going to send me a check in the mail to pay for said lovesac. He said after the check went through, he would then send a “trusted shipper” to pick up the lovesac because he is not in the same state as me. I obliged and gave him my name, address, and apartment number (I realize this could be a huge mistake). A few days went by and I didn’t hear anything from him. I even went as far as getting ready to sell the lovesac to another buyer. Then I received a text from the original buyer saying the check was sent via USPS and he even gave a tracking number. The thing is, his assistant supposedly wrote me a check for the money that was supposed to go to his daughters school, instead of the amount for the lovesac. He apologized for the accident and asked if I would deduct the agreed upon amount for the lovesac and send the rest to his daughters school. He said a “reliable shipper” will pick up the lovesac after I received the money and had it in my bank account. Two days later I received a text from him saying the check had been delivered. I go to my mailbox, and there is a USPS envelope with a check for $1850 issued to me. I told him I received the check and he wanted me to send a receipt showing I deposited it into my bank so he could confirm the payment (which doesn’t make sense looking back because once the check is written, the only thing he can do is void it). Again, I obliged, but obviously didn’t give away any of my account information. The next day, the money was in my account and I let him know. I was asking him how I was supposed to send the money to his daughters school like he had previously asked, and he proceeded to tell me to buy two $500 amazon gift cards, and send him pictures of the redeem codes on the back. He then said I could give the remaining money to the shipper when he comes to pick up the lovesac. I was very sketched at this point because you can’t use amazon gift cards anywhere other than amazon. I told him this and his whole tone changed. He told me to trust him and he knows what he is doing. He said he’s going to redeem the cards for cash and give them to his daughters school. I sent him an excerpt from amazons gift card terms and conditions that explicitly stated they cannot be used or redeemed for cash, or anywhere other than amazon, like I previously stated. He then replied with “get me the cards and leave the rest to me.” I have not said anything as I am very sketched out. I basically want to know if I’m being scammed or framed or anything like that. On a side note, the location the shipment was sent from, the company I received the check from, and the area code of the number I have been texting are all spread out across the country. None are the same state as me.

Answer:
 Scam.  Do not deposit the check.  It is fake, it will bounce *after* you've withdrawn the money, the funds will be reversed out of your account, and you'll be in the hole with no recourse because all the information you have on the scammer is also fake.

Ignore the scammer and sell the lovesac to a real person that you can verify is real.  If the transaction involves the mail and/or some baloney check story and/or an inability to actually meet the person, run -- don't walk -- as fast as you can in the opposite direction.

Edit: Looks like you already deposited the check.  *sigh*  You may want to inform your bank that you were the victim of a scam and not touch any of that money that was deposited because it's not real and not actually in your account.Answer #2: Scam. Do not deposit the check. Do not send anyone money. The check will bounce after awhile and you will be on the hook for the money. Answer #3: I got as far as

>One person told me they were interested, but he said he was going to send me a check in the mail to pay for said lovesac.

It's a scam. Answer #4: It's a scam.  In a few days, that check will bounce and be removed from your account.

Answer #5: This is a common scam. Any time they want you to cash a check and forward a portion to them,Answer #6: SCAM


Title: Uncle died, autistic son of Uncle signed body away to someone not in the family, and now they want all of the inheritance.

Question: Franklin, Indiana. My Uncle died, next of kin would have been his son, but he's autistic (disabled) and he signed the body away to someone not in the family, after grandparents already paid for the funeral. Now they want all the inheritance. Do my grandparents (Uncle's dad) have the right to the inheritance, or now that the bodies signed away is there nothing we can do?

Answer:
 First, sorry for your loss.

What do you mean by 'the body is signed away'?

If your Uncle died with a Will, that Will should be followed.  If he died without one, inheritance first passes to any surviving legal spouse, and if no legal spouse, divided evenly between surviving children.Answer #2: Possession of the body has nothing to do with inheritance. It will depend on whether he had a will or not.


Title: dog bites

Question:
we have a dog, who’s very sweet but very anxious. he gets scared when people lunge at him and has caught a few people. Everyone he’s nipped so far has realized that they were the ones at fault, having come quickly at the dog, but today he caught someone and their reaction was much more “blame” oriented. The girl got hopped behind her ear, in a place that will be unnoticeable and will most likely not require stitches. The parents of the girl were panicking when she called and now i’m scared our dog could get put down. she came at him too fast but i know that doesn’t matter in situations like this. Do we have any options or do you think i have anything to really be afraid of? Obviously, my dog shouldn’t be biting but i am very afraid of putting him down. he’s a part of our family. Any advice would be appreciated
Topic:
Insurance

Answer: Where did this happen? If your dog has a history of biting people and it has already happened multiple times then you really need to get the situation under control. It sounds like you think it is the bite victim's fault in these situations but really it is yours.


Title: Somebody screwed up or committed fraud with my property purchase and I’m not sure how to proceed.

Question: Im in Connecticut.  A couple months ago I purchased property.  It was advertised as 5.25 acres.  Upon looking at the town GIS website, it listed two plots, one was .5 acres, another was 4.75 acres, both listed to the same owner.  It is a farm house and the pasture is fenced in making the property appear as one plot.  I messaged my realtor, prior to sale, “the town lists it as two plots(showed GIS mapping).  It’s advertised as 5+ acres, and the its only 5+ acres of both plots are included.  I want the purchase contract to reflect both lots are included.”  She replies “their daughter used to own the house behind, and the parents had given her the land years ago.  When she got divorced, she deeded the land back to the parents, but the town just would recombine the plots.  Yes, both plots would be yours.”  I have this communication in writing.  The purchase contract, as I understand it, describes both, parcel A and parcel B, with descriptions/measurements etc).  Perfect, sale goes through.  Now, 3 months later, I find out that they sold that .5 acre parcel to the person behind me last year.  It seems like fraud on the sellers part.  The town never updated their mapping system, which was misleading.   I understand it, they no longer owned that .5 acre to sell me, even though it was in the purchase contract.  Now, I have title insurance and I also used an attorney for the purchase.  Who do I go to first?  My concern with the attorney, is that I used the realtor recommended attorney so their may be some bias if my realtor or he himself has some culpability.  Do I get another separate attorney?  Do I just let title insurance sort it out?  Also, seeing as i just bought a house, I don’t really have funds to litigate, so I’m not sure what to do.

Answer: This is lawyer territory, and the lawyer will want to review the title insurance policy you should have purchased when you acquired the property.


Title: I think my identity was stolen. Please help.

Question: I live in Florida and the reason I think this is happening is because I received one of those toll invoices a few days ago. When I looked at it, it was a vehicle and license plate I didn’t recognize as well as the fact that it was addressed to me personally. The thing is I do not have a vehicle under my name. I thought it was a clerical error and reported it to the service number provided on the toll invoice. They said they would contact the DMV and see who the vehicle was registered under and when they called back they said the vehicle was indeed registered in my name. Now again, I do not have any such vehicle in my name leading me to think someone fraudulently bought a vehicle in my name. What can I do? Thank you in advance for anything you can tell me.

Answer:
 Maybe take the invoice to the DMV and see if it is registered not just under your name but at your address as well? And then cancel the registration?

And check your credit to see if someone took out a car loan in your name.


Title: General advice?

Question: Just a quick question. I was recently in a fender bender with my girlfriend. It was pouring rain and wet. While hitting the brakes, the tires slid resulting in a fender bender. She was cited for following to close. Would the weather have any say so in this instance?

Answer: If she was following close enough that she could not safely stop the vehicle without hitting someone else, she was following too close. The driver is responsible for factoring in the weather.


Title: Can my employer require employees to stand for the national anthem and take their hats off?

Question:
Summer job where we're required to take our hats off and stand facing the flag, not moving or working. Are they allowed to require this of us?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: They can't force you, but I imagine they can fire you if you don't.Answer #2: No one is going to physically force you to do it. However, they can make it a policy and fire you for not following their policy, yes.


Title: MN: High School Student being forced to pay for parking at public high school

Question:
Hi lawyers of reddit, I am currently in a sticky situation with my school and would love some advice. I am a Junior at Wayzata High, the biggest school in the state and I drive to school everyday. The school has a policy which forces students to pay for parking in the school lots daily (3$), semester, or yearly (215$). There are daily buses that run for free, but being a student athlete I stay after every day and there are only late buses three times a week, not enough for me to get home everyday. As a public school I was wondering if it is legal for the school to charge students to park, especially at such exorbitant prices. It's cheaper to buy a yearly pass at the UofM for Pete's sake!
Edit: Thanks for the quick advice

Answer: Yes it is legal.


Title: Help! I signed and NDA but the company was incorporated in my name and now the partnership has fallen apart...

Question:
I met a guy looking for an investor for this idea he had and upon meeting him I signed an NDA. So the business name was wrote in on the NDA and the material he had for such business name was 5-6 pieces of paper of facts and ideas he wanted to do with the company nothing was developed at this point in time.

This guy and I agree we want to go into business together but we haven't discussed percentages yet and by the time we did I had contributed significantly more than him to the development and building of the project + I was investing money in the company.

Anyways, I pay for us to go see a lawyer and get incorporated last week and the company was incorporated in my name and now my partner has begun to get greedy and is talking about selling my shares of the company. Last night he told me to go F myself because I didn't like his terms even though I contributed more than he did monetarily and intellectually and so we ended our partnership. We never had a partnership agreement drafted between the two of us and the only things on paper are the NDA from when I first met him (this had the business name on it) and now the incorporation of the business name under my name. Thank you for your advice.

So, who is legally entitled to the business and business name?

Location: CALIFORNIA

Edited: Just saying thanks in advance!

Answer:
 At the very least, as the incorporator, you should be on the board of directors for the corporation. You also would have whatever shares you were issued. The business and business name belong to the corporation, though, that's the point of incorporating, to create a legal entity to take on the liabilities of the business that is not yourself.

Really, though, you'll want to gather everything up and talk to a lawyer who knows business/corporate law and can make the determinations of what the situation really is.


Title: [Canada, BC] Setup fuck up at tournament broke my laptop, and the organizer is now changing his story on what he will do to remedy the situation

Question:
So, Saturday, I was helping out at a tournament. The person setting up tables had finished putting the tables up, and, one of them fell. He had assumed that the table just hadn't been locked into place. He proceeds to set the table up again, and it stays up. He had assumed that the table was ok. So I had set my laptop on the table, and the table collapsed. On the table was a Small, 22 inch monitor, and a Wii U. Both the wii U and monitor were okay, however, the monitor caught my laptop and destroyed the display. The person who broke it said he would "give me his old laptop", a Sony Vaio S. Today, he messaged me saying that he will only give it to me for the remainder of the school year, and I have to fix my Laptop on my on dollar. I did not agree to this. Can I hold him liable, or force him to replace the laptop, as the manufacturer nor longer provides parts?
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 Did you talk to the tournament organizer about what happened to your laptop?  Normally there is insurance for events like this dealing with expensive electronics.

Besides that, you can sue him for the market value of the laptop.  He likely won't have to replace it with a new one, but could pay to have it fixed or pay you the depreciated value of the machine.


Title: I bought a super discounted couch due to a system error [MO]

Question:
I bought a couch on amazon for a crazy low price. It turns out that the seller was having a system issue that caused all of their items to be priced incorrectly. I fully expected them to cancel the order and would not have complained, but today it arrived at my house.

Is there any way they can come after me for the full cost of the couch? It was purchased with a totally normal Amazon order so I have the standard entry on my orders page.

Answer: You should be fine. At worst they can demand to take back the couch at their own expense, but they can’t force you to pay more. It’s unlikely they will do anything at this point. Enjoy your new couch.


Title: [TX] Unfair Doctor Bill

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >I feel like the endocrinologist is doing this to get back at me for telling the urologist about his medical practices. What should I do?

You have zero evidence of this. Send the bill for the bloodwork directly to your insurance yourself and then find a new endocrinologist, and move on with your life.


Title: [AZ] I'm too old for a step-parent adoption. What can I do to remove my biological father's legal rights as my next of kin?

Question: My father is an abusive drug addict with criminal charges a mile long.  I've recently cut him out of my life. Unfortunately he is the kind of person who does not accept this sort of action easily and I expect him to escalate his behaviors towards me. To complicate the matter, I have a two-year-old daughter and my father has made it clear he intends to be a part of her life one way or another. I've sought a step-parent adoption to try and further limit his ability to exert power over us. Unfortunately, in my state, you can only have an adult adoption if you are under 21 years old, and I do not qualify. My primary concern now is that if something were to happen to me, he'd be able to get custody of my daughter or control of my medical care while I'm unable to care for myself. Is there anything I can do to stop this from happening?

Answer:
 Yes.  You draft a will, medical advanced directive or medical power of attorney, and possibly a regular power of attorney granting the rights to someone else.  An attorney can walk you through the process.Answer #2: 1.  Have a Medical Power of Attorney.

2.  Write  a will naming a guardian for your child (name a chain, and talk to each person in the chain to make sure.)

3.  Arizona does permit court enforced grandparent visitation if the parent saying no is unmarried, and the parent can prove that it's in the best interest of the child.  So be aware of that risk.


Title: Employer won’t pay overtime

Question: I recently started at a new company after temping there for several months. I started working for the actual company in the middle of the week, so I technically worked the first part of the week for the temp company and the last part of the week for the actual company but it was all at the same place. I realized that getting my overtime pay for this week might be an issue, so I addressed it with the company and they are refusing to pay it. Is there anything I can do about this?

Answer:
 This is where legal advice might meet practical advice. How much money are we talking about here? Are they planning on paying OT (if applicable) going forward? If so, is it worth straining your relationship with your boss(es) and the company over a few bucks. I suspect there is a patchwork of laws and you may or may not be in the right to get paid. But for a grey area for one week? Id suggest drop it.Answer #2: Overtime pay is per-employer, not per-location.

Imagine that you had two part-time jobs for cleaning services.  Each of them sends you to different locations to clean every week, and you work 22 hours per week for each.  If both of them happened to send you to the same location to clean one week, would you expect  one (or both) of them to pay you overtime?


Title: Video Game False Advertising

Question:
(Canada) (but this is US law)
Bethesda just said that it will not be having mod support for Fallout 4 or Skyrim on the PS4.
Earlier at E3, they made an announcements that these would both be key features.
Does this fall under:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/52
Where it goes into the dissemination of false advertising to induce the purchasing of devices/services
Keep in mind that E3 is entirely there as a venue for advertising.

Answer: It's not Bethesda, it's Sony. I don't remember Sony saying they will have it. They were working with Sony to implement it, it looks like Sony can't or won't do it.


Title: (PA) is it legal to keep homeowners out of HOA meetings and only allow access to 1 meeting a year?

Question: Pretty much what the title says. The entire neighborhood is beyond angry with our HOA. They jacked our fees, dropped a good snow removal company for a lesser bid contract that showed up two days after a storm. I could go on, but everyone knows how brutal HOA's can be. Regardless, I was told that they hold monthly meetings and only board members can attend, due to limited space (it's usually held in a board member's house). There is one neighborhood meeting a year, in the summer.  Anytime else there is an issue, all we can do is write a letter to our condo association. Is there anything we (homeowners) can do to gain access to these meetings?   I tried google, but results varied. Thanks in advance!

Answer:
 What exactly do your bylaws say?  If the bylaws state there is one open meeting a year, then attempt to appeal that bylaw.  Otherwise, if there isn't a bylaw stating the meetings are closed, then you are free to attend.

I'd also look into impeaching your HOA and getting a better set of representatives (or outsourcing it to a management company that specializes in HOAs). Answer #2: Does your HOA use a management company to handle finances? Email the contact person for a copy of last year & this year's projected budget. (As a homeowner, you should have a right to this) Compare everything, ask questions, express concerns, etc. Your yearly meeting should've included everything. Usually meetings are towards the end of the year.

Something that has helped my neighborhood, dealing with HOA (& developer issues), is start a neighborhood Facebook group and become a part of the surrounding neighborhoods fb grpups. Also, sign up and use the "NextDoor" app.

You should also x-post this in r/homeowners there's always alot of great HOA advice there.

Edit: or just search in that sub for HOA problems


Title: Emotional support animal.

Question:
Sorry if this is a stupid post. But I have depression and have been treating it by owning a cat. Again, it may sound dumb but I am doing alot better. Well Until recently. I ended up having to move and the available place(good distance from work, safe area and affordability) I got has a no pet rule. I have been hiding the fact she was there until the landlord happened to see her in the window. They made me get rid otlf her or get evicted.

I haven't been able to eat or sleep well since. My depression has only worsened since. If I were to get registered as an emotional support animal would they be required to let me have her? If so how do I go about get her registered?

*sorry about grammar

Answer: Since you deserve to be evicted, you should just move. You snuck the cat into someone else's property, you disrespected and violated their rules and their right to make decisions about their own property. You can't just decide that the cat is an "emotional support animal" because you got caught. At least I hope, if there is any reason or justice.


Title: FIRED FOR JOB ABANDONMENT WHEN I HAD PROOF OF CALLING IN

Question:
So just today my gf was fired for “job abandonment”. she called in yesterday for a doctors appointment and upon arrival at work today she was told her employer had no record of her calling in even though she has proof on her phone’s call log. however due to her employer not having proof on their end they called it “job abandonment” and fired her. my question is, even though she has proof that she called in can they legally fire her? she followed their procedures for calling in but because they didn’t get the message it means she abandoned her job. any thoughts or advice is welcomed.

Employment was held in Illinois.

-semp
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Illinois is at-will, meaning they don't need a reason to fire her.

She should file for unemployment. If they deny it, she should appeal.


Title: Legal advice?

Question: Long story short I got in trouble for giving another kid in my high school about 1/10 a gram of marijuana concentrate and got busted, they suspended me and I'm possibly going to be expelled. The school is pressing charges and I'm most definitely going to have to go to court, I'm just curious to if I'll go to a juvenile detention center for this? I'm hoping it's something more along the lines of community service or a fine. Lmk if you have any experience or insight and if you want to hear my full story it's on one of my older posts

Answer: If you're going to court you need an attorney. You could easily be looking at pretty heavy penalties, especially if this happened on school property.


Title: 2.5-10g possession of weed

Question: I was driving home one night going a alittle over the speed limit and was pulled over. My car smelled like weed so I wasnt gonna lie to the cop when he asked if there was anything in the car. He gave me a ticket for paraphernalia and 2.5-10g weed. This is my first offense, and i really cannot afford a lawyer to represent me. am i screwed. This happened in Illinois and i am 18y/o male.

Answer:
 Let's give you a FAQ response to the whole pot thing

"I got caught with ______ should I get a lawyer?"

Drug convictions can screw up a lot of stuff.
your financial aid can be affected

yes - that includes scholarships

your ability to get employed in the future can revolve around the outcome

yes - these charges count

yes - this can impact where you can rent an apartment

yes - this can impact you for years

no - it's not "just some weed" - it's illegal and it's a drug charge

yes - you need a lawyer

no - you can't google your way out of this

no - the cops aren't assholes and this charge isn't bullshit

no - you're not special

yes - I'm serious

yes - you can get kicked out of school for this

yes - call mommy and daddy and get some help


Title: Mislead into signing up for a store credit card, that I didnt know about

Question:
When I was at Kohls making a jewelry purchase, the associate asked if I was interested in joining the rewards program for an additional discount. I asked them what that entailed, and they simply described a program that gained points when you made purchases, and did not mention a credit card or a card in anyway. I agreed and signed up, giving them all my info, the associate had me swipe my debit card to purchase my jewelry, and I left. I did not discover until months later that the associate signed me up for a credit card, and charged that purchase to that card without telling me. I never received the card, an account number, or any information whatsoever on this credit card. I didnt know it existed until I checked my credit, to find that it dropped 200 points due to delinquent payments. I called corprate and removed the card and fees. They apologized and admitted that store associates will sometimes mislead people into signing up for a credit card.
My question is, what can I do? My credit is destroyed over a card I never got or wanted.
TLDR: store tricked me into getting a credit card, never sent it, and then ruined my credit. Wtf.

Answer: If you have to provide a SSN, ID, and sign something, it's not a rewards program.


Title: Complicated situation: My husband has a daughter. She just had his ex-wife, and his first wife's ex-husband adopt her [Minnesota]

Question:
I apologize if the title is confusing. I'll try to explain it as best as possible:

My husband John had a daughter with his wife Mary. They split up before their daughter turned one. They both got remarried afterward.

John remarried to his second wife Alice and Mary remarried to her second husband Ben. They shared custody of their daughter.

Both John and Mary split with their second husband/wife when their daughter was a teenager in high school.

Their daughter joined the military after her high school graduation. Before she left for the military she did an adoption to make Ben her legal father and Alice her legal mother. Ben and Alice are not even a couple and both are with other people now. The daughter also changed her last name to Ben's last name. She says that her parents (Mary and John) left the raising and parenting to Ben and Alice and they were in the picture from ages 1 to 16. She has cut off contact with both John and Mary.

My husband John didn't know about this and neither did Mary. They don't talk to Ben and Alice because they are no longer married to them. Can my husband John, and Mary do anything about this or contest the adoption? Both he and Mary have stepchildren (through me and Mary's new husband) but their daughter is their only biological child and neither of them can have more children unless they adopt. Thank you.

Answer:
 Presumably the daughter is an adult now. She can do whatever she wants and neither John nor Mary can (legally) do anything about it. If she wants to enter into an "adult" adoption with Ben and Alice, she is allowed.

Feel free to consult with an attorney, but he/she will tell you the same thing.Answer #2: what would the point of contesting the adoption be?  It won't make her think he's a good parent or give her any desire to speak to him.


Title: (Kansas) Never signed a single piece of paper for a home I rented last year, and my ex-Landlord now looking to take myself and my roommates to court over “unpaid” rent. Can she legally take any action?

Question:
I am a college student and I moved into a home in my city with a few friends from around last April until this May. One of the previous tenants knew us well and got us set up with this home. We all slowly moved in over the period of a month, and despite talking about sitting down and making things official, nothing was ever done. We paid rent in cash, and never signed a single piece of paper work for anything on the home. No renters agreement, no paper trail to us even living there besides having that address listed under my bank accounts and hospital profiles for a short period. After getting a pet that my landlord deemed too large (in late February-early March) she asked us to move out by May. I moved out on the 16th and did not pay rent for the last month of living there. Honestly I was upset she kicked us out and decided there was nothing she could do since we had no paper work. She has now contacted all of us stating if we don’t pay by the end of July she will be “filing Court documents”. I am just starting out in life and do not want to be sent to collections or have legal troubles due to one months rent. If I could afford to pay right now I would just to have the headache over with, but there is no possible way I can have it together by the end of July. What legal ground does she have? Could me and my roommates face legal trouble if she files these court documents?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: You owe the rent and any damages.  I am not sure why you think you don’t owe rent for living there.  You previously paid rent so at the very least you are a month to month tenant.


Title: I'm on FMLA and I want to move to another state

Question:
Hi,

I'm 29 and have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I live in Texas and work for a company based in Illinois. I want to move closer to my sister in California.

Basically, I want to keep FMLA until I move, because I want to fit in as many visits as possible with my trusted doctors here.

I found a great apartment in California, but the leasing company needs to verify my employment. If it does that, and the process is less automated than I hope, can my company fire me, if someone thinks it's weird that a leasing company in California is checking on me?

Thanks for your time!

Answer:
 You can be fired if your coworkers would also be fired for wanting to move away / quit (so probably). FMLA just protects you from being fired for taking the protected leave, not from other reasons

If your company has offices in California (with enough employees for you to remain on FMLA), you should consider asking about a transfer

Alternatively, ask the leasing company if they will accept other methods of employment verification (payslips, etc) that don't require that they call your employer directly


Title: My daughter waits tables in Washington DC. Her manager told her last night that if a table skips out on the bill she's responsible for paying their bill. Is this legal?

Answer:
 Ignore those who say this is not legal. It is, and if your daughter raises the issue, her employer is well within the law to fire her for whatever reason they want to cook up.

In Washington, DC, the wage-hour board has set a rule that allows employers to charge employees for customer walkouts as long as it doesn't reduce the employee's pay to less than minimum wage for the district, which is ~~$1 more than the federal minimum wage.~~ 13 bucks an hour.

https://does.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/does/publication/attachments/DOES_wage_hour_rules.pdf

It is rule 915.

It sucks, and it's a stupid rule, but it's absolutely legal in the district.Answer #2: It’s legal in Washington DC as long as it doesn’t bring her below minimum wage for the week worked.

“In addition, employers may not charge employees for the cost of the following if the charges reduce wages below the minimum wage (DC Wage-Hour Rules Ch. 9 Sec. 915):
• Breakage
• Walkouts
• Mistakes on customer checks
• Fines, assessments, or charges”Answer #3: As I noted below, this is only legal if it doesn't reduce her pay below minimum wage. As a server, she is almost certainly paid the sub-minimum wage for tipped employees, with the tip credit making up the difference.

As per the FLSA, which is Federal Law, employers who claim the tip credit may not take such deductions because the employee is considered to be paid minimum age, no matter how much they make in tips.

The US DOL provides this handy  fact sheet which explains it

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm


Title: Homeless coworker staying at work

Question: I work at a movie theater with this guy that we recently discovered was a couch-surfing homeless gentleman. This past week the weather was snowy and icy and he was waiting on a ride. The GM told him that due to the weather, if his ride couldn't make it, he could stay at the theater. Lo and behold, half a week later, the guy is still there. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is not okay. If that's the case, what could be the potential ramifications for him and for the GM for allowing this?

Answer:
 How does this affect you? Let the GM worry about himself.

> Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is not okay.

You're not wrong, but you don't have a dog in the fight.Answer #2: Probably be best to mind your own business.  If you choose to meddle in this, you can be fired, and you will have no recourse other than applying for unemployment. Answer #3: IANAL, that out of the way, what does it matter to you if the GM lets him stay there?  Unless he's beating off in the ice machine or popcorn maker, does it really matter?  Kudos to your GM for having a heart and looking out for one of his employees.  Perhaps you could take a lesson or two from him.Answer #4: It's not ok for the GM to offer the business up as emergency shelter to an employee?

That's perfectly ok. It's down right reasonable and sane.


Title: [ON, Canada] Dad seems to have taken a line of credit using our existing house (minimum $200k) for investing in stocks that are failing.

Question:
Apologies in advance if some of the terminology is incorrect, as I am not strong in finances and investing.

My dad's always been one to invest in stocks, and over the past few years he's become increasingly aggressive in how he manages his investments. We've been getting calls from banks regarding margin trading using funds that he otherwise shouldn't have (my mom is in charge of finances in the house, and limits what he has due to previous issues regarding stock markets).

From some investigative credit reports, it seems that he's used the house to make a line of credit - based on the worth of the house, my mom theorizes that he could have mortgaged the house for at least a minimum of $200k. Although the actual amount is important, the more pressing concern is that there's the possibility that he forged my mom's signature in order to get a lower interest rate, as both of my parents are listed as owners of the property (this is according to a specialist my mom spoke to).

At this point, I would like to ask how I can find out what the extent of the damage is, and how we can proceed to minimize the effect this has on our assets.

If there is any additional information that would help provide better advice, I'll do my best to answer questions.

*Edit: In the event that forgery did take place, what are some of the repercussions that would follow (from a finance/banking perspective and a legal perspective)?*

Answer: What is your question? You need to have an intervention about your dad's gambling problem that is manifesting as pathologic investment. If that's not an option your mom needs to contact a divorce attorney to stop him from ruining her life worse than he already has.


Title: If an open bottle of liquor is ok to transport in a trunk, what are the rules for a hatchback?

Question:
Edit: location

New York
Topic:
DUI

Answer:
 You didn't put your location.

As a general rule \(will vary by location\) you need to make it as inaccessible as possible. So if you have a trunk it goes in there. If you have a truck bed it goes in there. If you have neither of these, it goes as far back as possible. If you're in a two seater convertible with no trunk you may not be able to use it to transport liquor.Answer #2: Well it's a hatchback, so cup holder in a brown paper bag.

In all seriousness: so long as it is not accessible to the driver, sealed, and you don't stink of booze, you should be fine.Answer #3: To answer the specific question, you may transport it in a hatchback per Section 1227 Consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages in certain motor vehicles.  https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/1227

>Furthermore, the provisions of this section shall not be deemed to prohibit the possession of wine which is: (a) resealed in accordance with the provisions of subdivision four of section eighty-one of the alcoholic beverage control law; and (b) is transported in the vehicle's trunk or is transported behind the last upright seat or in an area not normally occupied by the driver or passenger in a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk.

Edit:  Maybe this is not as clear as it seems, since it specifically mentions "wine".  But, I am pretty sure that if you were transporting a closed (but not sealed) container of alcohol in a hatchback, you would be unlikely to get a ticket for it.  If taken to court, an attorney would probably look at case law to see how it applied to other types of liquor.


Title: [CA] So my lawyer got hacked...

Question:
I've received a phishing letter straight from my lawyers email asking to give my email and password to a sketchy looking Dropbox website (the website screenshot: http://imgur.com/ajZLF3Q) Anyways, we've exchanged some private and legal information via email. He's telling me that all my information is safe but I don't know if I trust him. What am I supposed to do?

I believe he got hacked because
1) The senders address is the same exact email address as my lawyers.
2) Both legitimate and phishing email have the same exact footer down to the colored text.
3) I believe the email-headers are all coming from google servers.

Answer: What makes you think that the e-mail actually came from your attorney's e-mail account or computer(s)?  Do you know how to read the e-mail headers to determine if the e-mail actually came from an IP address that could even possibly be used by your attorney?  For instance, if the IP address of the computer sending the e-mail is in China, then it's not very likely that the e-mail was actually sent by your attorney's e-mail account or computer(s) and it's unlikely that your attorney was "hacked".  If you are only looking at the e-mail "from" address, then that would be like looking at the return address on the envelope of a letter and concluding that the letter MUST have been sent by the person on the return address.  But it's very easy to write whatever you want for a return address, and it's very easy to send an e-mail with whatever you want as the "from" e-mail address.


Title: Birds have taken residence in the common area. Is there a way to legally have them removed without hurting them? Landlords won't do anything, despite promises. [New Mexico]

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 They are now considered tenants so you will need to give them 30 days written notice...

But seriously, if you are concerned about the babies being killed, you should probably just stick it out a few more weeks until they abandon the nests and then clear them out.  You can try contacting a local animal sanctuary but I don't know if they will want them.


Title: Mother found texts of fathers girlfriend saying she can put a hit on her. How to submit to police?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Go to the police. There's all KINDS of circumstantial evidence to support these claims (like the existing RO that was just violated) to substantiate this and the police can get ahold of dad's cell provider to get those texts and move from there.

Your mom does not want to be the subject of a news story titled "What's the meth head criminal gonna do, murder me? Says woman murdered by meth head criminal"


Title: Lost/Stolen Package, Newegg Ontrac and Discover are not helping am I SOL?

Question:
In Phoenix, AZ and here's my story. I have been building a little home theater piece by piece. The final piece to the setup was a projector. I usually do my shopping on Amazon, however my Prime ran out so this time I tried NewEgg. I had a free shoprunner account from AMEX and I figured I would use it to get the projector before the Mayweather fight. Placed the order and day of delivery I am checking the status with Ontrac whom I've never heard of but whatever. I finally get a notification that they left the projector by my back gate. I am scared shit less at this point because that's possibly the worst spot to leave it. It's in clear view of the street, I live 3 houses down from a dog park and 1 block away from a big park that hosts kid sporting events just about everyday. My porch has bushes and trees in front to where nothing is visible from the street. USPS left my Klipsch speakers and receiver here, big hefty boxes with Klipsch written all over. I get home a few hours after delivery and sure enough nothing. I'm pissed because i'll have to wait for a replacement and I'd miss the fight, thinking nothing of what was to come next.

I file my dispute with NewEgg and I wait the 7-10 business days they request. Nothing, one single email to my inbox letting me know that the request had begun. I chat with them a few days to check the status and they tell me they are waiting on the shipper. A few more days pass by, more chats, same response. I asked for someone from the claims to call me and I get no calls. I request a supervisor to email me he gets in contact and it's the same thing "we are waiting for a response from the carrier". This was around the 20+ day mark. 30 days pass and no response so I filed a complaint with the BBB to hope speed things up. Their response was the same that they had not heard from the carrier. Finally yesterday they told me that they had received notice that the carrier left my shipment at the back gate and thus i would need to file a police report for theft and see what options I had with them, however NewEgg would not be refunding me as the package was delivered. That felt like the worst sucker punch in history.  I am out 900 dollars and they basically told me to eat it. It took them 30 days to relay what had been showing the entire time on Ontrac's website.

BBB closed the complaint "Answered-The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer remains dissatisfied". No big help. I finally go to Discover today and request  a charge back. I wait to get home to upload emails and the photos of the location where it was left and to my surprise the dispute has been closed and they have allowed the charge. Here i am livid how in the hell did they review this in less than 24 hours?!??

So now i am stuck with no projector and out 900 dollars. What if any our my options?

Answer: Call discover-- don't rely on the online dispute resolution tool. Talk to an actual person.


Title: Landlord Won’t Fix AC. It is 91 degrees in my NC Apartment. What Can I Do?

Question: Hey all, I’m dying of heat. I live in NC and signed a one page lease that basically says no pets, no satellite dishes, and lists charges associated with late rent, lost keys etc. I am currently on day 3 of the air conditioner being broken. On the second day the landlord sent his “buddy” to come look at it after I sent my landlord numerous emails. The AC guy didn’t do anything and then left. It’s now day 3 and literally 91 in the house. I’ve actually had to soak my shirt in cold water and wear it with a little fan blowing on me because I’ve been so miserably hot. I don’t have anywhere else to stay and staying at a hotel seems really expensive (I’m a student). Do I have anything to stand on? In my opinion an apartment that’s 91 inside is unlivable. I’ve taken pictures of the thermostats temp and sent it to my landlord numerous times to show I’m not just making this up. I’ve read that in NC there is no law that states there is a maximum inside temperature where landlords need to intervene or are required to fix and there isn’t anything stated in my lease. Additionally my window in my bedroom is a casement window with a ledge too small for a air conditioning window unit. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated because I am quite miserable 😩.

Answer:
 As you said,  North Carolina only requires Apartments to be heated during the winter, there's no habitability requirement on cooling, at least not a fixed temperature.

In general appliances that break do have to be fixed in a prompt manner, but at 3 days you've probably got a way to go before you have a claim against your landlord on that basis.

I live in an area where nobody has air conditioning, and during the recent Heatwave my apartment was over 100 degrees at night. [I purchased this air conditioner which doesn't require any window space, just the window that opens](https://www.target.com/p/lg-8000-btu-portable-air-conditioner/-/A-52377945?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Home+Improvement+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Home+Improvement&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=m&location=9031645&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzK_bBRDDARIsAFQF7zPmowvoJSwXWwjIXE67t9X7V2IK9Nu9DYTI7zDh2xniCgJl5-UYtlgaAvlkEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) it works beautifully in the short time I've had it. Only suitable for a small bedroom, but could be a stopgap if you are finding the apartment uninhabitable


Title: Very Concerned About Health Insurance Payment (NJ)

Question:
Recently, I got a rhino/septoplasty at a plastic surgeon's office.

After the consultation we discussed price, I was told that I would be responsible for the cosmetic portion of the procedure and the surgical room as well as the anesthesiologist. The only thing that I thought would go to my insurance would be the septoplasty. In my bill it was listed as $2,000 and crossed out as "insurance deductible/copay".

I asked if they accepted my insurance, and the woman in billing said "Yes". What I didn't realize and wasn't told, was that they were out of network. I didn't realize that they'll take any insurance, even if it's out of network.

A couple of months after my procedure, the billing office lets me know that the insurance company will be sending me a check for a specific amount that is owed to them, let's say its $3,623.09. I thought this was super weird, I never had surgery as an adult so I assumed like maybe this was standard procedure to be given a check from the insurance to pay the doctor. I cashed the check, and paid the amount to my surgeon's office (have a receipt). Figured all is well.

A few weeks back I received a letter from my insurance stating that there was an overpayment and I must pay back the $3,623.09. Apparently, they did a review and they deemed my surgery wasn't medically necessary. I contacted my doctor's office **twice** to see if they can fight the claim both time I talked to the receptionist (not the woman in charge of billing because she was busy). The receptionist said the billing woman would take care of it and contact me if she needed anything.

I received an additional letter last week, and decided to probe some more because I always felt like the amount itself was weird since everything else I paid was a whole number. I contacted my insurance and discovered that the office billed my insurance about $80k in treatment.  I am freaking out about that amount. When I asked if the $3,623.09 was the surgery itself the company said no we denied the claim – we paid that amount for the room. When I told the insurance rep that I paid for the room, she informed because the surgeon was out of network he could charge for whatever he wanted and that technically I am liable for all the charges he claimed (meaning the $80k) not just the $3,623.09... and I may have to take him to court. However, the insurance rep I spoke to said that "it was weird, but the doctor could do that".

Before taking any drastic measures, I wanted to find out if what the doctor's office did was legal. I feel that I was misinformed by the doctor's office and I'm confused by what the insurance rep meant.

Answer:
 Technically, you're always responsible for 100% of your medical costs. Most medical providers will directly bill your insurance company as a courtesy, but at the end of the day it's up to you to make sure your treatment is in compliance with what your insurance company will pay (such as being in network and medically necessary), and to pay the provider for whatever hasn't been satisfied by the insurance company.

Note that there may be some cases where the provider bills a $10k procedure, but due to an agreement with the insurance company, the provider agrees to accept, say, $4k from the insurance company as payment in full. The provider can not come after you for the remaining $6k; if they did, they'd be in violation of their contract with the insurance provider, and would lose a lot more than $6k. Note that most provider bills contain multiple components, so if your total bill in the example above is $15k including $5k with of uncovered costs, you'd still need to pay that $5k.

>because the surgeon was out of network he could charge for whatever he wanted and that technically I am liable for all the charges he claimed

She's not wrong, but that's not the best way for her to word that.


Title: Homeless man seeking sobriety is asking me to be his power of attorney.

Question:
Northern Indiana

I am a member of a 12 step program that helps people get sober. Part of the program is helping the still suffering. I am sponsoring a man 20 years my senior. He is homeless, destitute, and has no family that will talk to him. He is in his mid 60s and has health issue and a small disability check. 200/month. He has no ID, no birth Cert, no bills etc should any addresses. He has been living in the woods and in a Shelter. I helped him get into a detox facility 7 days ago, he has completed that and now he will be attending a 6 month treatment program.

My question: What legal implications are there if I agree to be his power of attorney? He is afraid he will cash his monthly check for booze. He also wants someone so help if he is in the hospital with decisions. I love to help people. But this is over my head. He has no support network, as this was proven when I got him into detox. Thanks for the help.

Answer:
 When you become someone's POA you have a fiduciary duty to that person to act in their best interest. When I say "best interest," that doesn't necessarily mean what they want to do. They have the power to revoke the POA at anytime. You have the power to renounce your agency at anytime. In my state, they're filed with the register of deeds because you can sell or buy real property in their name. I don't know about other states.

The hinky thing you're dealing here is with an addict. I don't think he'll have the wherewithal to actually bring any kind legal suit against you. Homeless addicts just can't keep it together long enough to go through a court battle. But I do think he may get low and do what addicts do when they get low. Hound you, say they're going to sue, lie to you to get the money. It may be a headache. You probably know all this since you're in a 12 step program but just throwing it out there.  I suggest if you do go through with it, to get a renunciation or whatever your state calls them drafted immediately and tell him if it gets too bad, you'll execute the renunciation, file it, and be done with it so he knows he has to run a tight ship.


Title: My dad was diagnosed with dementia. Mom filed paperwork with DMV to take his license away...Is my mom liable for actions after? (California)

Question:
My dad was diagnosed with dementia.  Prior to the diagnosis, he was involved in 2 hit and run incidents which he has no recollection of.  The police have stopped by my parents house twice in regards to those incidents.

My mother filed paperwork with the DMV to get his license taken away, yet my dad continues to drive his vehicle.  If he gets into another accident, can my mother be liable personally?

Together, they own a house, but keep separate bank accounts.  My father refuses to go into a nursing home and my mom does not know how to proceed.  What steps can I as a son take to help protect my mother?  She only has her retirement from being a state employee and I want to make sure she can protect herself.

Answer:
 This is a sticky situation.

The first thing your mom needs to do is make sure that your dad dos not have access to a set of car keys.

Secondly she should probably see a lawyer and find out if she should put her money in a trust account.

The home is at risk