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Human: My dad committed suicide, I’m his eldest son but live 1000 miles away. My father lived in Kansas after he retired from the Army near the base he was stationed at. He was a government employee. My younger brother lives about 30 miles from him. He had a live-in girlfriend. My dad owned his home and had a fairly large estate: lots of possessions, life insurance, etc. We do not know if he had a legal will yet. All we have so far is his suicide note that designates my brother and I as his beneficiaries. I know that this will probably be a big shit show and require an attorney because of the live in girlfriend. Help, please. Assistant: Remember that this sub has a biais for stories about bad events. Times when people get along don't require legal advise. Decide how you want to treat the live-in girlfriend early. Don't over complicate things by coming off hostile from the start, and don't make any verbal agreements before matters are settled. The safest option is to find an estate lawyer and do things by the book. Check out the FAQ's about probate and inheritance, and the bar association for lawyer recommendations.

Human: My dad committed suicide, I’m his eldest son but live 1000 miles away. My father lived in Kansas after he retired from the Army near the base he was stationed at. He was a government employee. My younger brother lives about 30 miles from him. He had a live-in girlfriend. My dad owned his home and had a fairly large estate: lots of possessions, life insurance, etc. We do not know if he had a legal will yet. All we have so far is his suicide note that designates my brother and I as his beneficiaries. I know that this will probably be a big shit show and require an attorney because of the live in girlfriend. Help, please. Assistant: I'm sorry for your loss. Government employee here. If he was using a TSP (Thrift Savings Account) as his retirement account, unless he designated otherwise, the account goes to next of kin in order of spouse then children. Since he and the girlfriend weren't married, she has no claim to it and the feds won't release it to her.

Human: GoFundMe started for my children after their father committed suicide. On May 11th my childrens dad hung himself - I found him the next day. His parents and sister started a gofundme and the campaign states that it is for our kids, his dad is the organizer. Today I reached out to them asking them to send me a beneficiary invite so I can make sure the funds will be transferred directly to me, I am and always have been their primary caregiver and custodial parent. His parents are skirting around it and saying “We can talk about that at the service” and his sister said “I don’t have access to that.” Me and my kids will have nowhere to live come July. I was really hoping that money could go to a house or apartment for us. I also desperately need therapy, I am the one who found him, hanging in his closet, on the 12th, two days after our 3 year old son’s birthday, and 3 days before our 4 year old daughters birthday. Then I had to explain to these two babies that they will never see their dad again. The campaign has raised over $13,000 so far. What rights do I have here? I don’t want to report the fundraiser because I am pretty sure if I do the donations will be refunded. I absolutely will report it though if they intend to keep the funds for themselves. I just want to know if there is any way to legally make them list me as the beneficiary. Thank you in advance :( Assistant: Have you applied for the kids to draw on their fathers social security? There is also a benefit for their caregiver (you). Please do this if you haven’t already.

Human: GoFundMe started for my children after their father committed suicide. On May 11th my childrens dad hung himself - I found him the next day. His parents and sister started a gofundme and the campaign states that it is for our kids, his dad is the organizer. Today I reached out to them asking them to send me a beneficiary invite so I can make sure the funds will be transferred directly to me, I am and always have been their primary caregiver and custodial parent. His parents are skirting around it and saying “We can talk about that at the service” and his sister said “I don’t have access to that.” Me and my kids will have nowhere to live come July. I was really hoping that money could go to a house or apartment for us. I also desperately need therapy, I am the one who found him, hanging in his closet, on the 12th, two days after our 3 year old son’s birthday, and 3 days before our 4 year old daughters birthday. Then I had to explain to these two babies that they will never see their dad again. The campaign has raised over $13,000 so far. What rights do I have here? I don’t want to report the fundraiser because I am pretty sure if I do the donations will be refunded. I absolutely will report it though if they intend to keep the funds for themselves. I just want to know if there is any way to legally make them list me as the beneficiary. Thank you in advance :( Assistant: I'm sorry that you're dealing with this. Horrible situation. Note that there are a lot of options other than "the money gets transferred to you" and "grandparents planning to keep the money for themselves." For example, they might be putting the money into a college fund or into a trust for your kids' future benefit. Did the GoFundMe talk about what would happen to the money? Did it mention you at all? Or is it just directed to your kids?

Human: Neighbor put in a six foot drop less than five inches from fenceline Hello all, I am just looking for any advice. I live in OR, and bought my new construction home just about a year ago. The very nice couple next door sold their home about 5 months ago to a what seemed to be nice person. There was some talk about the property line because the new person wanted to know where it was, and we only had a general idea. After they measured over a dozen times and had a couple people out to measure (I wasn't home because I had prior obligations), they left the line where we had originally marked it when we had first talked about it. This was a couple months ago. We put up a fence that they made clear they didn't want any part of, since we have a dog. We do not have much contact with the neighbor because they are not very friendly, and frankly we are busy. We do not see them often, even though we live very close to them due to small properties in this development. The last conversation we had with them before this was in January, when we were attempting to figure out the property line. Some other background, this is new construction on a hillside that has been here for just about a year. The property line was not cut out well, and some of our front yard is on their lower level, and some of their backyard was at our level. The builder told them that the hill in between was left for proper drainage, since so much water comes off of the hill. The issue started last week when a contractor showed up and started removing dirt. They hauled out over a dozen large dumptrucks full, and cut a six foot drop less than six inches away from the fence, which is two inches in on our property since they didn't want/need the fence. I tried calling the city last week and they did not call me back. When I called this week to check if there was a permit on this project, as is required in my county for large grading projects, they said they would look into it. I got a phone call a couple hours later saying that the neighbor did not have a permit and to call back if they resumed work, as a stop work order had been placed. I took a couple of pictures of the property line, since it had already been dug over, and the neighbor came out and onto my property to ask me what I was going to do about it. I called back a couple of days later when they started work again. The city came back out, and I got a call about an hour later saying that the project is still not permitted, and that the neighbor has no intention of filing a permit, and that the neighbor told the city that since it was private property, that the city is to stay off of their private property. I am very concerned about this as I have a feeling this is an unlicensed contractor doing unpermitted work. They have cut over our property line in some areas, and have basically ensured that some of our property will sink in the next 5 years. The city has told us at this point all we can do is gather evidence to submit to our homeowners insurance when something does happen. Do I have any more rights than this? What is the purpose of a city code if it cannot be upheld by the city? This is the first home we have owned and have never had a neighbor like this. Any advice would be appreciated. As of now, we are taking lots of pictures and have alerted our homeowner's that this could be a future problem. I am also concerned about how this will affect our property value. Any advice is welcome! Assistant: Perhaps you could get a consultation with an engineering firm, with a report on the risks of the neighbor's project, and an estimate of the cost to finish the project in a safe way - how much to build a proper retaining wall, regrade, or etc. as needed. Then use that to negotiate with your neighbor. And potentially sue if the neighbor will not act.

Human: Neighbor put in a six foot drop less than five inches from fenceline Hello all, I am just looking for any advice. I live in OR, and bought my new construction home just about a year ago. The very nice couple next door sold their home about 5 months ago to a what seemed to be nice person. There was some talk about the property line because the new person wanted to know where it was, and we only had a general idea. After they measured over a dozen times and had a couple people out to measure (I wasn't home because I had prior obligations), they left the line where we had originally marked it when we had first talked about it. This was a couple months ago. We put up a fence that they made clear they didn't want any part of, since we have a dog. We do not have much contact with the neighbor because they are not very friendly, and frankly we are busy. We do not see them often, even though we live very close to them due to small properties in this development. The last conversation we had with them before this was in January, when we were attempting to figure out the property line. Some other background, this is new construction on a hillside that has been here for just about a year. The property line was not cut out well, and some of our front yard is on their lower level, and some of their backyard was at our level. The builder told them that the hill in between was left for proper drainage, since so much water comes off of the hill. The issue started last week when a contractor showed up and started removing dirt. They hauled out over a dozen large dumptrucks full, and cut a six foot drop less than six inches away from the fence, which is two inches in on our property since they didn't want/need the fence. I tried calling the city last week and they did not call me back. When I called this week to check if there was a permit on this project, as is required in my county for large grading projects, they said they would look into it. I got a phone call a couple hours later saying that the neighbor did not have a permit and to call back if they resumed work, as a stop work order had been placed. I took a couple of pictures of the property line, since it had already been dug over, and the neighbor came out and onto my property to ask me what I was going to do about it. I called back a couple of days later when they started work again. The city came back out, and I got a call about an hour later saying that the project is still not permitted, and that the neighbor has no intention of filing a permit, and that the neighbor told the city that since it was private property, that the city is to stay off of their private property. I am very concerned about this as I have a feeling this is an unlicensed contractor doing unpermitted work. They have cut over our property line in some areas, and have basically ensured that some of our property will sink in the next 5 years. The city has told us at this point all we can do is gather evidence to submit to our homeowners insurance when something does happen. Do I have any more rights than this? What is the purpose of a city code if it cannot be upheld by the city? This is the first home we have owned and have never had a neighbor like this. Any advice would be appreciated. As of now, we are taking lots of pictures and have alerted our homeowner's that this could be a future problem. I am also concerned about how this will affect our property value. Any advice is welcome! Assistant: is this an HOA neighborhood? I know HOA’s are generally hated but sometimes they come in handy.

Human: [SC] RA keeps interrupting sex because I'm gay Hi legal advice. Every time I have my bf over, without fail, the RA (who is one of my roommates) will start banging on the door and telling us to stop. Tonight we were doing homework but he still started banging on the door after 20 minutes. Now, if he were enforcing a no sex policy, I'd be peeved but we could go elsewhere. But occasionally he'll have girls over and he seems to be as loud as he possibly can, as if he's trying to show off. I've tried telling him to knock it off but he tells me to fuck off or he'll get me kicked off campus. Is this legal? I feel like this is discrimination. Assistant: Go to student services, the RA's supervisor, and file a Title IX complaint. You're being sexually harassed. Your RA can fuck right off. Edit: > I've tried telling him to knock it off but he tells me to fuck off or he'll get me kicked off campus PLEASE tell student services and the Resident Life Coordinator (or your equivalent) that this RA has threatened to kick a student off campus with the tiny amount of authority he has. Pretty please. With sugar on top. They will **end** him.

Human: [SC] RA keeps interrupting sex because I'm gay Hi legal advice. Every time I have my bf over, without fail, the RA (who is one of my roommates) will start banging on the door and telling us to stop. Tonight we were doing homework but he still started banging on the door after 20 minutes. Now, if he were enforcing a no sex policy, I'd be peeved but we could go elsewhere. But occasionally he'll have girls over and he seems to be as loud as he possibly can, as if he's trying to show off. I've tried telling him to knock it off but he tells me to fuck off or he'll get me kicked off campus. Is this legal? I feel like this is discrimination. Assistant: I didn't see if this was a private or public institution, but if you have an LGBT org on campus, they may have staff or connections to help. I worked for one whose coordinator had previous strong ties to housing, coincidentally enough, and came in quite handy

Human: Update: FL] Just informed by my manager that they will never approve my vacations again because I'm too important. Is this legal? Hello, everyone. First thread [here. Several people requested updates, so here it is. tl;dr: Retail store employer promoted me to position that gives PTO, told me to not bother ever applying to use it because I was too good at my job. Long story short, many people suggested that they were joking, or that I was intentionally trying to start shit. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I tried to apply for the same weekend off that I had the year before, being July 7-12. Only six days, instead of seven. Not ideal, but better than nothing. Management countered by claiming that these days were now "blackout" days, because of their proximity to 4th of July. Somehow, they claimed, the department I worked in was expected to be "exceptionally busy" three days *after* 4th of July. This was not the case last year, obviously, as I was able to take the time off just fine. Only now was this made a rule, and only after I applied for the time off. I attempted to appeal to management by mentioning that I had taken the same days off last year, but no dice. They refused to even consider it. I informed them that this was the only week I was interested in taking off at all, and that when I interviewed with this company I had *specifically* told them that this was non-negotiable -- I took this week off every year, paid or unpaid, and during the interview they had agreed to those terms. Not a single fuck was given, they shrugged and told me "sorry, but it's a blackout date" and that "if I could take it off, they'd have to let everyone take it off." I told them I didn't see a problem with that -- they laughed in my face. "Well, it's just something we can't do." I've since quit the position -- not only due to this, but several other issues as well, mostly hating my job so much I've been diagnosed with clinical anxiety and depression and now take medication to remedy those. I spoke with my mother and she is graciously allowing me to live with her for a year and a half while I return to school full time and finish my degree in Computer Science, and hopefully am able to launch myself into a much better job than menial labor in a retail store. It sucks having to move back in with mom, but I'll *gladly* suffer through a year and a half of that if it means I don't have to return to retail. Thank you all to the advice you gave me, even though it was essentially "you're fucked, sorry". Assistant: Good luck. Living at home while finishing your degree isn't bad. Even if you get a job, save the money so you can rent when you get a job.

Human: Update: FL] Just informed by my manager that they will never approve my vacations again because I'm too important. Is this legal? Hello, everyone. First thread [here. Several people requested updates, so here it is. tl;dr: Retail store employer promoted me to position that gives PTO, told me to not bother ever applying to use it because I was too good at my job. Long story short, many people suggested that they were joking, or that I was intentionally trying to start shit. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I tried to apply for the same weekend off that I had the year before, being July 7-12. Only six days, instead of seven. Not ideal, but better than nothing. Management countered by claiming that these days were now "blackout" days, because of their proximity to 4th of July. Somehow, they claimed, the department I worked in was expected to be "exceptionally busy" three days *after* 4th of July. This was not the case last year, obviously, as I was able to take the time off just fine. Only now was this made a rule, and only after I applied for the time off. I attempted to appeal to management by mentioning that I had taken the same days off last year, but no dice. They refused to even consider it. I informed them that this was the only week I was interested in taking off at all, and that when I interviewed with this company I had *specifically* told them that this was non-negotiable -- I took this week off every year, paid or unpaid, and during the interview they had agreed to those terms. Not a single fuck was given, they shrugged and told me "sorry, but it's a blackout date" and that "if I could take it off, they'd have to let everyone take it off." I told them I didn't see a problem with that -- they laughed in my face. "Well, it's just something we can't do." I've since quit the position -- not only due to this, but several other issues as well, mostly hating my job so much I've been diagnosed with clinical anxiety and depression and now take medication to remedy those. I spoke with my mother and she is graciously allowing me to live with her for a year and a half while I return to school full time and finish my degree in Computer Science, and hopefully am able to launch myself into a much better job than menial labor in a retail store. It sucks having to move back in with mom, but I'll *gladly* suffer through a year and a half of that if it means I don't have to return to retail. Thank you all to the advice you gave me, even though it was essentially "you're fucked, sorry". Assistant: > I've since quit the position If you were so important, they should have treated you better...

Human: Someone has chained up my bicycle with a bike-lock, in my own yard. What can I do? (San Francisco, CA) As the title says, I just got home and someone has put a bike-lock on my bike and I have no idea what I can do about it or frankly what's going on. For context, I rent an apartment in a fourplex in San Francisco. We have a small communal yard space, which is gated but not locked. Because we're not in a particularly busy neighborhood, I just leave my bike in the yard unlocked and only store it inside when I go away for the weekend etc. I have good relations with all the other neighbors in the fourplex, and they know it's my bike. (Another neighbor has a bike that they do the same with, and theirs hasn't been touched.) I got home about an hour ago (7PM) and found someone had put a seemingly new bike chain and lock on my bike, locking it to the pillar where it normally sits. It's otherwise untouched and unmoved, so far as I can see. No idea who's done this — I've seen one neighbor so far who says it wasn't them, and the residents of the other two units appear to be out. I don't know if it's someone trying to secure it for me, or a prank, or a precursor to it being stolen. I need to use the bike tomorrow AM, and even if I didn't, I wouldn't really want to leave it out of my control overnight. So, can I legally try to cut the lock? It's not my chain, and I worry it could be considered criminal damage if I cut it off with bolt cutters or whatever. Any advice appreciated. (Flaired as "Other Civil Matters" but I'm not really sure what category this falls under.) Assistant: 1. Cut the lock. 2. Stop leaving your damn bike unlocked and stored where it is easily accessible to the public. 3. Make sure you get your bike registered.

Human: Someone has chained up my bicycle with a bike-lock, in my own yard. What can I do? (San Francisco, CA) As the title says, I just got home and someone has put a bike-lock on my bike and I have no idea what I can do about it or frankly what's going on. For context, I rent an apartment in a fourplex in San Francisco. We have a small communal yard space, which is gated but not locked. Because we're not in a particularly busy neighborhood, I just leave my bike in the yard unlocked and only store it inside when I go away for the weekend etc. I have good relations with all the other neighbors in the fourplex, and they know it's my bike. (Another neighbor has a bike that they do the same with, and theirs hasn't been touched.) I got home about an hour ago (7PM) and found someone had put a seemingly new bike chain and lock on my bike, locking it to the pillar where it normally sits. It's otherwise untouched and unmoved, so far as I can see. No idea who's done this — I've seen one neighbor so far who says it wasn't them, and the residents of the other two units appear to be out. I don't know if it's someone trying to secure it for me, or a prank, or a precursor to it being stolen. I need to use the bike tomorrow AM, and even if I didn't, I wouldn't really want to leave it out of my control overnight. So, can I legally try to cut the lock? It's not my chain, and I worry it could be considered criminal damage if I cut it off with bolt cutters or whatever. Any advice appreciated. (Flaired as "Other Civil Matters" but I'm not really sure what category this falls under.) Assistant: Cut the lock -- and stop acting like you live in Mayberry. Take efforts to secure your bike, or it's going to be stolen. Also, on the outside chance this is someone who intends to claim the bike, make sure the bike is registered to you -- either through the city or county, or through a registration service, or by etching something like your driver's license number onto the underside.

Human: My employer wants to cut my wages by half, and I want to see what actions I can take. Good morning. I'm a long-time church musician who recently moved to a bigger church with more music budget. Unfortunately, due to the mismanagement of funds, lack of financial support, and the departure of the music director, the pastor reached out to me and frankly said that they'll have to stop doing weekly rehearsals and reduce my work hours and reduce my annual salary down by half, which won't be enough for me to financially support myself. Apparently, they found someone as an intermittent music director without telling me or the other musicians whom I rehearse with. This would be utterly devastating, for multiple reasons. I already submitted my offer letter with the original salary, and I don't know what grounds that they have to decimate my salary. Furthermore, I left my old church of 7 years because of the competitive salary, and at this point, I would not be able to go back, since they already found someone. I feel pretty sick to my stomach, because they told me that they still appreciate my musicianship, and told me all sorts of saccharine bullshit about how this has nothing to do with my skills, but has the audacity to pull this. I personally don't expect that there can be anything legally done, but what are some actions I can take? In the meantime, I'm looking for other church musician jobs in the area. The other musicians whom I work and rehearse with me don't know this yet. I could go salted earth route and tell them what has happened, and maybe some of them will depart from the church. Or I don't know. Speak to the media. Thank you. Assistant: Unless you had an employment contract, your pay and hours are subject to change. You just need to find alternative employment and file for unemployment in the mean time. As the other poster pointed out, going to the media likely won't yield the results you're looking plus it could probably be a nail in the coffin of you working for another church. Organizations like that typically don't appreciate employees running to the media to discuss their inner workings.

Human: My employer wants to cut my wages by half, and I want to see what actions I can take. Good morning. I'm a long-time church musician who recently moved to a bigger church with more music budget. Unfortunately, due to the mismanagement of funds, lack of financial support, and the departure of the music director, the pastor reached out to me and frankly said that they'll have to stop doing weekly rehearsals and reduce my work hours and reduce my annual salary down by half, which won't be enough for me to financially support myself. Apparently, they found someone as an intermittent music director without telling me or the other musicians whom I rehearse with. This would be utterly devastating, for multiple reasons. I already submitted my offer letter with the original salary, and I don't know what grounds that they have to decimate my salary. Furthermore, I left my old church of 7 years because of the competitive salary, and at this point, I would not be able to go back, since they already found someone. I feel pretty sick to my stomach, because they told me that they still appreciate my musicianship, and told me all sorts of saccharine bullshit about how this has nothing to do with my skills, but has the audacity to pull this. I personally don't expect that there can be anything legally done, but what are some actions I can take? In the meantime, I'm looking for other church musician jobs in the area. The other musicians whom I work and rehearse with me don't know this yet. I could go salted earth route and tell them what has happened, and maybe some of them will depart from the church. Or I don't know. Speak to the media. Thank you. Assistant: File for under employment. It’s like unemployment but handles significant cuts in wages. The media won’t care about this.

Human: (Tennessee, US) My high school is officially organizing a religious award. What is the case law surrounding religious sponsorship in K–12 schools? My high school is organizing a religious award, entitled Doer of the Word, in which high school seniors may vote for the student they consider to be the most “Christ-like.” Everything I've heard about Supreme Court case law suggests to me that a religion may not be officially sponsored by the administration of a school, but I haven't seen anything governing this specific circumstance. Is there any case law relating to these sorts of awards? Assistant: Wow! An actual Establishment Clause issue. The ACLU is going to be more than happy to help you. Keep in mind however that even though you'd be *legally* correct here, challenging this action is going to have very real practical consequences if you choose to remain as part of this community. I don't think this is going to be a reason not to make some noise -- just make sure your eyes are open as to the community's response.

Human: (Tennessee, US) My high school is officially organizing a religious award. What is the case law surrounding religious sponsorship in K–12 schools? My high school is organizing a religious award, entitled Doer of the Word, in which high school seniors may vote for the student they consider to be the most “Christ-like.” Everything I've heard about Supreme Court case law suggests to me that a religion may not be officially sponsored by the administration of a school, but I haven't seen anything governing this specific circumstance. Is there any case law relating to these sorts of awards? Assistant: I'm assuming this is a public school? Is this actually organized by the school itself, or is it organized by a student organization within the school?

Human: ND, USA: Stupid Question: neighbor is claiming my leaves have fallen in his yard and they’re my responsibility to clean My (new) neighbor and I both have large trees which have recently shed their leaves. Some leaves are in the area between our two driveways and he has told me, in no uncertain terms, that it is my responsibility to clean all the leaves off both of our respective pieces of property. We both have trees, as mentioned, so it’s not possible to tell who’s leaves are who’s. He has been cleaning leaves more often, and I prefer to clean the leaves when most have fallen off the trees so I don’t have to do it multiple times, which I believe is not applicable to this situation. Am I responsible for cleaning the leaves off his property? Assistant: Yeah no. Pretty sure responsibility ends at your property line when it comes to leaves. He also has the ability to cut any branches that extend past the property line to the property line provided it doesn’t risk the health and life of your tree. But ultimately no, he needs to clean up his own lawn within his property line or buy a house that isn’t around any trees.

Human: ND, USA: Stupid Question: neighbor is claiming my leaves have fallen in his yard and they’re my responsibility to clean My (new) neighbor and I both have large trees which have recently shed their leaves. Some leaves are in the area between our two driveways and he has told me, in no uncertain terms, that it is my responsibility to clean all the leaves off both of our respective pieces of property. We both have trees, as mentioned, so it’s not possible to tell who’s leaves are who’s. He has been cleaning leaves more often, and I prefer to clean the leaves when most have fallen off the trees so I don’t have to do it multiple times, which I believe is not applicable to this situation. Am I responsible for cleaning the leaves off his property? Assistant: No. Do remember to congratulate him on being a first time home owner with his first yard with tree. It must be a very confusing time for him.

Human: (Kansas) I parked my car legally on the side of the street. People who lived in the house I parked by left a signed taped on my windshield saying "ABANDONED CAR, PLEASE TOW AWAY". Can I do anything about this? I park down the street from my place of work because the parking lot is always full. I sometimes park by this one house. Last week today, they left a note saying "Please park your car in front of the house you are visiting/carpooling with. You are not to dump your car here." I parked there a few more times out of necessity, and today they left a sign saying "ABANDONED CAR, PLEASE TOW AWAY" taped onto my windshield with packaging tape. When I got to my car, they came out of their house and yelled at me, telling me that I need to stop "dumping" my car there, telling me that their guests can no longer park there because of me, and that I need to park in the parking lot (this was after I told them that the parking lot was full). I still have both notes. I'm just wondering if they did anything illegal by putting the second sign on my car. Assistant: Place a sign on their door saying "ABANDONED HOUSE, PLEASE DEMOLISH." But in all seriousness, your easiest way of dealing with this is probably to find a different spot to park.

Human: (Kansas) I parked my car legally on the side of the street. People who lived in the house I parked by left a signed taped on my windshield saying "ABANDONED CAR, PLEASE TOW AWAY". Can I do anything about this? I park down the street from my place of work because the parking lot is always full. I sometimes park by this one house. Last week today, they left a note saying "Please park your car in front of the house you are visiting/carpooling with. You are not to dump your car here." I parked there a few more times out of necessity, and today they left a sign saying "ABANDONED CAR, PLEASE TOW AWAY" taped onto my windshield with packaging tape. When I got to my car, they came out of their house and yelled at me, telling me that I need to stop "dumping" my car there, telling me that their guests can no longer park there because of me, and that I need to park in the parking lot (this was after I told them that the parking lot was full). I still have both notes. I'm just wondering if they did anything illegal by putting the second sign on my car. Assistant: Not legal, but practical advice. Buy a dash cam incase anything happens.

Human: Neighbors threaten to tow my legally parked car I live in a residential neighborhood with single-family homes in San Jose, California. Every house owns several cars so it’s normal for neighbors to park by the public curb. This morning, I came out to a note on my car saying to not park in front of their house on Mondays because they need to put their garbage bins in that spot for Tuesday garbage pick up. If I park there again, they will call a towing company to tow my car away. I am not blocking their driveway (there is enough space from where the driveway starts to my car) or anything. It is legal to park there and if I don’t park there, someone else will because my neighborhood is extremely packed. I still have the handwritten note. Is it legal for them to tow my car even though it’s legally parked? They constantly bother me and threaten to have my car towed. I’ve spoken to them countless times about the spot being legal for me (or anyone) to park but they refuse to listen. They’ve come to my front door several times to tell me or my parents to move a car that’s parked by their curb until we tell them it is not ours. I’ve tried my best to emphasize that the space is legal but they continue to still bother me. I’ve asked them to stop coming over to my front door several times, yet they still do. Is there anything I can do legally to stop them from harassing me about the parking space and is it legal for them to tow away a car that’s legally parked there? Assistant: Why not go down to the local police station and ask to speak to a community relations officer. You might be able to get an officer to come to speak to your neighbor before anyone's car is towed. Its better to prevent problems than to fix them.

Human: Neighbors threaten to tow my legally parked car I live in a residential neighborhood with single-family homes in San Jose, California. Every house owns several cars so it’s normal for neighbors to park by the public curb. This morning, I came out to a note on my car saying to not park in front of their house on Mondays because they need to put their garbage bins in that spot for Tuesday garbage pick up. If I park there again, they will call a towing company to tow my car away. I am not blocking their driveway (there is enough space from where the driveway starts to my car) or anything. It is legal to park there and if I don’t park there, someone else will because my neighborhood is extremely packed. I still have the handwritten note. Is it legal for them to tow my car even though it’s legally parked? They constantly bother me and threaten to have my car towed. I’ve spoken to them countless times about the spot being legal for me (or anyone) to park but they refuse to listen. They’ve come to my front door several times to tell me or my parents to move a car that’s parked by their curb until we tell them it is not ours. I’ve tried my best to emphasize that the space is legal but they continue to still bother me. I’ve asked them to stop coming over to my front door several times, yet they still do. Is there anything I can do legally to stop them from harassing me about the parking space and is it legal for them to tow away a car that’s legally parked there? Assistant: I would check with city code enforcement first to see if it is legal to park there on trash day. The city rules on block trash cans imply it is on the person putting the cans out to make sure they are not blocked, but it is not 100% clear.

Human: An off duty police officer punched my mirror off leaving a bar. This is in the US. This happened a couple nights ago, but I left work to meet up with my girlfriend at a bar for karaoke. I get there right as they’re doing last call and stay for about 45 minutes and when I get out to my car my mirror had been hit and flayed out and the mirror is hanging off the holder by it’s cord, and I have a sizable dent on my drivers side door. I went back inside to ask if they have cameras to which the bar manager said they don’t but a neighboring store might. I get back out to the car and another bartender comes out to tell me she saw the man do it, he was cutoff from the bar and fed water to sober up and they called him an Uber. On the way to his Jeep which was parked right in front of mine he swung to wards my car and she wasn’t sure if he made contact or not. They ended up saying he flashed his police badge at the bar a couple times, remembered the name and looked it up officially in the credit card receipts to give it to me. I filed the police report that night with a cop that came out and upon receiving the name ended up not taking a written statement or anything, but the deputy showed up the next morning to take over the case and do further investigation after receiving the information and pictures I took at the scene and a few current videos. He did his own work and called me back this morning to tell me he talked with the man personally and he’s very remorseful and realizes the mistake he made, and I have a couple options moving forward. I can file a warrant for his arrest and he will be court ordered to pay for the damages, or I can handle it with him out of court. He said he knows the man wont question whatever he has to pay, and I made sure I have a year to file a warrant if it starts to drag along. I’m wondering at this point what I should do because it’s a hassle to reattach my mirror every time I close my door it falls back off, also the hassle of actually getting it fixed, and the dent is very noticeable, should I escalate it to a warrant or take it to a body shop and try and handle it individually? Tl:dr an off duty cop punched my mirror and kicked my car leaving a bar with no interaction with me. Should I escalate it to a warrant or try and get him to pay for it individually? Assistant: Just get a written estimate for the repairs and submit it to the deputy. Give them a week or two for payment. If you aren't paid then escalate to the next level.

Human: An off duty police officer punched my mirror off leaving a bar. This is in the US. This happened a couple nights ago, but I left work to meet up with my girlfriend at a bar for karaoke. I get there right as they’re doing last call and stay for about 45 minutes and when I get out to my car my mirror had been hit and flayed out and the mirror is hanging off the holder by it’s cord, and I have a sizable dent on my drivers side door. I went back inside to ask if they have cameras to which the bar manager said they don’t but a neighboring store might. I get back out to the car and another bartender comes out to tell me she saw the man do it, he was cutoff from the bar and fed water to sober up and they called him an Uber. On the way to his Jeep which was parked right in front of mine he swung to wards my car and she wasn’t sure if he made contact or not. They ended up saying he flashed his police badge at the bar a couple times, remembered the name and looked it up officially in the credit card receipts to give it to me. I filed the police report that night with a cop that came out and upon receiving the name ended up not taking a written statement or anything, but the deputy showed up the next morning to take over the case and do further investigation after receiving the information and pictures I took at the scene and a few current videos. He did his own work and called me back this morning to tell me he talked with the man personally and he’s very remorseful and realizes the mistake he made, and I have a couple options moving forward. I can file a warrant for his arrest and he will be court ordered to pay for the damages, or I can handle it with him out of court. He said he knows the man wont question whatever he has to pay, and I made sure I have a year to file a warrant if it starts to drag along. I’m wondering at this point what I should do because it’s a hassle to reattach my mirror every time I close my door it falls back off, also the hassle of actually getting it fixed, and the dent is very noticeable, should I escalate it to a warrant or take it to a body shop and try and handle it individually? Tl:dr an off duty cop punched my mirror and kicked my car leaving a bar with no interaction with me. Should I escalate it to a warrant or try and get him to pay for it individually? Assistant: So long as he’s cooperative with you, it will be quicker to have him pay than to have him tried and ordered to pay restitution. Even if he’s uncooperative, it would likely still be quicker just to sue him in small claims court than go the route of a criminal complaint.

Human: (NJ) My idiot nephew "rolled coal" on a pedestrian who turned out to be an off duty police officer So for those who don't know what "rolling coal" is (because I didn't) it's when someone modifies the engine on their diesel vehicle so that it emits a cloud of black, sooty smoke out of the exhaust pipes, which they also modify and extend to be like chimneys. My nephew recently bought a diesel truck and had it modified it so it could "roll coal". He was stopped at a red light and tried to get the attention of a pedestrian. She ignored him so he "rolled coal" on her and covered her in a cloud of smoke before he drove away. He was pulled over a short distance away. The pedestrian was an off duty police officer. His truck was towed and impounded. My nephew is a complete dumbass and deserves what he gets. I’m posting here because neither I nor my wife nor his parents have ever heard of “rolling coal” before and we are just wondering what happens next and what penalty(ies) he is looking at? Assistant: >tried to get the attention of a pedestrian Is that a euphemism for cat calling?

Human: (NJ) My idiot nephew "rolled coal" on a pedestrian who turned out to be an off duty police officer So for those who don't know what "rolling coal" is (because I didn't) it's when someone modifies the engine on their diesel vehicle so that it emits a cloud of black, sooty smoke out of the exhaust pipes, which they also modify and extend to be like chimneys. My nephew recently bought a diesel truck and had it modified it so it could "roll coal". He was stopped at a red light and tried to get the attention of a pedestrian. She ignored him so he "rolled coal" on her and covered her in a cloud of smoke before he drove away. He was pulled over a short distance away. The pedestrian was an off duty police officer. His truck was towed and impounded. My nephew is a complete dumbass and deserves what he gets. I’m posting here because neither I nor my wife nor his parents have ever heard of “rolling coal” before and we are just wondering what happens next and what penalty(ies) he is looking at? Assistant: So presumably this kid is cat-calling women on the street and modifying his car so it emits conspicuous pollution. This guy sounds awful. To answer the question at hand, it appears that it is illegal in various ways (both state and federal): http://www.autoblog.com/2015/05/13/rolling-coal-now-illegal-in-new-jersey/

Human: TX - Neighbor being a nuisance to try to force us out so he can buy our land. Found really old document showing part of our land was purchased by his family over 150 years ago. I posted about this a year or so ago here and since then things seemed to calm down. Little bit of backstory. Neighbor wanted to buy our land but we refused to sell since it has been in the family since the civil war. In response the neighbor set up a gun range that fires in a safe direction but close to the house. He was running his loudest equipment at 3am and switch to natural fertilizer on his crops. Well we complained to the sheriff and kept complaining until one morning the sheriff actually came out to see what was going on. Turns out that the neighbor was not even really running his equipment, he was turning them on and letting them run wasting gas. The sheriff told him to stop and to move the gun range down further on the land. The neighbor did actually obey the sheriff, but has since changed tactics. He has produced a 150 year old bill of sale that is barely legible that shows that his family purchased a large chunk of my land over 150 years ago. It looks legitimate enough that my family is getting very scared. I have all of the documentation that shows I am the current owner of the land. However the records I have only go back to the time my dad acquired the land from his dad. Is a barely legible 150 year old piece of paper something I have to worry about? Can my neighbor seriously steal the land out from under me with this? Assistant: It's possible , even if the bill of sale is valid, that you possess the land by adverse possession. Speak to a local real estate lawyer for a better answer. For the bill the sale, you want to have it examined by a Forensic Document Examiners. They can help you determine if is a real document.

Human: TX - Neighbor being a nuisance to try to force us out so he can buy our land. Found really old document showing part of our land was purchased by his family over 150 years ago. I posted about this a year or so ago here and since then things seemed to calm down. Little bit of backstory. Neighbor wanted to buy our land but we refused to sell since it has been in the family since the civil war. In response the neighbor set up a gun range that fires in a safe direction but close to the house. He was running his loudest equipment at 3am and switch to natural fertilizer on his crops. Well we complained to the sheriff and kept complaining until one morning the sheriff actually came out to see what was going on. Turns out that the neighbor was not even really running his equipment, he was turning them on and letting them run wasting gas. The sheriff told him to stop and to move the gun range down further on the land. The neighbor did actually obey the sheriff, but has since changed tactics. He has produced a 150 year old bill of sale that is barely legible that shows that his family purchased a large chunk of my land over 150 years ago. It looks legitimate enough that my family is getting very scared. I have all of the documentation that shows I am the current owner of the land. However the records I have only go back to the time my dad acquired the land from his dad. Is a barely legible 150 year old piece of paper something I have to worry about? Can my neighbor seriously steal the land out from under me with this? Assistant: Adverse possession in Texas ranges from 3-10 years. So your in the clear. Tell him to fuck off.

Human: My (14m) friend (also 14m) probably has appendicitis but his mom refuses to take him to a hospital or even have an ambulance do it. Could me or my parents face legal repercussions if we snuck him out and checked him in? (PA) Basically the title. His mom thinks he’s being overdramatic and doesn’t want to spend money on getting it checked out. All the symptoms match with appendicitis and he’s been feeling like this for 3 days but it has progressively gotten worse. How would I go about getting him treatment his mother won’t? Can I even do it legally? Are me and my parents protected by Good Samaritan laws? Assistant: If he calls from somewhere where his mother is not he will be transported to a hospital. With minors it is considered implied consent (that is the EMTs will act in the best interest of the patient and this assumes the parent/guardian would give consent). Source: am a license EMT

Human: My (14m) friend (also 14m) probably has appendicitis but his mom refuses to take him to a hospital or even have an ambulance do it. Could me or my parents face legal repercussions if we snuck him out and checked him in? (PA) Basically the title. His mom thinks he’s being overdramatic and doesn’t want to spend money on getting it checked out. All the symptoms match with appendicitis and he’s been feeling like this for 3 days but it has progressively gotten worse. How would I go about getting him treatment his mother won’t? Can I even do it legally? Are me and my parents protected by Good Samaritan laws? Assistant: Prolonged withholding of medical care is child abuse. Here is a link to a Pennsylvania Resource.

Human: Wife invested thousands into house she was to inherit. She is now being told to buy the house or it will be sold to a stranger. Wife was told she was going to inherit the house her parents are living in. When her parents started needing care we moved in with them to help out and paid rent to help with bills. We were explicitly told the house was hers when they pass or when they decide to leave. Wife and I spent several thousands over the last 10~ years getting new appliances, new floors, fence, siding and things of that nature because we were told she would inherit it and we believed this was our home. We find out today that the parents are moving and they want us to either buy the house (they changed their mind on inheriting it because they need the money to move) at full value or they will put it on the market. Wife says she won’t pay for her inheritance and asks to negotiate something. Promptly told no. We demand repayment for the updates we made to the house because we never would have done them if we weren’t told the house would be ours. Wouldn’t have put in a new fence (last one was leaning so bad you could literally walk over it), new flooring (tiles were missing/broken, floorboards were rotting), new appliances (fridge leaked and was rusted, dishwasher needed semimonthly repairs and clothes washer didn’t operate). They would get far less for the house being sold if not for the work we did to it. They are saying they don’t have to pay us a penny. Do we have any legal options here? Assistant: How much did you put in exactly? How long did you live there? What did you pay for rent?

Human: Wife invested thousands into house she was to inherit. She is now being told to buy the house or it will be sold to a stranger. Wife was told she was going to inherit the house her parents are living in. When her parents started needing care we moved in with them to help out and paid rent to help with bills. We were explicitly told the house was hers when they pass or when they decide to leave. Wife and I spent several thousands over the last 10~ years getting new appliances, new floors, fence, siding and things of that nature because we were told she would inherit it and we believed this was our home. We find out today that the parents are moving and they want us to either buy the house (they changed their mind on inheriting it because they need the money to move) at full value or they will put it on the market. Wife says she won’t pay for her inheritance and asks to negotiate something. Promptly told no. We demand repayment for the updates we made to the house because we never would have done them if we weren’t told the house would be ours. Wouldn’t have put in a new fence (last one was leaning so bad you could literally walk over it), new flooring (tiles were missing/broken, floorboards were rotting), new appliances (fridge leaked and was rusted, dishwasher needed semimonthly repairs and clothes washer didn’t operate). They would get far less for the house being sold if not for the work we did to it. They are saying they don’t have to pay us a penny. Do we have any legal options here? Assistant: IAAL I'm not yours, I also don't practice this type of law. But I feel like this screams of promissory estoppel. I.e. you relied upon a promise to your detriment, and now they are trying to reneg. I'd contact a general practitioner lawyer in your area to find out your options.

Human: My microchipped cat was stole and the thief refuses to return her. Aside from the non-emergency police, what are my legal options? I want to start off by saying that we’ve already called the non-emergency line and hopefully within a few days this will all be resolved. However there’s a chance the thief might relocate my cat in the meantime. So if the police can’t solve it what are my other options? How would small claims court work? I’ve recently been told that the thief is in talks with a lawyer (or plans to be). This situation is feeling so helpless and I don’t know what to do. For context pets are considered property in my state. We’re in NM Assistant: Call the Chip company and report the cat stolen. This way they can't try to change the info.

Human: My microchipped cat was stole and the thief refuses to return her. Aside from the non-emergency police, what are my legal options? I want to start off by saying that we’ve already called the non-emergency line and hopefully within a few days this will all be resolved. However there’s a chance the thief might relocate my cat in the meantime. So if the police can’t solve it what are my other options? How would small claims court work? I’ve recently been told that the thief is in talks with a lawyer (or plans to be). This situation is feeling so helpless and I don’t know what to do. For context pets are considered property in my state. We’re in NM Assistant: Some small claims can issue an order for property (it’s called a writ of replevin). If that’s allowed in New Mexico, that’s an option. Otherwise you can hire a lawyer to make the claim in a court that can. This assumes this is 100% your cat and not something that was bought during a relationship/ family situation where the name on the chip is one thing but others might have legit interest in the cat.

Human: [California] I got ghosted by my job on the day I was supposed to receive my first payment. I recently started a job at a company and was doing my month of probation, which was a simple job of receiving packages at home checking to make sure they're intact, with photos to show, the print the label when they send it to to then send the package to the next person in the process. I'm not really able to get out of the house much do to back pains so this kind of thing where I just need send the packages from the nearest postal business just two block away from my home was nice. It started with a base monthly pay of $2,400 and could add up to $900 extra with the bonus of enough packages delivered at $40 each sent and $75 for a few. I had gotten my bonus up to $450 with the packages I had delivered for the month. ​ It had all been going smoothly without much problems (lost packages) up until the 14th when I was supposed to be paid. When I got up that day and logged onto the work account I had I couldn't login and no one responded to my calls or messages. Nor was the money sent to the bank account I had given the direct deposit I had given. ​ I'm not sure exactly what steps I need to take to be able to at least get the money I signed a contract to be paid for. Any help accepted, thanks. Assistant: This is a scam. You were shipping stolen merchandise. If the police show up at your door “sorry I don’t answer questions without a lawyer present.” You’re not going to be paid.

Human: [California] I got ghosted by my job on the day I was supposed to receive my first payment. I recently started a job at a company and was doing my month of probation, which was a simple job of receiving packages at home checking to make sure they're intact, with photos to show, the print the label when they send it to to then send the package to the next person in the process. I'm not really able to get out of the house much do to back pains so this kind of thing where I just need send the packages from the nearest postal business just two block away from my home was nice. It started with a base monthly pay of $2,400 and could add up to $900 extra with the bonus of enough packages delivered at $40 each sent and $75 for a few. I had gotten my bonus up to $450 with the packages I had delivered for the month. ​ It had all been going smoothly without much problems (lost packages) up until the 14th when I was supposed to be paid. When I got up that day and logged onto the work account I had I couldn't login and no one responded to my calls or messages. Nor was the money sent to the bank account I had given the direct deposit I had given. ​ I'm not sure exactly what steps I need to take to be able to at least get the money I signed a contract to be paid for. Any help accepted, thanks. Assistant: This is a scam

Human: Neighbors house burned down, our home owners association is demanding that we take care and clean up the property by next Monday, or we are going to be fined for negligence. I was told to post this here by my son. We own a home in a HOA in New York State. We had a few problems with our HOA in the past, but this is beyond anything I have ever dealt with. About 3 weeks ago there was a fire and our neighbors house was heavily damaged by fire, i am not privy to the details of the fire, but the house was apparently written off. Last week the remains still standing were bulldozed for safety reasons. However most of the actual remains were pilled up. I was expecting them to remove it, but they have not. I don't really know what is going on with it at all. Tonight our HOA came to our house to tell us we are shirking our HOA duties as their lot is a mess. Our HOA president is arguing that both me and the other adjacent neighbor are responsible for the upkeep of any vacant dwellings. This is what they are arguing: "In the event of a unit being unoccupied with no clear owner. It is the responsibility of any adjacent units to perform any required upkeep to ensure the vacant unit is up to the community standards....(insert reference to our bylaws regarding how stuff is supposed to look)". Our HOA more or less wants us to remove all the debris, fix the lawn etc. I have so many issues with this, firstly it is not safe at all. Secondly i don't know who owns the plot now. According to our HOA the original owners took the insurance money and are moving somewhere else. So wouldn't that mean the insurance company owns the land and not us? We have until May 17th, to apparently get this done otherwise we will be fined. Am I crazy or does this seem idiotic? Assistant: Pull the county record on ownership, send a letter to the HOA saying “Great news, I found the owner for you, pound sand”.

Human: Neighbors house burned down, our home owners association is demanding that we take care and clean up the property by next Monday, or we are going to be fined for negligence. I was told to post this here by my son. We own a home in a HOA in New York State. We had a few problems with our HOA in the past, but this is beyond anything I have ever dealt with. About 3 weeks ago there was a fire and our neighbors house was heavily damaged by fire, i am not privy to the details of the fire, but the house was apparently written off. Last week the remains still standing were bulldozed for safety reasons. However most of the actual remains were pilled up. I was expecting them to remove it, but they have not. I don't really know what is going on with it at all. Tonight our HOA came to our house to tell us we are shirking our HOA duties as their lot is a mess. Our HOA president is arguing that both me and the other adjacent neighbor are responsible for the upkeep of any vacant dwellings. This is what they are arguing: "In the event of a unit being unoccupied with no clear owner. It is the responsibility of any adjacent units to perform any required upkeep to ensure the vacant unit is up to the community standards....(insert reference to our bylaws regarding how stuff is supposed to look)". Our HOA more or less wants us to remove all the debris, fix the lawn etc. I have so many issues with this, firstly it is not safe at all. Secondly i don't know who owns the plot now. According to our HOA the original owners took the insurance money and are moving somewhere else. So wouldn't that mean the insurance company owns the land and not us? We have until May 17th, to apparently get this done otherwise we will be fined. Am I crazy or does this seem idiotic? Assistant: Someone owns the property, you can just check the deed record to figure out who that is. However, being that there is certainly an owner, how do you have the authority to 1) enter their property and 2) remove or alter their possessions. Although I doubt anyone would ever come after you, you certainly could be opening yourself up to liability from the owner, or possibly even a trespass action.

Human: My neighbor is planning to have our bordering fence line replaced and is demanding i pay half or she'll take me to court. To start, I live in California, I bought my first house last month. We just moved in. There is Civil Code 841 that states that because we'll equally benefit we have to pay equal shares under most circumstances. Initially she did approach me and told me that the fence was old and she'd like to replace it and needed me to pay half. I told her I would, but I just bought the home and I dont have any extra money and it would take a few months for me to save up to cover my half. She was extremely upset and berated me for well over 10 minutes over how I "have to" A week later she plastered an invoice on my door with a letter attached that said I need to pay half once again. Which again I'd be fine with, if I had money to spare. In this letter she says the work is already scheduled to be done 2 weeks from now, I need to clear my fence line and keep my dogs inside for 2 to 3 days while the work is completed. Mind you ive had 0 say in the design or the fence, or height, or plank width, or material etc. Shes made all the decisions about it. Today I got a certified letter in the mail from her saying that I need to pay or shes willing to take me to court over the matter. If shes initiated the replacing of the fence after ive informed her I have no money to cover it. If shes made all design choices and decisions regarding the fence without asking for any input from me. If the fence is standing and in decent condition but just "old," am I still legally responsible for paying half of it? Assistant: Whomever sold you the home has likely been telling this neighbor to pound sand for quite some time. Perhaps you're viewed as a softer target. Stand your ground.

Human: My neighbor is planning to have our bordering fence line replaced and is demanding i pay half or she'll take me to court. To start, I live in California, I bought my first house last month. We just moved in. There is Civil Code 841 that states that because we'll equally benefit we have to pay equal shares under most circumstances. Initially she did approach me and told me that the fence was old and she'd like to replace it and needed me to pay half. I told her I would, but I just bought the home and I dont have any extra money and it would take a few months for me to save up to cover my half. She was extremely upset and berated me for well over 10 minutes over how I "have to" A week later she plastered an invoice on my door with a letter attached that said I need to pay half once again. Which again I'd be fine with, if I had money to spare. In this letter she says the work is already scheduled to be done 2 weeks from now, I need to clear my fence line and keep my dogs inside for 2 to 3 days while the work is completed. Mind you ive had 0 say in the design or the fence, or height, or plank width, or material etc. Shes made all the decisions about it. Today I got a certified letter in the mail from her saying that I need to pay or shes willing to take me to court over the matter. If shes initiated the replacing of the fence after ive informed her I have no money to cover it. If shes made all design choices and decisions regarding the fence without asking for any input from me. If the fence is standing and in decent condition but just "old," am I still legally responsible for paying half of it? Assistant: So the good neighbor fence law in California also states that if one of the neighbors can’t pay for the fence and it’s too much of burden, then one neighbor can pay for the whole fence. CA 841 (C) Whether the financial burden to one landowner would impose an undue financial hardship given that party’s financial circumstances as demonstrated by reasonable proof.

Human: I've received a bogus invoice from my Uncle's business because I refused to take his son on a road trip at the last minute to meet a cruise ship. **The backstory part** My aunt and uncle have always been pushy people and their son (my cousin, but family stresses don't have me relating to him in any way) is a 19 year old painful entitled arse I never had much to do with personally. I'd been planning a road trip from Sydney to Townsville for a while, and I posted details on facebook of when I was leaving in September this year. Aunt and Uncle caught wind of this and asked if I'd take their son with me, and drop him off in Brisbane in time to catch a cruise. I said no at first, but after a few pushy phonecalls from them I said I'd do it but I laid out conditions that he had to keep the attitude down. They know as well as anyone what he's like, and they promised he'd behave, so I agreed to take him. My mistake agreeing to that. On the morning I had to leave I packed and went to pick up their son from their house. He was still asleep and hadn't even begun to pack. After 2 hours of waiting and putting my schedule behind, we got going on the road. We didn't get 20km before he'd insulted me about my weight, spat chewing gum out the window, and jammed his feet with shoes up on the dash. The whole reason for my road trip was to stretch the legs of my car, and it's a cheap but fun sort-of-classic I'm attached to. He'd already scored the dashtop with his feet when I pulled over, laid into him about feet on the dash, and I snapped when he came back with "babe, if you want this to be painless for the both of us you need to get the stick out of your arse". So I turned around, and suffered 20 minutes of abuse before getting him back home, all the time with him threatening me with how pissed his dad was going to be. After some trouble getting him out of the car when he was back home, I left him and his baggage in their driveway and went off on my trip. **The legal part** I've now been back a fortnight, and yesterday morning I received an invoice from my uncle's business for a total of $9200 for 'Travel', and a final notice warning that it would be sent to collections if it wasn't immediately paid. I phoned my uncle and he broke it down that they'd tried to get their son on a flight to Brisbane but he never got on it and bummed about with friends locally without them knowing, and wasted opportunities they'd organised for him on the cruise. I'm beyond annoyed and told him to jam it, posted a scan of the invoice on Facebook with the background story, and I've received nasty emails from both my aunt and uncle (I refuse to take their calls) threatening me to take it down, and also to pay it or he *will* send it to collections. Obviously it's not a legally valid invoice, even though as far as I can tell it's a regular normal looking invoice his business would send out, but what can I do here that'll quickly get him off my back? It wouldn't surprise me if he did try to send it to collections if I don't do anything. For all the stupidity of that act, which I'm sure can get him in deep trouble if I pushed back legally, he's knowledgeable of the law and I think he's expecting to take advantage of my lack of legal knowledge to make me pay. Is there a law I can quickly quote back at him in reference to the invalid invoice and fraud, without me going straight to a lawyer of my own, or would should I get a lawyer to fire back so he backs down? The cost of that would hit me hard at the moment but if I have to I have to. Assistant: OP, another Australian here. I suggest you check out your local Office of Fair Trading. That's where I would start with fake business invoices as I think this falls under the category of consumer fraud. Their whole reaction demonstrates exactly where their arsehole son got his attitude.

Human: I've received a bogus invoice from my Uncle's business because I refused to take his son on a road trip at the last minute to meet a cruise ship. **The backstory part** My aunt and uncle have always been pushy people and their son (my cousin, but family stresses don't have me relating to him in any way) is a 19 year old painful entitled arse I never had much to do with personally. I'd been planning a road trip from Sydney to Townsville for a while, and I posted details on facebook of when I was leaving in September this year. Aunt and Uncle caught wind of this and asked if I'd take their son with me, and drop him off in Brisbane in time to catch a cruise. I said no at first, but after a few pushy phonecalls from them I said I'd do it but I laid out conditions that he had to keep the attitude down. They know as well as anyone what he's like, and they promised he'd behave, so I agreed to take him. My mistake agreeing to that. On the morning I had to leave I packed and went to pick up their son from their house. He was still asleep and hadn't even begun to pack. After 2 hours of waiting and putting my schedule behind, we got going on the road. We didn't get 20km before he'd insulted me about my weight, spat chewing gum out the window, and jammed his feet with shoes up on the dash. The whole reason for my road trip was to stretch the legs of my car, and it's a cheap but fun sort-of-classic I'm attached to. He'd already scored the dashtop with his feet when I pulled over, laid into him about feet on the dash, and I snapped when he came back with "babe, if you want this to be painless for the both of us you need to get the stick out of your arse". So I turned around, and suffered 20 minutes of abuse before getting him back home, all the time with him threatening me with how pissed his dad was going to be. After some trouble getting him out of the car when he was back home, I left him and his baggage in their driveway and went off on my trip. **The legal part** I've now been back a fortnight, and yesterday morning I received an invoice from my uncle's business for a total of $9200 for 'Travel', and a final notice warning that it would be sent to collections if it wasn't immediately paid. I phoned my uncle and he broke it down that they'd tried to get their son on a flight to Brisbane but he never got on it and bummed about with friends locally without them knowing, and wasted opportunities they'd organised for him on the cruise. I'm beyond annoyed and told him to jam it, posted a scan of the invoice on Facebook with the background story, and I've received nasty emails from both my aunt and uncle (I refuse to take their calls) threatening me to take it down, and also to pay it or he *will* send it to collections. Obviously it's not a legally valid invoice, even though as far as I can tell it's a regular normal looking invoice his business would send out, but what can I do here that'll quickly get him off my back? It wouldn't surprise me if he did try to send it to collections if I don't do anything. For all the stupidity of that act, which I'm sure can get him in deep trouble if I pushed back legally, he's knowledgeable of the law and I think he's expecting to take advantage of my lack of legal knowledge to make me pay. Is there a law I can quickly quote back at him in reference to the invalid invoice and fraud, without me going straight to a lawyer of my own, or would should I get a lawyer to fire back so he backs down? The cost of that would hit me hard at the moment but if I have to I have to. Assistant: Tell them to fuck off. If they do send it to collections, ask the collector to validate to debt to you. If you get sued, show up to court. What's your location exactly?

Human: Us-IN it’s 56 degrees inside and I have to get a hotel, how do I get my landlord to pay for it after? I’ve been trying to get them to fix my heat for a while now and with this winter storm my heat has dropped even further and keeps going down. I can’t get ahold of anyone and I’m freezing. I’ve been writing down everything that happens and taking pictures of the temperature. It was hanging out at around 63-64 for a couple weeks and now it’s just dropping. //I basically crossposted from r/tenant as well Assistant: Contact your renters insurance, they will likely cover the hotel.

Human: Us-IN it’s 56 degrees inside and I have to get a hotel, how do I get my landlord to pay for it after? I’ve been trying to get them to fix my heat for a while now and with this winter storm my heat has dropped even further and keeps going down. I can’t get ahold of anyone and I’m freezing. I’ve been writing down everything that happens and taking pictures of the temperature. It was hanging out at around 63-64 for a couple weeks and now it’s just dropping. //I basically crossposted from r/tenant as well Assistant: Not a lawyer - Indianapolis says the heat should safely and adequately heat all rooms to at least 68 degrees, * https://www.wrtv.com/news/wrtv-investigates/east-side-apartment-complex-cited-for-no-heat-after-renter-complaint * https://www.in.gov/health/eph/files/Tenants_Rights_doc.pdf * https://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/is_your_heat_on

Human: [Indiana] I was just fired, despite my boss not being able to provide any documented examples of me violating company policy, or being able to list evidence of the reason she was firing. So a few hours ago I just got fired from my job. I was a part time Mechanical Engineering intern, who was supposed to work from summer to fall, go to school in the spring, then come back for summer and fall. For the past week I've been having daily arguments with my boss over very minor and petty things. For example, she'd be upset that it took me a day and a half to make a training sheet for her instead of a day, or that I was doing projects for other departments (Small company with me being the only engineer, so its kinda expected). She would consistently accuse my of skirting around projects, despite me still delivering results every 1-2 days. During these arguments she would also do things that I believe were out of line, like pull out a phone and start recording me for "training purposes" or telling me "shit rolls down hill, and I'm at the top of the hill." She would also go to other departments and demand they stop giving me projects. The thing that pushed me over the edge was when she marched me into HR just to tell me that she didn't want a black outline around the text boxes on her training sheet. During these arguments I'd lament about how shes extremely rushing a non-critical project (I know its non-critical because despite her demanding a day turnaround time from me, the completed sheets would just sit on her desk instead of going to the floor, which I criticized her for). I'd argue about how it wasn't her place to dictate what projects I can/can't accept, since my job was to help *everyone* in the company. Along this I reminded her that if the CEO or the CFO gave me a project, their projects would automatically get prioritized over hers for obvious reasons. Anyway after dealing with these arguments daily, I finally drafted an email to the CFO and the HR person about how I felt it was Harassment and I asked them to intervene. I had to ask one of the maintenance people about when a certain argument happened on a certain date, so I left the email on my desk and went to the floor. When I came back my boss was at my office, and she just immediately says "I need to speak to you". She pulled me into the conference room, told me how we inherently didn't mesh and our relationship wouldn't get better, and that "I just can't work with you, so I need to let you go." She cited the fact she "couldnt work with me" as the reason for firing, but also that I skirted around projects (she couldn't list any examples when I asked for them). Anyway, there is no documentation of me violating policy, theres no formal reason as to why I was fired, there was no warning to me being fired, no disciplinary history, and as far as I know she didn't consult anybody else. While I can't prove she read the email that was on my computer, I have a suspicion that it was the reason for my termination. Basically my question is, can I fight this at all? Specifically could I claim wrongful termination? I dont have the employee handbook, so I dont know what the company procedure for termination is. Since I wasnt given a formal reason for my termination, I dont know what policies I supposedly violated. Assistant: > I felt it was Harassment It wasn't. You should really know how to play the game before you lay all your cards out on the table. > could I claim wrongful termination? No, because it wasn't wrongful termination.

Human: [Indiana] I was just fired, despite my boss not being able to provide any documented examples of me violating company policy, or being able to list evidence of the reason she was firing. So a few hours ago I just got fired from my job. I was a part time Mechanical Engineering intern, who was supposed to work from summer to fall, go to school in the spring, then come back for summer and fall. For the past week I've been having daily arguments with my boss over very minor and petty things. For example, she'd be upset that it took me a day and a half to make a training sheet for her instead of a day, or that I was doing projects for other departments (Small company with me being the only engineer, so its kinda expected). She would consistently accuse my of skirting around projects, despite me still delivering results every 1-2 days. During these arguments she would also do things that I believe were out of line, like pull out a phone and start recording me for "training purposes" or telling me "shit rolls down hill, and I'm at the top of the hill." She would also go to other departments and demand they stop giving me projects. The thing that pushed me over the edge was when she marched me into HR just to tell me that she didn't want a black outline around the text boxes on her training sheet. During these arguments I'd lament about how shes extremely rushing a non-critical project (I know its non-critical because despite her demanding a day turnaround time from me, the completed sheets would just sit on her desk instead of going to the floor, which I criticized her for). I'd argue about how it wasn't her place to dictate what projects I can/can't accept, since my job was to help *everyone* in the company. Along this I reminded her that if the CEO or the CFO gave me a project, their projects would automatically get prioritized over hers for obvious reasons. Anyway after dealing with these arguments daily, I finally drafted an email to the CFO and the HR person about how I felt it was Harassment and I asked them to intervene. I had to ask one of the maintenance people about when a certain argument happened on a certain date, so I left the email on my desk and went to the floor. When I came back my boss was at my office, and she just immediately says "I need to speak to you". She pulled me into the conference room, told me how we inherently didn't mesh and our relationship wouldn't get better, and that "I just can't work with you, so I need to let you go." She cited the fact she "couldnt work with me" as the reason for firing, but also that I skirted around projects (she couldn't list any examples when I asked for them). Anyway, there is no documentation of me violating policy, theres no formal reason as to why I was fired, there was no warning to me being fired, no disciplinary history, and as far as I know she didn't consult anybody else. While I can't prove she read the email that was on my computer, I have a suspicion that it was the reason for my termination. Basically my question is, can I fight this at all? Specifically could I claim wrongful termination? I dont have the employee handbook, so I dont know what the company procedure for termination is. Since I wasnt given a formal reason for my termination, I dont know what policies I supposedly violated. Assistant: > Specifically could I claim wrongful termination? No. You can file for unemployment while seeking a new job.

Human: After offering a coworker a room to rent while she goes through a divorce, her ex-husband has not only called the police to try to report that I raped her, but has also started telling people he thinks I committed murder This all takes place in California A friend of mine that I met through work is getting divorced. She doesn’t know anyone in the area so I offered her a room to stay in temporarily until she can get back on her feet. Two days after she told her husband that she was leaving him and moving out, he got into her phone and started reading our text messages. He has apparently gone off the deep end. Mind you, her and I have never talked or texted about anything sexual, never even discussed being in a relationship, Nothing of that sort. All personal conversations we have had are related to her being unhappy in her relationship and her wanting to divorce her husband. The very next day after he got into her phone, he called the police and told them that, as her boss, I groomed her, and then I sexually assaulted her (I’m not her boss and her and I have never done anything remotely personal or sexual). He handed her the phone, and told her to tell the police what he just said is true. She asked him to leave the room, and told the police that they were in the middle of getting a divorce, and he is going crazy, and that it absolutely never happened. The next day she packed up a bunch of her stuff and left. Drove three hours to where her parents live. Quit her job. All of that. In a weird twist of fate, the next day the roommate that lived with them for the last two years, committed suicide in a very gruesome way. She decided to go back to the house, to help her soon to be ex-husband deal with cleaning up the house and getting it ready to sell after that happen. During this time, her soon to be ex-husband convinced himself that the roommate did not really commit suicide, but that I went over to the house and killed the roommate. I am worried that this guy is becoming detached from reality and that he’s going to try something serious. But, because the stories have only been told to me by someone else and he has never directly threatened me, or tried to come after me, I don’t really know what my options are. Can I call the police and get a restraining order based on word-of-mouth? What exactly should I legally do in this situation? This all happened in a different county than the county I live in, by the way Assistant: Umm anyone else wonder if the husband actually murdered the roommate....?

Human: After offering a coworker a room to rent while she goes through a divorce, her ex-husband has not only called the police to try to report that I raped her, but has also started telling people he thinks I committed murder This all takes place in California A friend of mine that I met through work is getting divorced. She doesn’t know anyone in the area so I offered her a room to stay in temporarily until she can get back on her feet. Two days after she told her husband that she was leaving him and moving out, he got into her phone and started reading our text messages. He has apparently gone off the deep end. Mind you, her and I have never talked or texted about anything sexual, never even discussed being in a relationship, Nothing of that sort. All personal conversations we have had are related to her being unhappy in her relationship and her wanting to divorce her husband. The very next day after he got into her phone, he called the police and told them that, as her boss, I groomed her, and then I sexually assaulted her (I’m not her boss and her and I have never done anything remotely personal or sexual). He handed her the phone, and told her to tell the police what he just said is true. She asked him to leave the room, and told the police that they were in the middle of getting a divorce, and he is going crazy, and that it absolutely never happened. The next day she packed up a bunch of her stuff and left. Drove three hours to where her parents live. Quit her job. All of that. In a weird twist of fate, the next day the roommate that lived with them for the last two years, committed suicide in a very gruesome way. She decided to go back to the house, to help her soon to be ex-husband deal with cleaning up the house and getting it ready to sell after that happen. During this time, her soon to be ex-husband convinced himself that the roommate did not really commit suicide, but that I went over to the house and killed the roommate. I am worried that this guy is becoming detached from reality and that he’s going to try something serious. But, because the stories have only been told to me by someone else and he has never directly threatened me, or tried to come after me, I don’t really know what my options are. Can I call the police and get a restraining order based on word-of-mouth? What exactly should I legally do in this situation? This all happened in a different county than the county I live in, by the way Assistant: If he has accused you of sexually assaulting his wife. You could file for an order of protection against them for harassment and well being. You don't need to get a lawyer at this time as their really isn't any legal matter currently since she stood her ground and told the police the truth.

Human: (GA) Neighbor keeps throwing dog shit in my trashcan (Not joking) Throwaway because my regular reddit name is very tied to me and everyone on the planet knows it! I live in Fulton County Georgia and I live in a nice neighborhood with an HOA. I've posted on the message board a few times about this and I've gotten zero response from anyone. On trash day, once a week, we bring our trash cans out of our garage and leave them on the street. One of our neighbors keep throwing LARGE BAGS of dog shit in our trashcan AFTER THE TRASH PEOPLE COME!!! Firstly - what the hell kind of people do this? Really. We know very few of our neighbors and we get along well with almost everyone. Secondly, we both work so we can't stake out the garbage cans or bring them back inside fast enough for this to not be a problem. I guess my questions are these: Legally, am I allowed to set up a hidden camera to find out who is doing this without it violating some sort of law? And if I DO find out who it is, is there anything I can do legally about this? It's been every week for over a month and I am at my wit's end! I really want you to imagine how incredibly awful my trashcan smells after dog shit has been sitting inside of a closed container in the hot Georgia sun for HOURS. The toxicity of the smell should be illegal on its own. PLEASE HELP! Any advice would be awesome. Assistant: I like the idea of setting up a camera to find out which of your neighbors is doing this. Then take the bag of shit over to their house with a note saying that you think someone mistakenly put this bag in your trash can, and you wanted to be a good neighbor and return it. :-) But don't set it on fire and knock on their door, that would be bad. :-)

Human: (GA) Neighbor keeps throwing dog shit in my trashcan (Not joking) Throwaway because my regular reddit name is very tied to me and everyone on the planet knows it! I live in Fulton County Georgia and I live in a nice neighborhood with an HOA. I've posted on the message board a few times about this and I've gotten zero response from anyone. On trash day, once a week, we bring our trash cans out of our garage and leave them on the street. One of our neighbors keep throwing LARGE BAGS of dog shit in our trashcan AFTER THE TRASH PEOPLE COME!!! Firstly - what the hell kind of people do this? Really. We know very few of our neighbors and we get along well with almost everyone. Secondly, we both work so we can't stake out the garbage cans or bring them back inside fast enough for this to not be a problem. I guess my questions are these: Legally, am I allowed to set up a hidden camera to find out who is doing this without it violating some sort of law? And if I DO find out who it is, is there anything I can do legally about this? It's been every week for over a month and I am at my wit's end! I really want you to imagine how incredibly awful my trashcan smells after dog shit has been sitting inside of a closed container in the hot Georgia sun for HOURS. The toxicity of the smell should be illegal on its own. PLEASE HELP! Any advice would be awesome. Assistant: You're certainly within your rights to install a camera and record the street where you can is located. Have you considered making a sign that says "Please don't put dogshit in my trashcan." and placing that on the lid of the can?

Human: Mom recently passed and I just found out she never reported my grandmother's death in 2012 to Fidelity, now they want the money back. Im in South Carolina if that matters, but the title is the general problem. My grandmother passed back in 2012 and has been receiving roughly $100 a month from Fidelity for a retirement account through her job. The account it was going to had my mom and grandmother's name both on it. My mother nev we informed Fidelity she had passed, so they kept sending the money. My mother passed last month and I just found all this out in the past week or so. They sent a letter saying they were going to need all that money they sent back, but that money is gone. It was spent taking care of my mother the past year as her dementia got worse. My mother had no will, so I'm the representative of her estate now, but don't know what to do about this. Do they have a claim against my mother's estate now since she technically used the money? Can they claim anything against me since I'm the representative? Do they even have to be paid at all at this point since both of then have passed? Assistant: As others have said it comes out of the estate. If there’s no money they’re out of luck. Don’t pay ANYTHING personally to them. Also note that funeral and similar death-related costs and estate administration come out of the estate first. So make sure those are paid or reimbursed first. Then everyone else gets in line to share the crumbs. Not a lawyer.

Human: Mom recently passed and I just found out she never reported my grandmother's death in 2012 to Fidelity, now they want the money back. Im in South Carolina if that matters, but the title is the general problem. My grandmother passed back in 2012 and has been receiving roughly $100 a month from Fidelity for a retirement account through her job. The account it was going to had my mom and grandmother's name both on it. My mother nev we informed Fidelity she had passed, so they kept sending the money. My mother passed last month and I just found all this out in the past week or so. They sent a letter saying they were going to need all that money they sent back, but that money is gone. It was spent taking care of my mother the past year as her dementia got worse. My mother had no will, so I'm the representative of her estate now, but don't know what to do about this. Do they have a claim against my mother's estate now since she technically used the money? Can they claim anything against me since I'm the representative? Do they even have to be paid at all at this point since both of then have passed? Assistant: If there is not enough money in the estate to pay back the debt, then you will just need to explain that the estate is insolvent.

Human: Update – [Virginia] – Neighbor threatened to sue because we purchased a bigger/better house for less than what he paid and “devalued” his home, has threatened the other new homeowners. His teenage son is a thief and the HOA is pissed at him. Original post here -http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2v6xv4/virginia_neighbor_has_threatened_suing_me_and/ …and the plot thickens with an out of control idiot teenage son, and the HOA being pretty pissed off. I know this is long, but trust me; it is well worth the read. Where to start…? The other weekend NoVa got snow. Where I live, we got A LOT of snow, over 10 inches! I only have a lowly shovel, a neighbor I have never met owns a brand new huge and powerful snow blower, and being the nice guy he is, he helped quite a few of us out in moving the mountains of snow that fell. I thanked him and told him I owe him a 6 pack of something delicious. After some polite “nawww man, you don’t have to do that” comments, he told me that if I were to pick something up, and he were not home, one could place a 6 pack in the latched decorative crate that is on his front porch, between the rocking chairs, and he would not object to finding a delicious treasure in there. He’s a nice guy. That following Monday (3 days later) I went to the grocery store and among my items was my nice neighbors 6 pack. I did as he said, put the beer in the crate on his porch, noticed his security camera and waved to his security camera. On Wednesday evening I saw Douchebag McGee as I was pulling into my driveway. Hindsight, I am fairly certain he was likely waiting for me to get home. As soon as I get out of my truck, he starts shouting from across the street that I will be going to jail for providing alcohol to minors. He goes on to say that he discovered his kid wandering the neighborhood wasted on late Monday night. I immediately put 2 and 2 together and realize that his son stole the beer from my nice neighbors front porch crate and drank it. I ignore him, and walk right over to my nice neighbor’s house and jokingly ask if he got my beers I left him. He says he did not and I tell him he may want to review the security camera footage for the last few days. He laughs and tells me that he already did that, and directs me to his garage where he shows me his kids damaged snow toys (sleds, discs, tubes). From what him and I can piece together, I placed the beer in his crate in the evening, Douchebag’s teenage son came onto his porch minutes after, stole the beer, kicked (and left a dent and crack) in the siding of the house, grabbed a sled and took off. We head into my nice neighbor’s house to watch/review the security camera footage and he shows me what he just described. Fast forward a few hours later, an obviously intoxicated teenager comes back with a broken sled and takes a disc and tube from the side of the house, and pees on the AC unit before leaving. About 20 minutes later he is back with his empty bottles, smashes a few of them in the gutter and puts the broken snow toys back on the side of the house. All this happened when the nice neighbor and family was not home. At this point I tell nice neighbor about Douchebag’s legal threats and he decides that we should speak about him at that next night’s (Wednesday) HOA meeting. I head home, ignoring Douchebag’s continuous yells from across the street. Wednesday night comes and nice neighbor and I get up and address our problems with Douchebag to the HOA. Nice neighbor starts by talking about the theft as well as the damage to his kid’s toys and siding. I get up and discuss the legal threats made, at the same time, the other 3 new neighbors get up and grumble that Douchebag had threatened them with a suit as well. One woman (a tiny waif of a woman mind you) said that he cornered her against her car when she got home a few weeks ago; she went on to say that he seemed pretty drunk too. At this point the HOA President, the Attorney for the HOA, and the Property Management Representative call for calm in the room (other neighbors were getting mad) and ask those of us who have been threatened by Douchebag to stick around, including nice neighbor. According to my wife, while I was traveling for work this Monday, cops showed up at nice neighbor’s house in the late afternoon, took a statement, and a flash drive of the video. Nice neighbor came over to my house and told my wife that the HOA told him to go ahead and call the cops to report property destruction and trespassing. The cops assured him that they are not interested in speaking with me, that they are “going after this little shit” because he is a problem at his high school and that they are not unfamiliar as to who he is. Again, according to my wife, the cops then head over to Douchebag’s house and after some yelling, Douche Jr. comes outside and they arrest him. My wife said they pulled out of his pockets what looked like a small bag of weed and a glass pipe. I got home late last night and received an email this morning from the HOA President addressed to me, nice neighbor, and the other 3 new homeowners. In it, it stated that they were made aware by the cops that they had arrested the teenager, and that the HOA attorney was looking into figuring out a way to stop the legal threats from Douchebag. We were assured that there is no legal precedence for suing someone because they purchased something for less than you did, but nonetheless, they are here to help if need be. So that’s where we sit. Assistant: > Again, according to my wife, the cops then head over to Douchebag’s house and after some yelling, Douche Jr. comes outside and they arrest him. My wife said they pulled out of his pockets what looked like a small bag of weed and a glass pipe. Cops are outside? Better bring my weed with me.

Human: Update – [Virginia] – Neighbor threatened to sue because we purchased a bigger/better house for less than what he paid and “devalued” his home, has threatened the other new homeowners. His teenage son is a thief and the HOA is pissed at him. Original post here -http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2v6xv4/virginia_neighbor_has_threatened_suing_me_and/ …and the plot thickens with an out of control idiot teenage son, and the HOA being pretty pissed off. I know this is long, but trust me; it is well worth the read. Where to start…? The other weekend NoVa got snow. Where I live, we got A LOT of snow, over 10 inches! I only have a lowly shovel, a neighbor I have never met owns a brand new huge and powerful snow blower, and being the nice guy he is, he helped quite a few of us out in moving the mountains of snow that fell. I thanked him and told him I owe him a 6 pack of something delicious. After some polite “nawww man, you don’t have to do that” comments, he told me that if I were to pick something up, and he were not home, one could place a 6 pack in the latched decorative crate that is on his front porch, between the rocking chairs, and he would not object to finding a delicious treasure in there. He’s a nice guy. That following Monday (3 days later) I went to the grocery store and among my items was my nice neighbors 6 pack. I did as he said, put the beer in the crate on his porch, noticed his security camera and waved to his security camera. On Wednesday evening I saw Douchebag McGee as I was pulling into my driveway. Hindsight, I am fairly certain he was likely waiting for me to get home. As soon as I get out of my truck, he starts shouting from across the street that I will be going to jail for providing alcohol to minors. He goes on to say that he discovered his kid wandering the neighborhood wasted on late Monday night. I immediately put 2 and 2 together and realize that his son stole the beer from my nice neighbors front porch crate and drank it. I ignore him, and walk right over to my nice neighbor’s house and jokingly ask if he got my beers I left him. He says he did not and I tell him he may want to review the security camera footage for the last few days. He laughs and tells me that he already did that, and directs me to his garage where he shows me his kids damaged snow toys (sleds, discs, tubes). From what him and I can piece together, I placed the beer in his crate in the evening, Douchebag’s teenage son came onto his porch minutes after, stole the beer, kicked (and left a dent and crack) in the siding of the house, grabbed a sled and took off. We head into my nice neighbor’s house to watch/review the security camera footage and he shows me what he just described. Fast forward a few hours later, an obviously intoxicated teenager comes back with a broken sled and takes a disc and tube from the side of the house, and pees on the AC unit before leaving. About 20 minutes later he is back with his empty bottles, smashes a few of them in the gutter and puts the broken snow toys back on the side of the house. All this happened when the nice neighbor and family was not home. At this point I tell nice neighbor about Douchebag’s legal threats and he decides that we should speak about him at that next night’s (Wednesday) HOA meeting. I head home, ignoring Douchebag’s continuous yells from across the street. Wednesday night comes and nice neighbor and I get up and address our problems with Douchebag to the HOA. Nice neighbor starts by talking about the theft as well as the damage to his kid’s toys and siding. I get up and discuss the legal threats made, at the same time, the other 3 new neighbors get up and grumble that Douchebag had threatened them with a suit as well. One woman (a tiny waif of a woman mind you) said that he cornered her against her car when she got home a few weeks ago; she went on to say that he seemed pretty drunk too. At this point the HOA President, the Attorney for the HOA, and the Property Management Representative call for calm in the room (other neighbors were getting mad) and ask those of us who have been threatened by Douchebag to stick around, including nice neighbor. According to my wife, while I was traveling for work this Monday, cops showed up at nice neighbor’s house in the late afternoon, took a statement, and a flash drive of the video. Nice neighbor came over to my house and told my wife that the HOA told him to go ahead and call the cops to report property destruction and trespassing. The cops assured him that they are not interested in speaking with me, that they are “going after this little shit” because he is a problem at his high school and that they are not unfamiliar as to who he is. Again, according to my wife, the cops then head over to Douchebag’s house and after some yelling, Douche Jr. comes outside and they arrest him. My wife said they pulled out of his pockets what looked like a small bag of weed and a glass pipe. I got home late last night and received an email this morning from the HOA President addressed to me, nice neighbor, and the other 3 new homeowners. In it, it stated that they were made aware by the cops that they had arrested the teenager, and that the HOA attorney was looking into figuring out a way to stop the legal threats from Douchebag. We were assured that there is no legal precedence for suing someone because they purchased something for less than you did, but nonetheless, they are here to help if need be. So that’s where we sit. Assistant: Ironically, douchebag seems to be the one bringing down the neighborhood. comeuppance is fantastic.

Human: I took my sister to have an abortion. Her parents are threatening to sue me for causing them distress. Pennsylvania. Two weeks ago my sister called me and said she's in trouble. I met her and she asked me to help her get an abortion. She is 18. She said her parents don't want her to get an abortion and her boyfriend has disappeared. So I took her, paid for it myself. She is my half sister. We have the same dad. But she has been adopted by her mother's husband. The parents I refer to are her mother and the step father. Is there any grounds for what they say? Could I possibly be held liable? Her mom said I've denied them of having a grandchild and it's put them under emotional distress by facilitating her abortion, and I should expect to hear from their lawyer. Do I need to worry? Assistant: She can certainly try to sue you but her lawyer will laugh at her, the judge will laugh at her, we will laugh at her, I think the only person not laughing at her is her. That in mind, if she does sue you, do not ignore it. Get yourself a lawyer at that time.

Human: I took my sister to have an abortion. Her parents are threatening to sue me for causing them distress. Pennsylvania. Two weeks ago my sister called me and said she's in trouble. I met her and she asked me to help her get an abortion. She is 18. She said her parents don't want her to get an abortion and her boyfriend has disappeared. So I took her, paid for it myself. She is my half sister. We have the same dad. But she has been adopted by her mother's husband. The parents I refer to are her mother and the step father. Is there any grounds for what they say? Could I possibly be held liable? Her mom said I've denied them of having a grandchild and it's put them under emotional distress by facilitating her abortion, and I should expect to hear from their lawyer. Do I need to worry? Assistant: More of a personal comment: make sure your sister has access to a proper support group. If she lives with her parents, they may be emotionally harassing her about her decision at a vulnerable time.

Human: [AR] Neighbor’s kids rode their bikes through my freshly poured concrete. So I am new to this area, moved in late September. I have not met any of the neighbors, as I am trying to respect their safety with Covid, and honestly, I’m antisocial lol. There’s these kids (3-4 of them depending on the day) around the ages of 10/11 a few houses down who are always out riding bikes and doing kid stuff. They’ve ding dong ditched me a couple times, ride in my yard/driveway daily, and attempt to block my vehicle with their bikes coming to and from my home, I guess as a joke. These aren’t major issues for me, I just smile and wave as I am super easy going. Well, yesterday I had a very expensive plumbing job finished up with new concrete poured. Orange caution cones surrounding the repair and everything. Got home that evening and it looked great, was actually excited with how good they did. Woke up this morning to it not exactly ruined, but looks terrible. There’s bike tire tracks zig zagging all through it, it was done right at the point the concrete was almost finished drying so it’s not deep, just about a quarter inch of the surface is just destroyed. I do not have cameras, but I have a good idea who did it. I also know the parents of the culprits will not care. They enable the behavior by watching and laughing as their kids ride bikes towards moving vehicles. I’m honestly at a loss on this one, I was told not to approach the parent’s home in case they claim I am trespassing. I planned to approach them in a very civil and respectful manner, but it’s hard knowing they very likely will not care and could actually get me in trouble. I’m 22 years old, first time home owner, and grew up on a farm with no neighbors. This is all new to me, I’m considering just fixing it and crossing my fingers they don’t do it again. My fiancé is much less calm about it, she views this as crossing the line, I am also leaning towards this being over the top. My end goal: fix this at my expense but prevent them from doing it again. So...any advice Reddit? Do I call the non emergency line, document it, and hope for the best? Assistant: Separately from the concrete issue, you might want to get a dash cam, front and rear for your car. If they're riding directly at cars its only a matter of time until one of them gets hurt and you, or another driver, get blamed.

Human: [AR] Neighbor’s kids rode their bikes through my freshly poured concrete. So I am new to this area, moved in late September. I have not met any of the neighbors, as I am trying to respect their safety with Covid, and honestly, I’m antisocial lol. There’s these kids (3-4 of them depending on the day) around the ages of 10/11 a few houses down who are always out riding bikes and doing kid stuff. They’ve ding dong ditched me a couple times, ride in my yard/driveway daily, and attempt to block my vehicle with their bikes coming to and from my home, I guess as a joke. These aren’t major issues for me, I just smile and wave as I am super easy going. Well, yesterday I had a very expensive plumbing job finished up with new concrete poured. Orange caution cones surrounding the repair and everything. Got home that evening and it looked great, was actually excited with how good they did. Woke up this morning to it not exactly ruined, but looks terrible. There’s bike tire tracks zig zagging all through it, it was done right at the point the concrete was almost finished drying so it’s not deep, just about a quarter inch of the surface is just destroyed. I do not have cameras, but I have a good idea who did it. I also know the parents of the culprits will not care. They enable the behavior by watching and laughing as their kids ride bikes towards moving vehicles. I’m honestly at a loss on this one, I was told not to approach the parent’s home in case they claim I am trespassing. I planned to approach them in a very civil and respectful manner, but it’s hard knowing they very likely will not care and could actually get me in trouble. I’m 22 years old, first time home owner, and grew up on a farm with no neighbors. This is all new to me, I’m considering just fixing it and crossing my fingers they don’t do it again. My fiancé is much less calm about it, she views this as crossing the line, I am also leaning towards this being over the top. My end goal: fix this at my expense but prevent them from doing it again. So...any advice Reddit? Do I call the non emergency line, document it, and hope for the best? Assistant: Get good cameras now. This won't be the last of those kids.

Human: Mother in-law says she’s suing for visitation Long story short my husband and I had not talked to my MIL in a year after she chose her boyfriend over attending our wedding. She learned through her ex husband that we were expecting about 6 months ago. She called my husband earlier this week and informed him she would be coming for the birth (first contact in about a year), he told her no. I’m due in 3 weeks and she contacted us again today telling us she would be suing for visitation rights to see her grandchild and would see this out to the end. We live in PA and she lives in GA. I’ve read the laws for both states regarding grandparent visitation and it doesn’t seem like she has any ground to stand on. My question is 2 parts- 1. Do we have any reason to be concerned? 2. Is there anything we should do proactively to protect our family? Thanks! Assistant: There is nothing to be worried about. Your husband is still alive and she doesnt have an existing relationship with your child. The best thing you can do is keep the hell away from her. Also, inform the hospital, any future pediatricians, daycares, etc of her. Make sure they are clear that she is a nutterbutter and not to be let within 10 feet of your child.

Human: Mother in-law says she’s suing for visitation Long story short my husband and I had not talked to my MIL in a year after she chose her boyfriend over attending our wedding. She learned through her ex husband that we were expecting about 6 months ago. She called my husband earlier this week and informed him she would be coming for the birth (first contact in about a year), he told her no. I’m due in 3 weeks and she contacted us again today telling us she would be suing for visitation rights to see her grandchild and would see this out to the end. We live in PA and she lives in GA. I’ve read the laws for both states regarding grandparent visitation and it doesn’t seem like she has any ground to stand on. My question is 2 parts- 1. Do we have any reason to be concerned? 2. Is there anything we should do proactively to protect our family? Thanks! Assistant: She has an uphill battle, BUT if she has lots of $$$$$, she could force y'all to pay $$$ to stop this. She most likely won't prevail, but this could cost y'all some cash to prevent it. Ignore her until she actually files.

Human: My dad passed a few months ago and his brothers are fighting for a chunk of his estate and belongings are they entitled to anything? My dad passed a few months ago and had left no will. He has been married to my mom for over 20 years. My dad's brother is enraged that he didn't receive anything after his death. It has come to our attention that he is going to try and fight to get any belongings and my dad's estate. Is there any way that he would be able to manage to do this successfully? Assistant: If there's no will, and the laws of intestate succession in your state don't mention siblings if there is a living spouse *and* children, then it is unlikely your uncle will find an atty to take the case.

Human: My dad passed a few months ago and his brothers are fighting for a chunk of his estate and belongings are they entitled to anything? My dad passed a few months ago and had left no will. He has been married to my mom for over 20 years. My dad's brother is enraged that he didn't receive anything after his death. It has come to our attention that he is going to try and fight to get any belongings and my dad's estate. Is there any way that he would be able to manage to do this successfully? Assistant: In the absence of a will the states laws for intestate succession will govern the estate. A portion will go to the spouse, the rest is usually divided among the children. Percentages may vary from state to state. The only way your uncle would have any claim is if your Mom and you and any siblings pre-deceased your Dad. Get a probate lawyer with litigation experience. They can tell your Uncle to kick rocks.

Human: I'm a teenager. I might be dying. Is there any way I can make sure my little sister gets some of my stuff after I die? [Canada] Hi! I'm seventeen, and to make a long story short, I've been having some medical problems for a while. We don't know for sure, but things don't necessarily look *fantastic* right now. Tests will reveal more soon, and hopefully they'll reveal that I have something simple and treatable, but they might not. I've been thinking about what will happen in the event that they don't. I don't live with my biological family. In Canada, what happens to teenagers who can't live with their families is a bit different. When you're an older teenager, like me, instead of being in a foster home you get a small amount of money from the government to cover groceries, a bus pass, and the government will pay for you to rent a room somewhere. Currently, I live in a group home with a couple of other teenagers, although I'll hopefully be moving soon. The only family I've got is my little sister, who's just over a year younger than me. I don't live with her and she's not in the care of the government. If I do die, my younger sister would be devastated. Nothing I own is worth very much, and I don't really have any savings, but I think my sister would find some sentimental value in having some of my stuff (my favourite scarf, some of my favourite books, the plush animal I've had since I was like four, etc.) I don't know what would happen to the rest of my stuff after I die--if I had to guess, the people who run the group home (if I still live here when I die) will donate it to charity or something. Is there any way I could make sure my sister had any of my stuff that she wanted? Assistant: put it in a box with a note "I need you keep this stuff for me for a while" and post it to her, then you know she has it if your medical condition turns out okay then next time you see her, tell her that you thought you might not make it and you just wanted to make sure she had things of yours you thought she might want

Human: I'm a teenager. I might be dying. Is there any way I can make sure my little sister gets some of my stuff after I die? [Canada] Hi! I'm seventeen, and to make a long story short, I've been having some medical problems for a while. We don't know for sure, but things don't necessarily look *fantastic* right now. Tests will reveal more soon, and hopefully they'll reveal that I have something simple and treatable, but they might not. I've been thinking about what will happen in the event that they don't. I don't live with my biological family. In Canada, what happens to teenagers who can't live with their families is a bit different. When you're an older teenager, like me, instead of being in a foster home you get a small amount of money from the government to cover groceries, a bus pass, and the government will pay for you to rent a room somewhere. Currently, I live in a group home with a couple of other teenagers, although I'll hopefully be moving soon. The only family I've got is my little sister, who's just over a year younger than me. I don't live with her and she's not in the care of the government. If I do die, my younger sister would be devastated. Nothing I own is worth very much, and I don't really have any savings, but I think my sister would find some sentimental value in having some of my stuff (my favourite scarf, some of my favourite books, the plush animal I've had since I was like four, etc.) I don't know what would happen to the rest of my stuff after I die--if I had to guess, the people who run the group home (if I still live here when I die) will donate it to charity or something. Is there any way I could make sure my sister had any of my stuff that she wanted? Assistant: I am so so sorry you have to go through this.

Human: My mother has assaulted me in the past but we declined to press charges. She is now physically involving herself with my immunocompromised infant despite me asking her to be vaccinated first. What are my legal options? It’s a fairly long story, so bear with me. I’m going to just hit the major points * 5 months ago my mother assaulted me while drunk. The assault led to injuries that led to preterm delivery of my daughter at 26 weeks. We declined to press charges (yes I am dumb but hormones and stress and morphine and family pressure) * I told her the only way she would meet my severely immunocompromised newborn post-NICU release would be if she was vaccinated. She is a stalwart woo believer and refused * Despite me saying “well then no baby time for you” she will run into me while out and, without a word to me, pick up my infant out of her carrier and hold her. She is currently sick which is making me even more freaked out by this. I yell and she puts down my daughter and scurries off. I do not think she’s stalking me- neither of us drive and I still live in the neighborhood I grew up in, so we frequent the same places. What are my legal options to at least stop her from grabbing my baby in public? I don’t want to press charges for the assault but I 100% believe she is a danger to my infant. (State is NY) TL;DR- my mom can be violent and generally completely psycho. She assaulted me. We declined to press charges. I required her to be vaccinated to meet my daughter; she said no. If we run into each other out she will not say anything to me but will take my infant out of her carrier. What legal options do I have? Assistant: Call the police and make a scene, it's attempted kidnapping. Press charges and get a restraining order. Also for the love of god get therapy. Your normal meter is broken and needs fixing

Human: My mother has assaulted me in the past but we declined to press charges. She is now physically involving herself with my immunocompromised infant despite me asking her to be vaccinated first. What are my legal options? It’s a fairly long story, so bear with me. I’m going to just hit the major points * 5 months ago my mother assaulted me while drunk. The assault led to injuries that led to preterm delivery of my daughter at 26 weeks. We declined to press charges (yes I am dumb but hormones and stress and morphine and family pressure) * I told her the only way she would meet my severely immunocompromised newborn post-NICU release would be if she was vaccinated. She is a stalwart woo believer and refused * Despite me saying “well then no baby time for you” she will run into me while out and, without a word to me, pick up my infant out of her carrier and hold her. She is currently sick which is making me even more freaked out by this. I yell and she puts down my daughter and scurries off. I do not think she’s stalking me- neither of us drive and I still live in the neighborhood I grew up in, so we frequent the same places. What are my legal options to at least stop her from grabbing my baby in public? I don’t want to press charges for the assault but I 100% believe she is a danger to my infant. (State is NY) TL;DR- my mom can be violent and generally completely psycho. She assaulted me. We declined to press charges. I required her to be vaccinated to meet my daughter; she said no. If we run into each other out she will not say anything to me but will take my infant out of her carrier. What legal options do I have? Assistant: I was a premie. Was able to come home at 6 months. Was back into the ER after my Aunt visited with the full blown flu. My Mom almost lost me. You are your child's protection. Need to go NC with your Mom until your baby is protected by her vaccine shots.

Human: Job advertised $17.50/hr on listing, I’ve discovered that I am being paid $17.00/hr instead. I’ve already signed paperwork and everything. Do I still have the legal right to pursue the wage advertised? I am in Michigan. Assistant: Did you talk to your manager? It could have been a simple error.

Human: Job advertised $17.50/hr on listing, I’ve discovered that I am being paid $17.00/hr instead. I’ve already signed paperwork and everything. Do I still have the legal right to pursue the wage advertised? I am in Michigan. Assistant: A legal right, probably not. However, you can maturely bring it up to your manager or hr in a non-accusatory way and see what they say.

Human: House 200 to 300 sq ft smaller than appraisal seller's gave me. Can I be compensated after a year? Roseville, CA Last year, I bought a house being sold as 2300 sqft based on the appraisal given to me by the seller. I was wary about this because I saw that the house was listed as 1885 sq ft on one of the real estate websites, so I asked. The seller's realtor and my realtor assured me that an appraisal can't lie and that the house was actually 2300 sqft. I was also told that there was no reason to get my own appraisal from my mortgage lender, to save the money and not worry about it. Stupidly, I listened. Now (one year later), I'm redoing the floors, so the house was measured and I found out that the actual square footage is from 200 to 300 square feet less? Do I have any legal recourse? Can I be compensated? Or did I sign off my right to compensation by not getting my own appraisal? I appreciate any help I can get on this. Thanks Assistant: From a technical standpoint, what kind of measurement did you actually get? It makes perfect sense to me that a measurement to redo floors would be less potentially than an appraisal measurement, where they may use the external dimensions of your home instead (or at the minimum include 6-10 inches for the walls). Unless you have the details of their calculation, it's not clear that they were purposefully misleading versus just using a different methodology.

Human: House 200 to 300 sq ft smaller than appraisal seller's gave me. Can I be compensated after a year? Roseville, CA Last year, I bought a house being sold as 2300 sqft based on the appraisal given to me by the seller. I was wary about this because I saw that the house was listed as 1885 sq ft on one of the real estate websites, so I asked. The seller's realtor and my realtor assured me that an appraisal can't lie and that the house was actually 2300 sqft. I was also told that there was no reason to get my own appraisal from my mortgage lender, to save the money and not worry about it. Stupidly, I listened. Now (one year later), I'm redoing the floors, so the house was measured and I found out that the actual square footage is from 200 to 300 square feet less? Do I have any legal recourse? Can I be compensated? Or did I sign off my right to compensation by not getting my own appraisal? I appreciate any help I can get on this. Thanks Assistant: Appraisers measure the outside dimensions of the home to determine square footage. Floor replacement measures only where floors will go. This is nowhere near enough of a difference to sue over. This is a typical difference.

Human: Closed on new house, seller was only supposed to leave appliances, but left a ton more Recently closed on a house. The seller had still been living there, but was out of the house within the agreed upon time. As part of the agreement in purchasing our new house, the seller had signed a document stating the only thing to be left behind was some appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher). It's now been a couple days of hauling things out that was left behind, and putting it piles. All outside of the scope of our agreement. Everything from trash, yard equipment, furniture, boxes of holiday decorations, many bottles/cans of household chemicals, boxes of family photos. I'm estimating $500-$1000 to get rid of it all. In communicating with the sellers agent, he does not want anything that was left behind (I asked specifically because it seemed like potentially important family items). Currently communicating with the sellers agent to assist me in removing things (who was quite surprised, as the seller told their agent nothing was left). But I'm not getting any help from them so far. I really don't want to pursue legal action. But just in case, would it be possible, or reasonably likely, to have a successful civil suit based on this situation, after we remove everything to get our money back? Maybe any other advice? Assistant: Buying house lesson: If the house isn’t in the exact state you expect it to be at the final inspection right before settlement (closing), you either A. Delay settlement until it is, or B. Go ahead and settle, but hold back a sum of money from the sale to be held in the lawyers or agents trust account as a bond. If they property is not as agreed in the agreed timeframe, that money is used to pay for it to be cleaned/cleared/whatever.

Human: Closed on new house, seller was only supposed to leave appliances, but left a ton more Recently closed on a house. The seller had still been living there, but was out of the house within the agreed upon time. As part of the agreement in purchasing our new house, the seller had signed a document stating the only thing to be left behind was some appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher). It's now been a couple days of hauling things out that was left behind, and putting it piles. All outside of the scope of our agreement. Everything from trash, yard equipment, furniture, boxes of holiday decorations, many bottles/cans of household chemicals, boxes of family photos. I'm estimating $500-$1000 to get rid of it all. In communicating with the sellers agent, he does not want anything that was left behind (I asked specifically because it seemed like potentially important family items). Currently communicating with the sellers agent to assist me in removing things (who was quite surprised, as the seller told their agent nothing was left). But I'm not getting any help from them so far. I really don't want to pursue legal action. But just in case, would it be possible, or reasonably likely, to have a successful civil suit based on this situation, after we remove everything to get our money back? Maybe any other advice? Assistant: Did you do a final walkthrough before close? Contact your agent for advice.

Human: fired after my boss went through my purse. I have been working FOH at this restaurant for almost a year. Lately I had been wanting to quit due to a toxic misogynistic atmosphere. Today I was working, and I was going to be working tonight by myself bc we are understaffed and I am one of two employees who can close by myself. I had grabbed a job application to another job, had it filled out and was going to hand it in this morning, but I was running late, so I just shoved it in my purse to hand in tmr. Anyways, I was just making boxes with my coworker, and my boss was in the office doing something. He comes out and asks to speak to me. I go into the office and he says “What’s the job application in your purse”. I looked over to my purse and the little section where it has you fill out your references was poking out of my bag. I said “It’s for *name of other restaurant*”. He asked me why and I said “Because I feel like you guys treat me like shit.” And he said “Okay if you feel like that go ahead and clock out and go home.” And I was fired. Feeling very violated and angry. That is my personal property, plus what if I had just wanted to work two jobs? Is that even legal? Is there anything I can do? He has cameras but they are only accessible on his phone/app… I had never been written up here before. I was spoken to a few times bc they were trying to treat me like a manager without the proper compensation or title, and once was spoken to about my socks being the wrong color but that’s it. This is just so unfair… Any advice is appreciated. ETA: he is the owner and takes an even split of the tip pool every day. Also I am only 21 so I am a bit young/inexperienced with things like this… Edit 2: I will gladly share the name of this business as long as it will not hurt me in anyway for this lawsuit i am going to be filing. Edit 3: i wish i could include pictures. when i placed my purse in the office i made sure the application was stuck in there. my purse was not closed, however, the application was stuck in there enough as to not be showing. when he called me into the office the references section (which just had three names, where i knew them from and how many years i’ve known them) was sticking out clearly. that was the section that was on top when i left my purse alone. meaning he saw it and grabbed it to read more of it. to know it was a job application he would’ve had to read the section below it which mentions “employers” and other “job application related words”. i hope this makes sense. with no context this references could’ve been for anything. i hope this makes sense. Assistant: > what if I had just wanted to work two jobs? Is that even legal? If you're at-will, it's legal for them to fire you over having a second job, yes. What he did was absolutely inappropriate but there's no legal action to take over it. Again, presuming at will, meaning you really can be fired for socks, or less than socks. The other stuff can be reported, but again this depends on location. The tips for example, that's wage theft.

Human: fired after my boss went through my purse. I have been working FOH at this restaurant for almost a year. Lately I had been wanting to quit due to a toxic misogynistic atmosphere. Today I was working, and I was going to be working tonight by myself bc we are understaffed and I am one of two employees who can close by myself. I had grabbed a job application to another job, had it filled out and was going to hand it in this morning, but I was running late, so I just shoved it in my purse to hand in tmr. Anyways, I was just making boxes with my coworker, and my boss was in the office doing something. He comes out and asks to speak to me. I go into the office and he says “What’s the job application in your purse”. I looked over to my purse and the little section where it has you fill out your references was poking out of my bag. I said “It’s for *name of other restaurant*”. He asked me why and I said “Because I feel like you guys treat me like shit.” And he said “Okay if you feel like that go ahead and clock out and go home.” And I was fired. Feeling very violated and angry. That is my personal property, plus what if I had just wanted to work two jobs? Is that even legal? Is there anything I can do? He has cameras but they are only accessible on his phone/app… I had never been written up here before. I was spoken to a few times bc they were trying to treat me like a manager without the proper compensation or title, and once was spoken to about my socks being the wrong color but that’s it. This is just so unfair… Any advice is appreciated. ETA: he is the owner and takes an even split of the tip pool every day. Also I am only 21 so I am a bit young/inexperienced with things like this… Edit 2: I will gladly share the name of this business as long as it will not hurt me in anyway for this lawsuit i am going to be filing. Edit 3: i wish i could include pictures. when i placed my purse in the office i made sure the application was stuck in there. my purse was not closed, however, the application was stuck in there enough as to not be showing. when he called me into the office the references section (which just had three names, where i knew them from and how many years i’ve known them) was sticking out clearly. that was the section that was on top when i left my purse alone. meaning he saw it and grabbed it to read more of it. to know it was a job application he would’ve had to read the section below it which mentions “employers” and other “job application related words”. i hope this makes sense. with no context this references could’ve been for anything. i hope this makes sense. Assistant: Well for one thing its Illegal for employers to be taking any tips from your pool, so there's that.

Human: [WA] Soon to be ex-wife took pictures of my private medical discharge paperwork and is sending it to family and friends. After being in an accident a few days ago I was brought to the hospital, checked out, and released the same day. My wife, who was adamant about getting the medical report as she suspected that I was on something at the time, snuck into my room at night, stole the discharge papers, took pictures, and then brought them back. She then proceeded to send these pictures to her lawyer, my family, and friends. Does this not violate HIPAA? I gave her no permission to view or take pictures of my medical records. Assistant: Consult a lawyer. This is beyond the scope of this sub. HIPPA does not apply to your wife but she may have violated a law in stealing your confidential medical paperwork.

Human: [WA] Soon to be ex-wife took pictures of my private medical discharge paperwork and is sending it to family and friends. After being in an accident a few days ago I was brought to the hospital, checked out, and released the same day. My wife, who was adamant about getting the medical report as she suspected that I was on something at the time, snuck into my room at night, stole the discharge papers, took pictures, and then brought them back. She then proceeded to send these pictures to her lawyer, my family, and friends. Does this not violate HIPAA? I gave her no permission to view or take pictures of my medical records. Assistant: Bummer. I'm assuming you were under the influence of something or she wouldn't have sent the pics around. Is there going to be a child custody fight? Because if just a divorce drug use probably not super relevant.

Human: [OH] Job fired me on my last day after convincing me to work out my full 14 day notice to receive a payout of my PTO...which they now say they won't because I was officially terminated. Bulk of it is in the title but a little more info here: Found a new job, put in a notice at my old job. A few days later my boss comes to me and tells me they had said that if I work out my full 14 day notice I'll get my 50 or so hours of PTO paid off. Fast forward to today and I go in for a meeting and they "officially" terminate me and say they won't be paying out my PTO. My last shift was 12 hours from now and it seems they've only done it to avoid paying me. The termination letter and the supervisor in the meeting cited reason and claims that are very easily proven false. Even so, they did not even follow their company write-up/suspension/termination policy. Do I have any course for recompense? If so who do I contact? Assistant: Before you reach out to lawyer, who will charge you, see if your state has a Dept of Industrial Resources (Ca version). You can file a grievance through them and they might be able to assist.

Human: [OH] Job fired me on my last day after convincing me to work out my full 14 day notice to receive a payout of my PTO...which they now say they won't because I was officially terminated. Bulk of it is in the title but a little more info here: Found a new job, put in a notice at my old job. A few days later my boss comes to me and tells me they had said that if I work out my full 14 day notice I'll get my 50 or so hours of PTO paid off. Fast forward to today and I go in for a meeting and they "officially" terminate me and say they won't be paying out my PTO. My last shift was 12 hours from now and it seems they've only done it to avoid paying me. The termination letter and the supervisor in the meeting cited reason and claims that are very easily proven false. Even so, they did not even follow their company write-up/suspension/termination policy. Do I have any course for recompense? If so who do I contact? Assistant: You could talk with an employment attorney. They had a verbal contract with you that they breached.

Human: I let a friend in need borrow a TV from me, now they won't give it back and have cut me off. So title explains most of it, I had a friend who had an abusive relationship and had every piece of electronics broken or taken from them, so I let them borrow a TV of mine until they could get their own again. However, there was a bad argument between us and now that they've cut things off with me, they refuse to give me my TV back and promise to try and fight me if I try to come for it. Is there anything I could do here to get it back without too much trouble? I have some text messages referring to my ownership of it, but that's about it unfortunately. Assistant: Option 1. Take them to small claims court. Option 2. TVs are cheap. Your peace is priceless. Count it a blessing this grimy person showed you who they are and you can prune them from your circles.

Human: I let a friend in need borrow a TV from me, now they won't give it back and have cut me off. So title explains most of it, I had a friend who had an abusive relationship and had every piece of electronics broken or taken from them, so I let them borrow a TV of mine until they could get their own again. However, there was a bad argument between us and now that they've cut things off with me, they refuse to give me my TV back and promise to try and fight me if I try to come for it. Is there anything I could do here to get it back without too much trouble? I have some text messages referring to my ownership of it, but that's about it unfortunately. Assistant: Is there any written evidence that you agreed to let your friend borrow the Television for a certain amount of time?

Human: I just gained full custody of my daughter, now my ex is wanting to charge me with statutory rape as revenge. Our daughter is 7. The accusation is true, when we started dating I was 19, she was 16. I turned 20 three months before she turned 17 in the state of Texas. In that three month window is when she got pregnant, so it’s very easy to backtrack the nine months from when our daughter was born to prove that it was technically illegal. I gained full custody of our daughter 2 months ago due to unrelated abuse on her end, and she informed me that she plans on “sending me to jail” for our age difference seven/ eight years ago. I have the text proof that this is purely motivated by revenge. What are my chances of avoiding this charge? I would prefer to not be a felon Assistant: And stop talking to your ex. Handle this through your attorneys.

Human: I just gained full custody of my daughter, now my ex is wanting to charge me with statutory rape as revenge. Our daughter is 7. The accusation is true, when we started dating I was 19, she was 16. I turned 20 three months before she turned 17 in the state of Texas. In that three month window is when she got pregnant, so it’s very easy to backtrack the nine months from when our daughter was born to prove that it was technically illegal. I gained full custody of our daughter 2 months ago due to unrelated abuse on her end, and she informed me that she plans on “sending me to jail” for our age difference seven/ eight years ago. I have the text proof that this is purely motivated by revenge. What are my chances of avoiding this charge? I would prefer to not be a felon Assistant: Texas does have a Romeo and Juliet law. This law does not apply to your relationship. Criminal Defense Lawyer, now. There is no statute of limitations on this, and it's a serious felony. You're looking at prison time and serious fines.

Human: I got charged someone else's child support. Hi everyone I am new to this whole deal. I got charged 500 dollars from my last paycheck for child support. It is for someone who has the same name as me except for middle name. He lives in Iowa and I live in Wisconsin. HR said everything is cleared up but I dont know when I will get my money back. Is there anything I can do legally? This was done through a third party hired by my company. Assistant: >HR said everything is cleared up but I don't know when I will get my money back Absolutely nothing is "cleared up" until you receive your full paycheck. I would be going to HR demanding my full pay. They can sort out any clerical errors they made on their own, they don't get to commit wage theft in the mean time

Human: I got charged someone else's child support. Hi everyone I am new to this whole deal. I got charged 500 dollars from my last paycheck for child support. It is for someone who has the same name as me except for middle name. He lives in Iowa and I live in Wisconsin. HR said everything is cleared up but I dont know when I will get my money back. Is there anything I can do legally? This was done through a third party hired by my company. Assistant: Not a lawyer It might be a good idea to get in writing an explanation of what happened, relevant dates, and preferably on company letter head. I would hate to bump into some administrative problem due to some report of unpaid child support down the road

Human: Wife threatening me with child support for someone elses kid? My wife and I have been separated for 6 years, she had a kid recently, and is threatening me with child support for this kid. She lives in CA, and I haven't stepped foot in CA for over a year. I live, and have lived over 5000 miles away, from her for over a year. Kid is less than a year. I know state laws vary, but do I have to fly to CA just for a DNA test so I don't have to pay for some other guys kid? Is she even able to claim that kid is mine, even if someone else signed the Birth Certificate? Thank you. Assistant: In CA, you’re presumed to be the father unless you or the other guy challenges it in a court action. You need an attorney for this as it’s not a simple issue at all.

Human: Wife threatening me with child support for someone elses kid? My wife and I have been separated for 6 years, she had a kid recently, and is threatening me with child support for this kid. She lives in CA, and I haven't stepped foot in CA for over a year. I live, and have lived over 5000 miles away, from her for over a year. Kid is less than a year. I know state laws vary, but do I have to fly to CA just for a DNA test so I don't have to pay for some other guys kid? Is she even able to claim that kid is mine, even if someone else signed the Birth Certificate? Thank you. Assistant: You really did leave yourself legally vulnerable by staying married, but if someone else DID sign the birth certificate you may have some recourse. But really, you want a real, live, gotta-pay-for-them lawyer at this point, specializing in family law & divorce. Whoever advised you six years ago? Don't go back to them. Either they misled you or you misunderstood them for whatever reason.

Human: Robinhood trading app has given my account to someone else, locked me out, and won't respond to contact. Now what? This is in Pennsylvania, USA. I had just over $40K in the Robinhood trading app. One day I woke up to a list of e-mail notifications saying things along the lines of "thanks for changing your personal information, thanks for opening a debit account, thanks for charging $5,000, thanks for selling X stocks" from Robinhood. Obviously someone had broken into my account, changed the personal information, and was stealing my money. My account was set up for 2-factor authentication, so it should have been impossible for someone to break in without me getting a text, but here we are. This should be a no-brainer for Robinhood to identify and resolve, right? Wrong. There's literally no way to contact Robinhood directly outside of sending them an e-mail. When I e-mail them, they respond with form letters saying "thanks for contacting us, we'll look into it and get back to you." It's been a week. In the meantime there's no way to access my account (the thief changed the password), I have no idea what's happening to my money, or if/when I'll get it back. I need that money; it's basically my life's savings. If you've never tried to contact Robinhood before you may think I'm exaggerating how difficult it is, but there are actually several lawsuits from people in similar situations. Apparently they're famous for just not responding to theft cases. It seems I may need to sue them to get my money back. And even if I get it back, I feel like I'm owed something for this amount of stress, not to mention however much money I'm losing by not being able to buy and sell as I had planned. How do I find an attorney who can help me with this? Assistant: You should speak to an attorney ASAP. Some will say the cost will outpace the return, but remember that this is reddit and they may not know of what they speak, and $40,000 is not a small amount of money. An attorney will give you an idea of the costs and how those costs might be paid for. Also begin the paper trail. Call the police. Get a report on file. This is likely way outside anything the police can do, but you want as much documentation as possible at this point. Good luck.

Human: Robinhood trading app has given my account to someone else, locked me out, and won't respond to contact. Now what? This is in Pennsylvania, USA. I had just over $40K in the Robinhood trading app. One day I woke up to a list of e-mail notifications saying things along the lines of "thanks for changing your personal information, thanks for opening a debit account, thanks for charging $5,000, thanks for selling X stocks" from Robinhood. Obviously someone had broken into my account, changed the personal information, and was stealing my money. My account was set up for 2-factor authentication, so it should have been impossible for someone to break in without me getting a text, but here we are. This should be a no-brainer for Robinhood to identify and resolve, right? Wrong. There's literally no way to contact Robinhood directly outside of sending them an e-mail. When I e-mail them, they respond with form letters saying "thanks for contacting us, we'll look into it and get back to you." It's been a week. In the meantime there's no way to access my account (the thief changed the password), I have no idea what's happening to my money, or if/when I'll get it back. I need that money; it's basically my life's savings. If you've never tried to contact Robinhood before you may think I'm exaggerating how difficult it is, but there are actually several lawsuits from people in similar situations. Apparently they're famous for just not responding to theft cases. It seems I may need to sue them to get my money back. And even if I get it back, I feel like I'm owed something for this amount of stress, not to mention however much money I'm losing by not being able to buy and sell as I had planned. How do I find an attorney who can help me with this? Assistant: /r/personalfinance might be able to tell you what regulators to get involved.

Human: My husband died and his exwife has just left the kids here Hi everyone, Just over a month ago, my husband passed away. He has three kids with his ex wife, who spend half of their time with us (ages 7-13), and he and I have twin two year olds together. He had a life insurance policy in his ex-wife's name so that she would be able to take care of the kids in the event of his death (she would probably struggle otherwise to keep her house without child support payments). The kids were all staying with us when it happened, and wanted to stay through all of the activity in the weeks after. I was happy to have them, and she agreed. I don't remember those first few weeks very well. After a few weeks I asked her what her plans were and when she wanted to pick them up, and she talked with the kids and then told me a week. They agreed that that was what they wanted and had asked her for. In this conversation I suggested continuing a 50/50 plan informally, which she seemed open too. A week passed (with bizarrely very little contact from her - she usually calls the kids every day). I called her at the end, and she told me that she couldn't come to get them, as she was in Ireland (???) and would be there for travel after "a good while". She says she needs this trip for her mental health as her ex-husband had just died. I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do other than I guess keep going and hope she comes back? Finances are going to be a huge issue, especially with all five of them full time. And then there's just the day-to-day hourly work of being a good parent, and I need to work, and I think I'm still in shock, and once it wears off I don't know how I will function. I don't know what to do. My first priority is whatever the hell is best for all of the kids. If that means taking the older three in full time, okay. My question there is: what's the legality of it? Is there anything I can do to stop her from blowing back into town in a few months and stopping me from ever seeing them? Secondarily: money. I'm doing okay enough that I could keep the house even without my husband's income, but I don't know how much I'll be able to save for things like college, future expenses, etc. Probably not very much, and the older three really need money being put into their college accounts. Can I legally require her to contribute, especially if the kids are with me full time? ~~~~ tldr: My husband died. A month later his ex-wife is off in Ireland doing g*d knows what, and has left my step kids with me. I want to know where I stand legally. Assistant: You need a family law attorney, now. She's apparently abandoning her parental responsibilities, and since you now have 100% custody, she would owe you child support. But you're not their parent, so this is a mess. Obviously she's gotten the insurance money and fucked off to Ireland, and probably doesn't intend on coming back at all. But if you start pursuing her for custody and child support, she'll probably come back and try to take the kids back.

Human: My husband died and his exwife has just left the kids here Hi everyone, Just over a month ago, my husband passed away. He has three kids with his ex wife, who spend half of their time with us (ages 7-13), and he and I have twin two year olds together. He had a life insurance policy in his ex-wife's name so that she would be able to take care of the kids in the event of his death (she would probably struggle otherwise to keep her house without child support payments). The kids were all staying with us when it happened, and wanted to stay through all of the activity in the weeks after. I was happy to have them, and she agreed. I don't remember those first few weeks very well. After a few weeks I asked her what her plans were and when she wanted to pick them up, and she talked with the kids and then told me a week. They agreed that that was what they wanted and had asked her for. In this conversation I suggested continuing a 50/50 plan informally, which she seemed open too. A week passed (with bizarrely very little contact from her - she usually calls the kids every day). I called her at the end, and she told me that she couldn't come to get them, as she was in Ireland (???) and would be there for travel after "a good while". She says she needs this trip for her mental health as her ex-husband had just died. I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do other than I guess keep going and hope she comes back? Finances are going to be a huge issue, especially with all five of them full time. And then there's just the day-to-day hourly work of being a good parent, and I need to work, and I think I'm still in shock, and once it wears off I don't know how I will function. I don't know what to do. My first priority is whatever the hell is best for all of the kids. If that means taking the older three in full time, okay. My question there is: what's the legality of it? Is there anything I can do to stop her from blowing back into town in a few months and stopping me from ever seeing them? Secondarily: money. I'm doing okay enough that I could keep the house even without my husband's income, but I don't know how much I'll be able to save for things like college, future expenses, etc. Probably not very much, and the older three really need money being put into their college accounts. Can I legally require her to contribute, especially if the kids are with me full time? ~~~~ tldr: My husband died. A month later his ex-wife is off in Ireland doing g*d knows what, and has left my step kids with me. I want to know where I stand legally. Assistant: I'm very sorry for your loss. LocationBot probably won't pick it up because you named a different country, but you didn't mention where you are. Where are you and the children currently located?

Human: “Paid a $2,000 deposit to a contractor who afterwards texted me sexual texts, memes, and pictures. I (32F, single mom) don’t feel safe with him in my house. He is now refusing to refund my money and is threatening to publicly embarrass me unless I agree to not give him bad reviews.” Asking for my sister who doesn’t have Reddit. What are her legal options? Assistant: Document *everything*- each receipt, copy of check, screenshots of every text, every meme, every photo- everything. Do not throw away, delete, or lose anything related to this. Then sue in small claims court.

Human: “Paid a $2,000 deposit to a contractor who afterwards texted me sexual texts, memes, and pictures. I (32F, single mom) don’t feel safe with him in my house. He is now refusing to refund my money and is threatening to publicly embarrass me unless I agree to not give him bad reviews.” Asking for my sister who doesn’t have Reddit. What are her legal options? Assistant: Call the police, blackmail is illegal

Human: [Kansas city, MS] A neighbor kid climbed over my fence, entered my kitchen through window and was eating some snacks. My dog was sleeping in my bedroom. He must have heard noise and thought it must be thief. To protect house, he barked and bit the kid. Now, the parents are extorting medical money. I've already notified homeowners insurance, waiting for their response. Parents are basically saying pay them medical expenses or they are going to cops and then cop will hand over my dog to animal control and he will be put down. Am I liable ? My dog has no history of aggressiveness or biting.He's just a friendly guy who is protective of owners property. Assistant: call CPS on the parents, kids don't break in to steal food unless they are not being fed. the "medical expenses" they want will almost certainly go to the same drug habit the food money went to.

Human: [Kansas city, MS] A neighbor kid climbed over my fence, entered my kitchen through window and was eating some snacks. My dog was sleeping in my bedroom. He must have heard noise and thought it must be thief. To protect house, he barked and bit the kid. Now, the parents are extorting medical money. I've already notified homeowners insurance, waiting for their response. Parents are basically saying pay them medical expenses or they are going to cops and then cop will hand over my dog to animal control and he will be put down. Am I liable ? My dog has no history of aggressiveness or biting.He's just a friendly guy who is protective of owners property. Assistant: This is killing me....you are talking about Kansas City, MIssouri right.... Kansas City, MO?

Human: (KY) A social worker entered my home without consent last December. Today I was served papers stating child neglect and medical neglect even though I have paper work from every doctor. Shes a new social worker and doing this to ALOT of families locally what can I do legally to keep my kids? Last December a social worker showed up at my home with a police officer. I asked what the complaint was against me and she refused to say. The police officer threatened to arrest me for "being a smartass and asking to many questions." He then kicked my door in and entered. None of this was with my consent which I'm sure goes against my 4th amendment. She took pictures then left. She came back on January 9th. This time alone and I let her in. She was nice this time, looked around and even joked about how she hated some college classes. I have not heard from her since that day. But today a sheriff showed up to deliver papers. Shes taking me to court saying my home was "deplorable, nasty and other not true things. Shes also stating that I refuse my children medical help. Now this brother's me. If my kids sneeze they are at the doctor's. My youngest is disabled and we go to a cardiologist and neurologist out of state ALOT. I have paperwork from every doctor with the days of the appointment. My pediatrician is upset with this social worker. She printed folder's full of paperwork for every visit they have ever had. I don't understand any of this. The sheriff is a family friend and informed me that numerous families are upset with this woman. They have basically been treated the same way as I have. I go to court Monday. I plan on bringing the folder's from the doctor's with me. Is there anything else I should know first? I called the courthouse to request a lawyer but was refused since "I have not said guilty or non guilty." I do not want this woman working my case anymore. She is also my sister in law case worker. She removed my niece for 2 months and they just received her back. What can I do? My home is not dirty, has no holes or leaks and my kids do see doctor's. What can I expect Monday? Assistant: Get an experienced dependency lawyer now. Do not try to fight this on your own. That lawyer can challenge the evidence obtained from an illegal search and set up hearings on the medical issue. Keeping your kids is the primary issue right now; potentially suing the government or taking care of this woman's abuses comes later. If you are indigent, tell the court this. It looks like Kentucky appoints counsel in dependency for those who cannot afford it.

Human: (KY) A social worker entered my home without consent last December. Today I was served papers stating child neglect and medical neglect even though I have paper work from every doctor. Shes a new social worker and doing this to ALOT of families locally what can I do legally to keep my kids? Last December a social worker showed up at my home with a police officer. I asked what the complaint was against me and she refused to say. The police officer threatened to arrest me for "being a smartass and asking to many questions." He then kicked my door in and entered. None of this was with my consent which I'm sure goes against my 4th amendment. She took pictures then left. She came back on January 9th. This time alone and I let her in. She was nice this time, looked around and even joked about how she hated some college classes. I have not heard from her since that day. But today a sheriff showed up to deliver papers. Shes taking me to court saying my home was "deplorable, nasty and other not true things. Shes also stating that I refuse my children medical help. Now this brother's me. If my kids sneeze they are at the doctor's. My youngest is disabled and we go to a cardiologist and neurologist out of state ALOT. I have paperwork from every doctor with the days of the appointment. My pediatrician is upset with this social worker. She printed folder's full of paperwork for every visit they have ever had. I don't understand any of this. The sheriff is a family friend and informed me that numerous families are upset with this woman. They have basically been treated the same way as I have. I go to court Monday. I plan on bringing the folder's from the doctor's with me. Is there anything else I should know first? I called the courthouse to request a lawyer but was refused since "I have not said guilty or non guilty." I do not want this woman working my case anymore. She is also my sister in law case worker. She removed my niece for 2 months and they just received her back. What can I do? My home is not dirty, has no holes or leaks and my kids do see doctor's. What can I expect Monday? Assistant: Are you in western Kentucky? There's a few social workers with bad reputations..just curious

Human: I [24F] naively moved in with my "richer" boyfriend [32M] of 2 years. He's threatening to kick me out of our co-leased apt. Hey all, I've gotten myself into a rather nasty pickle. ​ So I moved in with my boyfriend back in October, when we thought all was fine and dandy. We've gotten almost 2 months in, and now every time I do something or say something he doesn't like, he's threatening to kick me out of my own home (our apartment that has both of our names (and a cosigner) on the lease). The facts are; our rent is $1000/month for the apartment (1 year lease) in MN. He pays a majority of the rent, while I am a full-time college student who doesn't make much more than $600 a month. I give him what I can, I am definitely not selfish. That doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't be able to afford this place without him. We talked about and agreed upon all these terms beforehand, as you could imagine. ​ So, I am mostly wondering - Can he actually kick me out? I thought if both of our names were on the lease, he couldn't just toss this threat around like he is. He has also mentioned that because the cosigner is his friend, the cosigner can "side" with him and, together, they can kick me out. Is that true? ​ I am also wondering what would happen if he decided to up and leave me with the year's lease. Would I be responsible? I am also worried for the cosigner, if this were to happen. Any advice is appreciated; I'm pretty new to this. Assistant: Your "richer" BF should not have needed a cosigner. That he did, and given his age, he isn't likely rich at all. This sounds like a bad relationship, BF sounds manipulative and a liar. Problem is now you're stuck in a lease with presumably 10ish months left. If you breakup and leave then he and his cosigner can come after you for your share of the rent in small claims court, this may be his angle. Keep you around for sex, control, and rent or force you out and still make you pay.

Human: I [24F] naively moved in with my "richer" boyfriend [32M] of 2 years. He's threatening to kick me out of our co-leased apt. Hey all, I've gotten myself into a rather nasty pickle. ​ So I moved in with my boyfriend back in October, when we thought all was fine and dandy. We've gotten almost 2 months in, and now every time I do something or say something he doesn't like, he's threatening to kick me out of my own home (our apartment that has both of our names (and a cosigner) on the lease). The facts are; our rent is $1000/month for the apartment (1 year lease) in MN. He pays a majority of the rent, while I am a full-time college student who doesn't make much more than $600 a month. I give him what I can, I am definitely not selfish. That doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't be able to afford this place without him. We talked about and agreed upon all these terms beforehand, as you could imagine. ​ So, I am mostly wondering - Can he actually kick me out? I thought if both of our names were on the lease, he couldn't just toss this threat around like he is. He has also mentioned that because the cosigner is his friend, the cosigner can "side" with him and, together, they can kick me out. Is that true? ​ I am also wondering what would happen if he decided to up and leave me with the year's lease. Would I be responsible? I am also worried for the cosigner, if this were to happen. Any advice is appreciated; I'm pretty new to this. Assistant: He can't just kick you out

Human: [NY] Student in college course who is a peace officer insists he must carry his handcuffs on him at all times in the event he needs to "intervene" in a conflict. Are we obligated to allow him to do so? TL;DR Do i have a legal obligation to allow an off duty peace officer who is a student in a public university to carry handcuffs in class? I teach a college course that is also an EMT certification course for a public university system in New York. I've taught police officers in the past. Officers are permitted to carry their weapon off duty, but they have an arrangement with the campus officers to secure their weapons at their location when they are attending class on campus. AFter ten years of teaching, i've never had a police officer have an issue with securing their firearm with the campus police. This semester we have a peace officer enrolled in the class. Our public university's campus security are peace officers and public employees. This student works for another campus as campus security in the same university system. He met with me to discuss accommodations, and initially i thought it would be educational related accommodations, but he literally just wanted to talk about his handcuffs. The individual didn't seem to be mentally all there, and he kept going on and on about how dangerous our city is becoming and that it was imperative he must have these handcuffs on him. He also kept saying I could provide him "secret signals" if we needed him to "step in" to handle a situation. I politely advised him he should speak with the head of our campus security, as other officers have done, and discuss with them if it would permissible for him to carry his handcuffs on our campus. He kept being dismissive and stated he didn't want to "bother" the campus security with this, and that I should know the laws better. He also kept insisting I was the first professor to give him an issue about this. My class is mainly minorities from low socioeconomic areas. Unfortunately many of them have had negative interactions with law enforcement, and I don't want them feeling like they are being watched the whole time in their class, especially from a guy that seems mentally unstable and hyperfixated on protecting our classroom. Plus, with him already being obsessed with carrying cuffs in class, I'm afraid he's going to escalate minor disputes to a level where he will feel the need to use those handcuffs on a fellow students. I already kicked this up my chain of command and they are going to speak with our campus public safety about this. I just wanted to get an idea if I had a legal obligation to allow this student to carry his handcuffs in class because he is a peace officer. All i know is that peace officers in our campus public safety system do not carry firearms (except for the administrators). Even my friends that are police officers do not carry handcuffs off duty. I would have posted this on /r/ProtectAndServe but I was banned from there a while back. Assistant: I don't think him being a peace officer is even relevant to the discussion of you being able to tell him not to bring them. I'm a peace officer and legally allowed to take my gun anywhere, but these places can also refuse to allow me to enter for wearing it. Ultimately, he can be asked to leave if he doesn't follow the rules and if he doesn't leave he would be trespassing. Bringing handcuffs would only be a violation of your in house rules. The crime would be him not leaving if asked to.

Human: [NY] Student in college course who is a peace officer insists he must carry his handcuffs on him at all times in the event he needs to "intervene" in a conflict. Are we obligated to allow him to do so? TL;DR Do i have a legal obligation to allow an off duty peace officer who is a student in a public university to carry handcuffs in class? I teach a college course that is also an EMT certification course for a public university system in New York. I've taught police officers in the past. Officers are permitted to carry their weapon off duty, but they have an arrangement with the campus officers to secure their weapons at their location when they are attending class on campus. AFter ten years of teaching, i've never had a police officer have an issue with securing their firearm with the campus police. This semester we have a peace officer enrolled in the class. Our public university's campus security are peace officers and public employees. This student works for another campus as campus security in the same university system. He met with me to discuss accommodations, and initially i thought it would be educational related accommodations, but he literally just wanted to talk about his handcuffs. The individual didn't seem to be mentally all there, and he kept going on and on about how dangerous our city is becoming and that it was imperative he must have these handcuffs on him. He also kept saying I could provide him "secret signals" if we needed him to "step in" to handle a situation. I politely advised him he should speak with the head of our campus security, as other officers have done, and discuss with them if it would permissible for him to carry his handcuffs on our campus. He kept being dismissive and stated he didn't want to "bother" the campus security with this, and that I should know the laws better. He also kept insisting I was the first professor to give him an issue about this. My class is mainly minorities from low socioeconomic areas. Unfortunately many of them have had negative interactions with law enforcement, and I don't want them feeling like they are being watched the whole time in their class, especially from a guy that seems mentally unstable and hyperfixated on protecting our classroom. Plus, with him already being obsessed with carrying cuffs in class, I'm afraid he's going to escalate minor disputes to a level where he will feel the need to use those handcuffs on a fellow students. I already kicked this up my chain of command and they are going to speak with our campus public safety about this. I just wanted to get an idea if I had a legal obligation to allow this student to carry his handcuffs in class because he is a peace officer. All i know is that peace officers in our campus public safety system do not carry firearms (except for the administrators). Even my friends that are police officers do not carry handcuffs off duty. I would have posted this on /r/ProtectAndServe but I was banned from there a while back. Assistant: Not a lawyer but I do work in disability-related accommodations at a public university and this is certainly not an ‘accommodations’ matter. If a prof at my institution came to me with this I would suggest your department/institution consult with GC. Also get to know your student conduct code. Typically, students may not intimidate others in the classroom in a way that would interrupt their peers’ access learning or your ability to teach.

Human: Wife moved out while I was work, won't let me see my son now. Hi, new to reddit. Need advice on what do to please.. ​ My wife and I haven't been getting along for awhile. I work nights and came home Saturday morning to a house with only my bed and sectional. My wife while I was at work moved out and took everything. I called her and she came over later that day and agreed to move back in if we went to marriage counseling. Went back to work that night expecting to come home and her and my son to be moved back in. Well i'm assuming with the influence of her family, they talked her out of it because she decided not to move back in and is now refusing to come to the house. Now she is pretty much refusing me to let me see my son. She doesn't respond to my text and when I call her she only wants to meet at a park after work so I can see my son for like 20 min. She refusing to let me take him for several hours, ect. I thought about picking him up from daycare but she took my key to get into the daycare. Also her mother works at the daycare and may refuse to let me take him. ​ My question is what is my legal right to see my son and pick him up from day care if I want to spend time with him while she is at work. And what is my legal right to all the stuff she took from my house? Also I live in Illinois. Assistant: I assume you are the legal father and as such you have equal rights to be with your son. I wish you luck

Human: Wife moved out while I was work, won't let me see my son now. Hi, new to reddit. Need advice on what do to please.. ​ My wife and I haven't been getting along for awhile. I work nights and came home Saturday morning to a house with only my bed and sectional. My wife while I was at work moved out and took everything. I called her and she came over later that day and agreed to move back in if we went to marriage counseling. Went back to work that night expecting to come home and her and my son to be moved back in. Well i'm assuming with the influence of her family, they talked her out of it because she decided not to move back in and is now refusing to come to the house. Now she is pretty much refusing me to let me see my son. She doesn't respond to my text and when I call her she only wants to meet at a park after work so I can see my son for like 20 min. She refusing to let me take him for several hours, ect. I thought about picking him up from daycare but she took my key to get into the daycare. Also her mother works at the daycare and may refuse to let me take him. ​ My question is what is my legal right to see my son and pick him up from day care if I want to spend time with him while she is at work. And what is my legal right to all the stuff she took from my house? Also I live in Illinois. Assistant: Get a lawyer now. Do not do anything else.

Human: My father is in a tailspin and we need to get him off our Deed and Mortgage Throwaway for obvious reasons. Its been a crazy few weeks. My Dad has parkinsons and has been on meds to increase his dopamine levels. This triggered several delusional, hypersexual episodes. In that time, he sexually assaulted my wife and daughter (his daughter in law and granddaughter, respectively). He has since been admitted to an adult psychiatric facility and we as a family are working with counseling to process this trauma. However we have concerns that he will be released prematurely and we will need to scramble to find him a place to stay. This may mean a nursing home, which we cannot afford out of pocket. The LEGAL issue/question I have is how to best manage our home asset. You see, my parents put a large down payment on our home and moved in with us. Their names are on the Deed and Mortgage note, along with mine and my wife's. My mom has already begun speaking with a lawyer about getting a divorce. But overall, what are some further actions we can take to make sure that no matter what happens to my Dad the rest of us still own this home? Im on mobile so I apologize for any poor wording or incomplete info. If you have addl questions pls ask! Assistant: It sounds like your father may need nursing home care soon which means he may need Medicaid soon. There are implications to property transfers that happen too close to an application for Medicaid. Make sure that you talk to an attorney who specializes in Elder Law and Estate Planning and not just Real Estate. A Real Estate lawyer may not consider the Medicaid look back period!

Human: My father is in a tailspin and we need to get him off our Deed and Mortgage Throwaway for obvious reasons. Its been a crazy few weeks. My Dad has parkinsons and has been on meds to increase his dopamine levels. This triggered several delusional, hypersexual episodes. In that time, he sexually assaulted my wife and daughter (his daughter in law and granddaughter, respectively). He has since been admitted to an adult psychiatric facility and we as a family are working with counseling to process this trauma. However we have concerns that he will be released prematurely and we will need to scramble to find him a place to stay. This may mean a nursing home, which we cannot afford out of pocket. The LEGAL issue/question I have is how to best manage our home asset. You see, my parents put a large down payment on our home and moved in with us. Their names are on the Deed and Mortgage note, along with mine and my wife's. My mom has already begun speaking with a lawyer about getting a divorce. But overall, what are some further actions we can take to make sure that no matter what happens to my Dad the rest of us still own this home? Im on mobile so I apologize for any poor wording or incomplete info. If you have addl questions pls ask! Assistant: You may need to have a doctor declare him incompetent and have the courts appoint his wife as his conservator. You should contact a family law attorney. I would look for a firm with multiple departments so the family law atty can discuss the ramifications with a real estate atty. good luck and I’m sorry your family is going through this.

Human: My boss wants me to put my phone in his office at work I recently started work at a restaurant and they have a strict policy against phones. No big deal, I wasn’t planning to be on my phone anyways, except that they are also requiring me and all the other servers to store our phones in our managers office while we are on shift. I might be a bit paranoid, but I’m not super fond of having to do that. I’m not comfortable knowing my boss will be able to see my messages that pop up on the screen, or a coworker could come steal my phone since they are kept out in the open. When I tried to voice my concerns, they eye rolled at me and told me I had to do it because it was the policy. What really bothers me is that when I tried to keep my phone in my car instead, or suggested just leaving it at home they told me that I HAD to bring my phone to my shift so I could put it in the office and that keeping it anywhere else, even leaving it at home, wasn’t allowed in their policy. This feels absurd. Is it even legal to force this? Can they legally fire me for choosing to leave my phone at home or in my car instead of complying with their policy? Any advice would be great! Assistant: Not a lawyer. You're in an at-will state, so they can fire you for failure to comply with a non-discriminatory policy. This particular reason may not be good enough to keep you from collecting unemployment, especially not allowing you to leave the phone in your car. Frankly, this is a big red flag that this employer is going to pull more shenanigans. If you're working in food service, you shouldn't have that much trouble finding another job, but I won't pretend to know your situation.

Human: My boss wants me to put my phone in his office at work I recently started work at a restaurant and they have a strict policy against phones. No big deal, I wasn’t planning to be on my phone anyways, except that they are also requiring me and all the other servers to store our phones in our managers office while we are on shift. I might be a bit paranoid, but I’m not super fond of having to do that. I’m not comfortable knowing my boss will be able to see my messages that pop up on the screen, or a coworker could come steal my phone since they are kept out in the open. When I tried to voice my concerns, they eye rolled at me and told me I had to do it because it was the policy. What really bothers me is that when I tried to keep my phone in my car instead, or suggested just leaving it at home they told me that I HAD to bring my phone to my shift so I could put it in the office and that keeping it anywhere else, even leaving it at home, wasn’t allowed in their policy. This feels absurd. Is it even legal to force this? Can they legally fire me for choosing to leave my phone at home or in my car instead of complying with their policy? Any advice would be great! Assistant: The rule is stupid but legal. Non legal solution, get a cheap old phone that doesn't have service and drop it in the office and leave your primary phone in the car.

Human: Boss wants me to pay her for fixing my hours? In Texas, USA. I forgot to clock out for my lunch during a shift and told my boss about it near the end of the day so she could correct my timesheet. She said I owe her a dollar for the “extra work”. I know this is not the biggest deal in the world, but is this legal? Assistant: This sounds like a sarcastic but friendly remark that you may not have picked up on. Perhaps ask what to do if a dollar is actually deducted from your pay slip

Human: Boss wants me to pay her for fixing my hours? In Texas, USA. I forgot to clock out for my lunch during a shift and told my boss about it near the end of the day so she could correct my timesheet. She said I owe her a dollar for the “extra work”. I know this is not the biggest deal in the world, but is this legal? Assistant: Just say “I put the dollar in the time clock”

Human: I am a restaurant owner. I discovered that one of my waitresses was raped. She refuses to cooperate with police and they dont want to pursue this any further without more evidence. I have the entire thing on security footage. Ill skip 99 percent of the details. Short version is I offered OT to any employee over 18 to come accept a delivery at 3 am. This waitress literally jumped at the opportunity of extra cash and volunteered first. One of the delivery guys forced her at around 5 am and I discovered her when I arrived at 7 am. The waitress wanted to just forget it ever happened, but I convinced her to at least tell her parents since there was the possibility of pregnancy or STDs. The waitress has stopped working for me, for obvious reasons, and has told me they are just going to let this go. I cant. I was going to respect her wishes, until I learned that this guy has done this before. In my mind if she is not his first victim, then she will not be his last. I made the decision to report it to the police. They interviewed her and originally said that she was assaulted to the police, then recanted her story. The police came to me and told me without more evidence, there is nothing that can be done. I handed over the security footage, all of it for that day, and the guy was arrested. Fast forward to two months later and the guy has not pleaded guilty yet. The victim is afraid that she will be required to testify and is dreading the possibility of a subpoena. Because of this I am being threatened with a lawsuit by the parents of the victim for "emotional distress" and other bullshit terms. Correct me if I am wrong here but unless I actually broke the law to report the crime, they legally cant sue me over this right? By that I mean that any lawsuit that comes forth over this can be easily dismissed because I was reporting a crime that happened right? EDIT: Texas Assistant: You acted legally and ethically. Hopefully one day she'll realize that.

Human: I am a restaurant owner. I discovered that one of my waitresses was raped. She refuses to cooperate with police and they dont want to pursue this any further without more evidence. I have the entire thing on security footage. Ill skip 99 percent of the details. Short version is I offered OT to any employee over 18 to come accept a delivery at 3 am. This waitress literally jumped at the opportunity of extra cash and volunteered first. One of the delivery guys forced her at around 5 am and I discovered her when I arrived at 7 am. The waitress wanted to just forget it ever happened, but I convinced her to at least tell her parents since there was the possibility of pregnancy or STDs. The waitress has stopped working for me, for obvious reasons, and has told me they are just going to let this go. I cant. I was going to respect her wishes, until I learned that this guy has done this before. In my mind if she is not his first victim, then she will not be his last. I made the decision to report it to the police. They interviewed her and originally said that she was assaulted to the police, then recanted her story. The police came to me and told me without more evidence, there is nothing that can be done. I handed over the security footage, all of it for that day, and the guy was arrested. Fast forward to two months later and the guy has not pleaded guilty yet. The victim is afraid that she will be required to testify and is dreading the possibility of a subpoena. Because of this I am being threatened with a lawsuit by the parents of the victim for "emotional distress" and other bullshit terms. Correct me if I am wrong here but unless I actually broke the law to report the crime, they legally cant sue me over this right? By that I mean that any lawsuit that comes forth over this can be easily dismissed because I was reporting a crime that happened right? EDIT: Texas Assistant: Breaking the law isn't required before a civil suit. That said, you were doing what you were supposed to do, ie cooperating with law enforcement. If I were you, I wouldn't waste any energy on worrying about this. You didn't have a duty to her to not turn over the tape. You're fine. Edited to add if you get served, dont ignore it

Human: I privately sold a car, and 2 days later the buyer wants me to pay him back because he found out that the car has many issues. What do i do? I sold a VW Passat 2007 for about $4000 and also mentioned the issues it had. It had an oil leak and that’s it. Today, the buyer says that the car is not drive-able and that the engine is from a junkyard and that the heater core is not there and stuff. I told him that I had no clue about all this and him and his full family came to inspect the car. They all liked it and bought it. Now he’s saying that he is going to sue me over it. I looked up the laws in my state which say that a private sale is a done deal, as long as I have 4 documents. I have them all except the bill of sale. Does he have a legal basis to stand on? Assistant: Block him on your phone. If he comes to your home or calls, tell him to only communicate in writing. Don't speak with him. Don't take the car back. Don't offer a partial refund. When you go to court you will be fine. Old used cars with no warranty will have issues.

Human: I privately sold a car, and 2 days later the buyer wants me to pay him back because he found out that the car has many issues. What do i do? I sold a VW Passat 2007 for about $4000 and also mentioned the issues it had. It had an oil leak and that’s it. Today, the buyer says that the car is not drive-able and that the engine is from a junkyard and that the heater core is not there and stuff. I told him that I had no clue about all this and him and his full family came to inspect the car. They all liked it and bought it. Now he’s saying that he is going to sue me over it. I looked up the laws in my state which say that a private sale is a done deal, as long as I have 4 documents. I have them all except the bill of sale. Does he have a legal basis to stand on? Assistant: He had his opportunity to inspect before purchasing. Offer nothing, including sympathy, apology, or explanation. At most, state you represented the car's condition to the best of your knowledge.

Human: [SC,USA] My friend's mother has dementia but it hasn't been diagnosed yet. She bought a car the other day and she neither drives nor can afford it. Can my buddy void the sale if The doctor diagnoses her and he gets POA? So my buddy's mother lives with him and his wife ever since his dad passed away. Over the last few years she started to become forgetful, and sometimes forget where she is or what year it is. A doctor hasn't diagnosed her with dementia yet, but he has no doubt. The other day she was at the mall and somehow ended up buying $60,000 car with financing through the dealer. She doesn't remember buying the car and they're supposed to deliver in a few days. He goes to the doctor and the doctor diagnoses her with dementia, giving him power of attorney, can he avoid the sale? Apparently in contracts there's something called "capacity" that you need. If she didn't have it at the time, is it valid? Assistant: If this is a name brand dealer, I would definitely go in and explain the situation. Especially since she hasn’t taken possession of the vehicle yet. Many places the sale isn’t final until it’s driven off the lot, and many more places have a time frame for return to stop bad reviews and law suits. I would start with reaching out to the dealer and asking to speak to the GM / GSM.

Human: [SC,USA] My friend's mother has dementia but it hasn't been diagnosed yet. She bought a car the other day and she neither drives nor can afford it. Can my buddy void the sale if The doctor diagnoses her and he gets POA? So my buddy's mother lives with him and his wife ever since his dad passed away. Over the last few years she started to become forgetful, and sometimes forget where she is or what year it is. A doctor hasn't diagnosed her with dementia yet, but he has no doubt. The other day she was at the mall and somehow ended up buying $60,000 car with financing through the dealer. She doesn't remember buying the car and they're supposed to deliver in a few days. He goes to the doctor and the doctor diagnoses her with dementia, giving him power of attorney, can he avoid the sale? Apparently in contracts there's something called "capacity" that you need. If she didn't have it at the time, is it valid? Assistant: Does she want it voided? Have someone go with her to the dealership and talk to them- if she hasn't taken possession yet then they might just agree without a bunch of legal hoops.

Human: My FIL left a subsistential amount of money in a irrevocable trust fund, now the financial institution that is trustee is losing it all in investments This started out at close to almost a three-quarters of a million dollars over 7 years ago and it is dwindled down to less than $75,000. Is there any legal action we can take to get all monies distributed immediately? The will specifies that my husband will receive the full amount at age 63, but by then we are afraid it will be emptied. The institution is Simmons Bank who bought it from a different financial institution. Assistant: Lawyer time. Sure this year investments have lost money but before this, but in the 6 years before that the market has done well. No way is it acceptable to have lost 90% whether it be due to fees or bad investments. I wouldn't just be asking for a disbursement, I would be threatening suit.

Human: My FIL left a subsistential amount of money in a irrevocable trust fund, now the financial institution that is trustee is losing it all in investments This started out at close to almost a three-quarters of a million dollars over 7 years ago and it is dwindled down to less than $75,000. Is there any legal action we can take to get all monies distributed immediately? The will specifies that my husband will receive the full amount at age 63, but by then we are afraid it will be emptied. The institution is Simmons Bank who bought it from a different financial institution. Assistant: You should be able to ask for a full accounting too. Might be useful to estimate where the money has gone too. What is their management fee, what other fees, and what payments have the beneficiaries been getting for example. Also trusts this small probably have very high fees.

Human: I caught my husband tampering with my birth-control…even though he’s aware another pregnancy could kill me. Can I charge him? I have it on video? Along with the ensuing argument where he admits the entire thing. Yes. I’m going to divorce him too, but he is aware that my doctors said another pregnancy would likely be life threatening ei. This could have literally killed me. In the video he admits to knowing it could kill me. Admitting he did it without my knowledge. And admitting he that he had done it before, we had sex a week ago, knowing I would not have consented to having sex with him if I’d known. I feel so betrayed and violated and honestly terrified. On top of everything we recently had an argument about my daughters (2yrs) inheritance and how I was planning on making my sister her legal benefactor (our marriage has been rocky and I felt it was the best choice att). It…is a very large sum. It’s making me think this was more than just ‘wanting to try for a boy’. I just want to know how I should handle this. And if making an assumption like this is crazy. Ive never needed an lawyer or an attorney for anything except this recent inheritance. Which I haven’t fully relieved yet. Also I’ve downloaded our argument in from our network on our camera’s. It also has him grabbing me as I was leaving. Which are bruises now. I just don’t know what to do. Should I go to the police? I don’t even know about how to go about charging him. Do I give them a copy of the video? I’m just don’t know what to do or how to start. I have ptsd from my last birth so I would think I was crazy if I didn’t have him admitting all of it recorded. ​ Edit: (I am also going go to the doctors, to make sure I’m not already pregnant. Since I can’t take plan b unsupervised) Assistant: I am not an attorney, but an Escrow Officer here in Washington state. Inheritance is considered separate property unless comingled in a joint account. OP stated she is in WA, but tge inheritance has not been fully disbursed. Do not put those funds in a joint account!

Human: I caught my husband tampering with my birth-control…even though he’s aware another pregnancy could kill me. Can I charge him? I have it on video? Along with the ensuing argument where he admits the entire thing. Yes. I’m going to divorce him too, but he is aware that my doctors said another pregnancy would likely be life threatening ei. This could have literally killed me. In the video he admits to knowing it could kill me. Admitting he did it without my knowledge. And admitting he that he had done it before, we had sex a week ago, knowing I would not have consented to having sex with him if I’d known. I feel so betrayed and violated and honestly terrified. On top of everything we recently had an argument about my daughters (2yrs) inheritance and how I was planning on making my sister her legal benefactor (our marriage has been rocky and I felt it was the best choice att). It…is a very large sum. It’s making me think this was more than just ‘wanting to try for a boy’. I just want to know how I should handle this. And if making an assumption like this is crazy. Ive never needed an lawyer or an attorney for anything except this recent inheritance. Which I haven’t fully relieved yet. Also I’ve downloaded our argument in from our network on our camera’s. It also has him grabbing me as I was leaving. Which are bruises now. I just don’t know what to do. Should I go to the police? I don’t even know about how to go about charging him. Do I give them a copy of the video? I’m just don’t know what to do or how to start. I have ptsd from my last birth so I would think I was crazy if I didn’t have him admitting all of it recorded. ​ Edit: (I am also going go to the doctors, to make sure I’m not already pregnant. Since I can’t take plan b unsupervised) Assistant: Once you are safe, the first thing to do is to contact a family law attorney in the county where you have your marital home. I would not take any steps until you have spoken to an attorney. This may not be worth pursuing criminally, especially in the context of a divorce where there will be significant assets and child custody issues.

Human: (Washington State) What can I do to prevent my neighbor from continuing to park his box trailer on my property? I am at my wits end. We moved into our house last summer. It was a very hectic move with a baby on the way so we didn't immediately notice that the neighbor was parking his box trailer 4 or so feet onto our property line. We noticed his children were frequently in our driveway (not shared, does not have a sidewalk, no easements) and were riding their scooters and physically hitting our garage as some sort of bumper. I asked them to stop and they eventually did (after about a dozen more reminders). Then we started noticing that the neighbor parks his box trailer across the property line (very evident he's doing so as there is a straight line with a difference in rock color) and as a result, is ruining our gravel. In addition, he pulls his three large garbage cans in and out through our gravel since he's blocked his gate with his trailer. We intend to landscape this area and I don't want to deal with him ruining what we put in. Thus far, I have: -left a note with my contact information for him (which he denied receiving although it took about 10 minutes for it to no longer be taped to their front door) asking him to contact me to discuss the property line - placed large/heavy rocks along the property line within the entirety of my side only to have him move them to a pile in the front of the area -and finally, I've told him not to park on my property, allow his children to play in my driveway, or move his garbage cans through the gravel. I did so in person when he came over to confront me about "making it impossible to park." His response was that I am a rude neighbor and that because he's been parking his trailer in that spot for roughly 3 years, he can continue to do so. I told him under no circumstances is he to use my property and has no permission to do so. This evening I went out to see that he has moved the gravel to make it look like he's parked on his side but he's still over the property line by several feet. He also moves the large rocks and then puts them back thinking I wouldn't notice. It may seem petty but I am so flabbergasted by his entitlement and attitude that I owe him my owned property to use free of charge and without permission. This isn't entirely relevant, but I'm a grown adult and the way in which he spoke to me was that of a grown man chastising a child. We intend to put in large hedges but our landscaper has recommended we wait until spring. We do have an HOA we pay for, but they don't enforce anything or respond to calls or emails and don't have a dedicated office to visit. I don't particularly want to go nuclear on him for fear of retribution but I'm not sure how else to get it across to him that I'm serious. What am I legally allowed to do to prevent him from continuing this? Assistant: If you’re doing a hedge, my suggestion would be to concrete in some solid metal poles with a quick-set cement in between the bushes. He can pull hedges out, but he’s going to have a hell of a time removing half a dozen metal poles. As long as they’re on your property there should be nothing he can do, and your hedge will eventually cover them.

Human: (Washington State) What can I do to prevent my neighbor from continuing to park his box trailer on my property? I am at my wits end. We moved into our house last summer. It was a very hectic move with a baby on the way so we didn't immediately notice that the neighbor was parking his box trailer 4 or so feet onto our property line. We noticed his children were frequently in our driveway (not shared, does not have a sidewalk, no easements) and were riding their scooters and physically hitting our garage as some sort of bumper. I asked them to stop and they eventually did (after about a dozen more reminders). Then we started noticing that the neighbor parks his box trailer across the property line (very evident he's doing so as there is a straight line with a difference in rock color) and as a result, is ruining our gravel. In addition, he pulls his three large garbage cans in and out through our gravel since he's blocked his gate with his trailer. We intend to landscape this area and I don't want to deal with him ruining what we put in. Thus far, I have: -left a note with my contact information for him (which he denied receiving although it took about 10 minutes for it to no longer be taped to their front door) asking him to contact me to discuss the property line - placed large/heavy rocks along the property line within the entirety of my side only to have him move them to a pile in the front of the area -and finally, I've told him not to park on my property, allow his children to play in my driveway, or move his garbage cans through the gravel. I did so in person when he came over to confront me about "making it impossible to park." His response was that I am a rude neighbor and that because he's been parking his trailer in that spot for roughly 3 years, he can continue to do so. I told him under no circumstances is he to use my property and has no permission to do so. This evening I went out to see that he has moved the gravel to make it look like he's parked on his side but he's still over the property line by several feet. He also moves the large rocks and then puts them back thinking I wouldn't notice. It may seem petty but I am so flabbergasted by his entitlement and attitude that I owe him my owned property to use free of charge and without permission. This isn't entirely relevant, but I'm a grown adult and the way in which he spoke to me was that of a grown man chastising a child. We intend to put in large hedges but our landscaper has recommended we wait until spring. We do have an HOA we pay for, but they don't enforce anything or respond to calls or emails and don't have a dedicated office to visit. I don't particularly want to go nuclear on him for fear of retribution but I'm not sure how else to get it across to him that I'm serious. What am I legally allowed to do to prevent him from continuing this? Assistant: Sounds like it's time for big ass boundary rocks and cameras facing the property line.

Human: [FL] Girl I matched on Tinder tells me she's 17, ignores my request to wait until she is 18, and sends nudes. WTF So I matched this chick on Tinder, her profile says 18. She messages me and has me add her on a 3rd party app. Nothing much was said but it was definitely a real person not a bot. On the 3rd party app she immediately states she is 17 and starts send provocative pictures as I am typing " Stop " " Message me when you're 18 ". WTF do I do ? I feel like it's either some type of complex extortion scam scheme, or my local police department has a lot of time on their hands. Am I just paranoid ? What should I do ? Note : I immediately cut my losses and blocked her on the 3rd party app. Assistant: If the father calls, tell him you’ll get her charged for possession of child porn

Human: [FL] Girl I matched on Tinder tells me she's 17, ignores my request to wait until she is 18, and sends nudes. WTF So I matched this chick on Tinder, her profile says 18. She messages me and has me add her on a 3rd party app. Nothing much was said but it was definitely a real person not a bot. On the 3rd party app she immediately states she is 17 and starts send provocative pictures as I am typing " Stop " " Message me when you're 18 ". WTF do I do ? I feel like it's either some type of complex extortion scam scheme, or my local police department has a lot of time on their hands. Am I just paranoid ? What should I do ? Note : I immediately cut my losses and blocked her on the 3rd party app. Assistant: I dont think you can get in trouble for her sending them to you against your will... pretty sure she can though... I've heard of lots of teen girls getting charged with distributing child porn by sending out their own pics

Human: Was talking to a girl on tinder and she had her friends at a dispatch center run my phone number and they revealed my full name, age, etc. Is this legal? (CO) I was talking to a girl on tinder and she had her friends at a dispatch center run my phone number and they revealed my full name, age, etc. Is this legal? If it is illegal am I supposed to do anything about it or just block her and move on? It really creeps me out. Assistant: Former cop here. At minimum, this is 100% against any internal policy her agency will have. Probably also against state code. If this actually happened, she'll be suspended pending an investigation, then fired. Not sure how you're going to find the friend or who she works for, but...

Human: Was talking to a girl on tinder and she had her friends at a dispatch center run my phone number and they revealed my full name, age, etc. Is this legal? (CO) I was talking to a girl on tinder and she had her friends at a dispatch center run my phone number and they revealed my full name, age, etc. Is this legal? If it is illegal am I supposed to do anything about it or just block her and move on? It really creeps me out. Assistant: This is not okay to do at all. You should call the dispatch center where she lives and report that someone ran your information. This should all be logged in their system.

Human: In slow process of separating with wife and she’s wanting me to sign house over into her name. I’ll still be living in it for next 2 months. Would this make me a renter? What could she do if I go through with signing? We bought house 3 years ago. Never missed payment. We have joint account and make similar income, (she makes a little more). We never got legally married as we were waiting for her student loans to be forgiven (she’s worked for nonprofit for a decade now), otherwise payments would have doubled. Though I went along with the whole refi thing, she took it upon herself to do legwork and did it in her name, (she claimed my credit score was too low to get approved). I just want do what’s best for my 3 year old daughter and me. But if I sign the house over to her, would I become a “tenant” and then have renter’s rights? Would she have to claim my $ each month for mortgage as income? I’m lost and crushed. [CA] Assistant: Defnitely talk with a divorce/family law attorney before signing. If you were childless it might be worth it to walk away from your share of house, but anything you give now may not be considered by the court in any child support agreements. CA requires 60 days notice to vacate if tenancy is over a year.

Human: In slow process of separating with wife and she’s wanting me to sign house over into her name. I’ll still be living in it for next 2 months. Would this make me a renter? What could she do if I go through with signing? We bought house 3 years ago. Never missed payment. We have joint account and make similar income, (she makes a little more). We never got legally married as we were waiting for her student loans to be forgiven (she’s worked for nonprofit for a decade now), otherwise payments would have doubled. Though I went along with the whole refi thing, she took it upon herself to do legwork and did it in her name, (she claimed my credit score was too low to get approved). I just want do what’s best for my 3 year old daughter and me. But if I sign the house over to her, would I become a “tenant” and then have renter’s rights? Would she have to claim my $ each month for mortgage as income? I’m lost and crushed. [CA] Assistant: Can you elaborate on how you are going through a ~~divorce~~ separation from your wife when you were never married? Edited for accuracy

Human: (FL) My husbands ex-wife is claiming that our(my husband and I) marriage isn't valid. Plus falsified court documents! They divorced ~5 years ago, it was a pretty simple divorce. No kids, no property other than a car so everything was spilt 50-50 and they went their separate ways and that's exactly what I'd says in the court documents I've seen them myself. My husband and I have been married 3 years, his ex is now claiming that the marriage isn't real because one of the conditions was that he's banned from ever getting married again. She's even drawn up a fake divorce decree that says that. What's she trying to get at here? Would that even be a legal condition to have in a divorce? What do we do about it? Assistant: >his ex is now claiming that the marriage isn't real because one of the conditions was that he's banned from ever getting married again. Aww... she thinks she's cute. Or that she's Napoleon. Don't converse with crazy people. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. Ignore her. Block phones, texts, etc.

Human: (FL) My husbands ex-wife is claiming that our(my husband and I) marriage isn't valid. Plus falsified court documents! They divorced ~5 years ago, it was a pretty simple divorce. No kids, no property other than a car so everything was spilt 50-50 and they went their separate ways and that's exactly what I'd says in the court documents I've seen them myself. My husband and I have been married 3 years, his ex is now claiming that the marriage isn't real because one of the conditions was that he's banned from ever getting married again. She's even drawn up a fake divorce decree that says that. What's she trying to get at here? Would that even be a legal condition to have in a divorce? What do we do about it? Assistant: Not a lawyer, but isn't it illegal to forge official documents such as divorce decrees? Could OP ask the crazy ex for a copy and then report her to the police?

Human: (WA) Neighbor keeps taking pictures of my car and posting them online Washington state. I live in an apartment complex in Seattle where I rent an apartment. The complex has an underground garage for which I pay a monthly fee (not sure if this is relevant). I own a fairly expensive and new vehicle which is parked on my assigned spot in said garage. On three separate occasions I caught a weirdo neighbor taking pictures of my vehicle. First time, he was in front of the car photographing the vehicle itself, which is fine with me because I thought he probably liked it and whatever. I didn’t approach him. Next two times, as I was quietly walking from the elevator, I could see him taking selfies with my car and having his girlfriend/wife take photos of the weirdo TOUCHING my car. As in, he was pretending to open the door or lean against it. This bothers me because I do not want him to touch my car or take pictures with it. I walked up to them, told him this is not the first time I see him do this and want him to stop immediately. He apologized and walked away. Yesterday, I saw him AGAIN, dressed in a suit and having a photo shoot with my car. This guy is so fucking ridiculous. I went ahead an found his Facebook profile, then his Instagram. Lo and behold, he has like 26 pictures of him and my car where he claims to be his “new car”. This is a grown ass man, not a teenager. I took screenshots but I’m not sure what’s my recourse from here. I know I cannot stop him from taking pictures of my car but how about him touching it and leaning against it? Is posting the pictures online and claiming to own the vehicle illegal? Should I contact the complex or Facebook/Instagram? I am willing to dump money if necessary to take this weirdo to court but I don’t know what the charge could be. Assistant: Put signs in your windows that say “This is not Weirdo Neighbor’s car.”

Human: (WA) Neighbor keeps taking pictures of my car and posting them online Washington state. I live in an apartment complex in Seattle where I rent an apartment. The complex has an underground garage for which I pay a monthly fee (not sure if this is relevant). I own a fairly expensive and new vehicle which is parked on my assigned spot in said garage. On three separate occasions I caught a weirdo neighbor taking pictures of my vehicle. First time, he was in front of the car photographing the vehicle itself, which is fine with me because I thought he probably liked it and whatever. I didn’t approach him. Next two times, as I was quietly walking from the elevator, I could see him taking selfies with my car and having his girlfriend/wife take photos of the weirdo TOUCHING my car. As in, he was pretending to open the door or lean against it. This bothers me because I do not want him to touch my car or take pictures with it. I walked up to them, told him this is not the first time I see him do this and want him to stop immediately. He apologized and walked away. Yesterday, I saw him AGAIN, dressed in a suit and having a photo shoot with my car. This guy is so fucking ridiculous. I went ahead an found his Facebook profile, then his Instagram. Lo and behold, he has like 26 pictures of him and my car where he claims to be his “new car”. This is a grown ass man, not a teenager. I took screenshots but I’m not sure what’s my recourse from here. I know I cannot stop him from taking pictures of my car but how about him touching it and leaning against it? Is posting the pictures online and claiming to own the vehicle illegal? Should I contact the complex or Facebook/Instagram? I am willing to dump money if necessary to take this weirdo to court but I don’t know what the charge could be. Assistant: Take a picture of his silly photoshoot and shame him on Instagram You could also hang a sign in the window that says "<instagram_name> is taking pictures with a stranger's car, stop weirdo, lol", would probably stop the behavior pretty quick "Pictures with my car: $5" would also be funny

Human: [Chicago, IL] Friend has been arrested by ICE under a false claim that he's an illegal immigrant. Is there a hope to help him? My friend (32/Hispanic/Male) just was taken away by ICE without showing any warrant or documentation. I'm 100% sure his ex (24/White/Female) has filed this complaint against him because she lost the custody. Is there something we, friends and family members can do for him to get him out ASAP? Their final custody date is coming up next week and my feeling are that she'd use his no-call, no-show as a reason to get their child back. Any help? Assistant: Citizenship/legal immigrant status will be super easy to prove if he is in fact lawfully present in the United States.

Human: [Chicago, IL] Friend has been arrested by ICE under a false claim that he's an illegal immigrant. Is there a hope to help him? My friend (32/Hispanic/Male) just was taken away by ICE without showing any warrant or documentation. I'm 100% sure his ex (24/White/Female) has filed this complaint against him because she lost the custody. Is there something we, friends and family members can do for him to get him out ASAP? Their final custody date is coming up next week and my feeling are that she'd use his no-call, no-show as a reason to get their child back. Any help? Assistant: Does he have a new girlfriend that *is* an illegal immigrant? Perhaps he was arrested for some other violation (bringing in/harboring) rather than being undocumented himself. Otherwise, it should be *really* easy to prove he's a USC.

Human: [UPDATE] (NC) Sold a board game on eBay for $2025 and being scammed by the buyer (NY) Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/7tp5af/nc_sold_a_board_game_on_ebay_for_2025_and_being/?st=JDIXKBZ7&sh=e6296d00 First Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/7vwt2u/update_nc_sold_a_board_game_on_ebay_for_2025_and/?st=JDIXKNIZ&sh=f94efc10 Based on the email I received from PayPal I have come to the conclusion that PayPal has refunded me and the buyer was able to keep the board game and his funds. Yesterday the buyer reached out to me using a fake Facebook account. This is also the same one used to scam someone else for KDM. He said this: Hi, this is (name redacted), the person that stole your Kingdom Death. If you can answer truthfully: I will return your items. Were you enlisted in the Military? If you can provide me proof you were enlisted I will return your items back to you. I do not like scamming service members. What should I do with this information? Assistant: “I do not like scamming service members.” Report to Paypal and then block. Maybe they’ll yank his admittedly scammed money away finally.

Human: [UPDATE] (NC) Sold a board game on eBay for $2025 and being scammed by the buyer (NY) Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/7tp5af/nc_sold_a_board_game_on_ebay_for_2025_and_being/?st=JDIXKBZ7&sh=e6296d00 First Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/7vwt2u/update_nc_sold_a_board_game_on_ebay_for_2025_and/?st=JDIXKNIZ&sh=f94efc10 Based on the email I received from PayPal I have come to the conclusion that PayPal has refunded me and the buyer was able to keep the board game and his funds. Yesterday the buyer reached out to me using a fake Facebook account. This is also the same one used to scam someone else for KDM. He said this: Hi, this is (name redacted), the person that stole your Kingdom Death. If you can answer truthfully: I will return your items. Were you enlisted in the Military? If you can provide me proof you were enlisted I will return your items back to you. I do not like scamming service members. What should I do with this information? Assistant: Update the investigative services you originally contacted, i.e. the FBI and such, then block him. Let the authorities pursue if they wish, it's not your job to play batman. If you give him any kind of information he will just use it in future scams posing as you. He's not giving you a dime back, he's just fishing for more since he got something from you once already.

Human: Thought I was being scammed by someone on Craigslist, but now I have $900 more than im supposed to. Can i keep the money? Guy on Craigslist gave me $1100 check for a $150 item and told me to pay his mover when the guy picks it up. Told me to pay the mover immediately with itunes giftcards or cash when he came (at a time before the check cleared). I thought it was a scam and wouldnt let the guy pick it up until the check went theough, which i doubted. Now the check went through and im wondering if i can just keep it because this guy put me through hell.Can I legally keep the money without consequence? I know its kind of scummy but morals arent in question. Also can he still scam me and remove the deposit from my account after I pay him. Edit: I live in New Hampshire. Assistant: SCAM SCAM SCAM. If someone overpays you for a product or service with a listed/agreed-upon price because they want you to give the "extra" to someone else, it is ALWAYS a scam. If someone wants to be paid in giftcards, it is a scam. Keep your item, block the guy, pretend the money "in your account" isn't there because soon it won't be and you could get overdrafted.

Human: Thought I was being scammed by someone on Craigslist, but now I have $900 more than im supposed to. Can i keep the money? Guy on Craigslist gave me $1100 check for a $150 item and told me to pay his mover when the guy picks it up. Told me to pay the mover immediately with itunes giftcards or cash when he came (at a time before the check cleared). I thought it was a scam and wouldnt let the guy pick it up until the check went theough, which i doubted. Now the check went through and im wondering if i can just keep it because this guy put me through hell.Can I legally keep the money without consequence? I know its kind of scummy but morals arent in question. Also can he still scam me and remove the deposit from my account after I pay him. Edit: I live in New Hampshire. Assistant: How people can still fall for this (especially checks- who still uses checks??!) is beyond me.

Human: Car got towed by a private company in queens, nyc. Police were never informed that the car was towed and originally thought it was stolen. What do I do? I thought my car was towed at first so I contacted my local precinct who then contacted their tow company and checked the database for towed cars. Nothing showed up. I checked one of my neighbor’s cameras and it turns out that my neighbor (not the same neighbor) called a private towing company to tow my car. I do not know which company towed my car. I do not know where my car is located. I am very angry. What do I do? Assistant: Did you show the police the footage of the tow and give them the name of the neighbor? If your neighbor had someone tow that car and nothing was done according to the law, and no information is in their database, you might try to report that neighbor as the one who stole the car. That neighbor also might not give you the information about where the car is, but having a police officer show up at your door asking for that information is a whole other thing.

Human: Car got towed by a private company in queens, nyc. Police were never informed that the car was towed and originally thought it was stolen. What do I do? I thought my car was towed at first so I contacted my local precinct who then contacted their tow company and checked the database for towed cars. Nothing showed up. I checked one of my neighbor’s cameras and it turns out that my neighbor (not the same neighbor) called a private towing company to tow my car. I do not know which company towed my car. I do not know where my car is located. I am very angry. What do I do? Assistant: Before reporting your car as stolen to your local precinct, just to be safe, call the Queens impound yard and see if it shows up in their inventory: 718-359-6200 (*open till 10pm for your convenience!*)

Human: My mother was sued for doing her job. She owns a preschool. About a month ago my motger was dropping off a kid at his house like she always does, stops the bus at the same position drops off the kid at the same spot , the kid ran through the road without looking and got hit by a car, the driver of the car was sued so they could get money for the kids surgery. After that my mother was sued as well, when my mother called the parents to ask what this is about they said they said that they had to move legally so they wouldnt have CPS (child protective services) take away their child. They also lied saying that they agreed, the driver(my mom) would always wait for the parents to come to the door of the school bus to pick up their child, which is completely false, there was jever such agreement and she never did that with any of her clients... If my mother has a criminal history she will not be able to work and she will lose her bussiness, ehat could we legally so we can prevent this for happening? Assistant: Your mom needs a lawyer. We don't know what state you're in but some would require a parent or approved adult pick up a child that young from the bus stop.

Human: My mother was sued for doing her job. She owns a preschool. About a month ago my motger was dropping off a kid at his house like she always does, stops the bus at the same position drops off the kid at the same spot , the kid ran through the road without looking and got hit by a car, the driver of the car was sued so they could get money for the kids surgery. After that my mother was sued as well, when my mother called the parents to ask what this is about they said they said that they had to move legally so they wouldnt have CPS (child protective services) take away their child. They also lied saying that they agreed, the driver(my mom) would always wait for the parents to come to the door of the school bus to pick up their child, which is completely false, there was jever such agreement and she never did that with any of her clients... If my mother has a criminal history she will not be able to work and she will lose her bussiness, ehat could we legally so we can prevent this for happening? Assistant: Your other posts suggest you are in Europe. I'd suggest /r/legaladviceeurope.

Human: A homeowner's association (HOA) refuses to let me use an FBI background check or a DOJ state background check to prove that I do not have a criminal record. I recently received a letter from the HOA asking for my birthday, social security number, and personal information to be given to a third party who uses Sterling to verify criminal history and credit information. From what I can see, the third part is currently being sued in district court for a consumer credit case. Now, I am waiting for my Pacer code to be able to access the information about the subject. In addition, their reviews are nothing other than one star on every review site. As a result, I refuse to give my information to this third party. When I told the board members of the HOA that I was planning to get a DOJ state background check and an FBI background check to show that I do not have a criminal record, without hesitation, the HOA told me that it was not an option. If the HOA plans to evict me, place a lien on my home, or sue me in civil court, I am prepared to submit the DOJ state background check and the FBI background check to the clerk while I wait for my court date. Assistant: I am not a lawyer. I have applied for a job with a company that uses Sterling for pre-employment checks. While I did provide SSN and DOB to the company as part of the process, all information provided _for the purpose of background checks_ was provided directly to Sterling. I would be suspicious of a request that sounds like the HOA wants to be the one to input the data.

Human: A homeowner's association (HOA) refuses to let me use an FBI background check or a DOJ state background check to prove that I do not have a criminal record. I recently received a letter from the HOA asking for my birthday, social security number, and personal information to be given to a third party who uses Sterling to verify criminal history and credit information. From what I can see, the third part is currently being sued in district court for a consumer credit case. Now, I am waiting for my Pacer code to be able to access the information about the subject. In addition, their reviews are nothing other than one star on every review site. As a result, I refuse to give my information to this third party. When I told the board members of the HOA that I was planning to get a DOJ state background check and an FBI background check to show that I do not have a criminal record, without hesitation, the HOA told me that it was not an option. If the HOA plans to evict me, place a lien on my home, or sue me in civil court, I am prepared to submit the DOJ state background check and the FBI background check to the clerk while I wait for my court date. Assistant: > my birthday, social security number, and personal information Why does your HOA want this information? Is there something in the CC&Rs that entitles them to it? If there isn't, they can pound sand.

Human: I am being accused of stealing iPads from a computer lab at my community college [MI] I got a call from two directors at the school yesterday requesting that I come in that day to review security footage and discuss an incident involving me. Having no idea what they were referring to I pressed for details and was finally told that they have me on camera going into an empty computer lab that is now missing some iPads, and that they would like to resolve the situation within the school since I am a student but will contact the police if I don't return the stolen tablets. I told them that I don't really care if they call the police because I didn't steal anything and that I am too busy to come in anyway, and that was the end of the conversation. Today, I get a call from an officer who was at the school and apparently had just spoken to these directors and watched the footage. He told me that it was obvious to him from the video that I had left the lab with the iPads tucked under my shirt, and that the school just wants me to return their tablets, and that he will submit the case to the prosecutor's office if I don't. He requested that I come to the police station to speak to him, and I declined, and the conversation ended there. The facts of the story: I stepped out of class to blow my nose, because there is no kleenex in my classroom and I knew from previous experience that the computer lab next door had paper towels available for me to use. I've gone in that lab for that reason maybe 10 times this semester; the doors are always closed but never locked. I don't really know what to do now. I've never been in any legal trouble and I hope it goes without saying that I didn't steal any iPads. I have not seen the footage myself but don't really understand how it can be obvious to a police officer that I was smuggling tablets out of the lab, when I didn't take anything and was wearing an untucked t-shirt and shorts. What should be my next step? What does it sound like will happen next? Assistant: **The police are allowed to lie to you about nonexistent evidence.** "We have you on security tapes walking out with the tablets. Confess and we won't prosecute." "We have two teachers and a priest who witnessed you personally commit that theft. Confess and we won't prosecute." "We have GPS tracking data from the tablets that says they are in your house right now. Confess and we won't prosecute." **Don't speak to the police. Get a lawyer.**

Human: I am being accused of stealing iPads from a computer lab at my community college [MI] I got a call from two directors at the school yesterday requesting that I come in that day to review security footage and discuss an incident involving me. Having no idea what they were referring to I pressed for details and was finally told that they have me on camera going into an empty computer lab that is now missing some iPads, and that they would like to resolve the situation within the school since I am a student but will contact the police if I don't return the stolen tablets. I told them that I don't really care if they call the police because I didn't steal anything and that I am too busy to come in anyway, and that was the end of the conversation. Today, I get a call from an officer who was at the school and apparently had just spoken to these directors and watched the footage. He told me that it was obvious to him from the video that I had left the lab with the iPads tucked under my shirt, and that the school just wants me to return their tablets, and that he will submit the case to the prosecutor's office if I don't. He requested that I come to the police station to speak to him, and I declined, and the conversation ended there. The facts of the story: I stepped out of class to blow my nose, because there is no kleenex in my classroom and I knew from previous experience that the computer lab next door had paper towels available for me to use. I've gone in that lab for that reason maybe 10 times this semester; the doors are always closed but never locked. I don't really know what to do now. I've never been in any legal trouble and I hope it goes without saying that I didn't steal any iPads. I have not seen the footage myself but don't really understand how it can be obvious to a police officer that I was smuggling tablets out of the lab, when I didn't take anything and was wearing an untucked t-shirt and shorts. What should be my next step? What does it sound like will happen next? Assistant: Next step would be to get an attorney, and refuse to speak to the police without that attorney present.

Human: Some weird requests for a laptop purchase I'm going to buy a laptop for 1200 dollars with my dad. The person selling it has requested that we meet in a police station lobby and will only take cash. Is there any way that this can legally go wrong. Assistant: This person is afraid that YOU may scam them. This is a very safe place to exchange.

Human: Some weird requests for a laptop purchase I'm going to buy a laptop for 1200 dollars with my dad. The person selling it has requested that we meet in a police station lobby and will only take cash. Is there any way that this can legally go wrong. Assistant: To avoid getting robbed of a $1.2k laptop, or ripped off with a fraudulent check or bank transfer, this is a pretty common request. Indeed some police departments specifically advertise this service. Of course, you are going to want to thoroughly inspect it before forking over the cash.

Human: My grandmother and I made a small nature area on her property by transplanting many flowers and other plants and letting it grow. The neighbor decided he didn't like that and mowed it all down when she wasn't home, is there anything we can do about this? Assistant: Location is important She can sue him for the cost of recreating that area/garden

Human: My grandmother and I made a small nature area on her property by transplanting many flowers and other plants and letting it grow. The neighbor decided he didn't like that and mowed it all down when she wasn't home, is there anything we can do about this? Assistant: if it is on her property you can sue for damages. but keep in mind that people don't like to be sued, and this might make things even more uncomfortable. Has she tried speaking with the neighbor and explaining it was a project that she and her grandchild were doing together?

Human: My girlfriend went to a lash lift appointment and then needed to go to the hospital, and we can't even get a call back from the owner of the business. She went to her appointment and midway through it became evident to her that the worker did not have proper training for what she needed to do, which was made clear by her asking another worker several times if what she was doing was correct, to which the other worker said "No, you used way too much of the fixing lotion", and in an effort to remove it, she got a bunch of it into my girlfriend's eye. Within the hour after her appointment, she lost vision in that same eye, and had to go to the hospital. She now has a $300 hospital bill to pay on top of the $100 for the appointment, and we can't even get a call back from the owner of the business. We were just looking for a refund on the appointment, didn't even ask for the money for the hospital bill, and we've been met with silence. I'm really just frustrated with the way this has been handled and was curious to know if anyone had any ideas. Thank you! Assistant: Thinking from the business point of view, I’m not surprise they aren’t calling you back. Your girlfriend could have eye damage and future medical bills, and their Refunding the appointment or paying her medical bills could be admission of liability. They may have talked to a lawyer already told them not to say anything to you

Human: My girlfriend went to a lash lift appointment and then needed to go to the hospital, and we can't even get a call back from the owner of the business. She went to her appointment and midway through it became evident to her that the worker did not have proper training for what she needed to do, which was made clear by her asking another worker several times if what she was doing was correct, to which the other worker said "No, you used way too much of the fixing lotion", and in an effort to remove it, she got a bunch of it into my girlfriend's eye. Within the hour after her appointment, she lost vision in that same eye, and had to go to the hospital. She now has a $300 hospital bill to pay on top of the $100 for the appointment, and we can't even get a call back from the owner of the business. We were just looking for a refund on the appointment, didn't even ask for the money for the hospital bill, and we've been met with silence. I'm really just frustrated with the way this has been handled and was curious to know if anyone had any ideas. Thank you! Assistant: Don’t mess around with eyesight. Make sure she sees an optometrist and/or ophthalmologist for a follow-up visit, even if the ED said she didn’t need to.

Human: Major bank denied my fraud/identity theft claim of $9k. So, out all my rent money for next year and essentially being accused of being a felon and committing bank fraud. Everyone told me, including bank reps, not to worry. I'll get my money back. I'm being paranoid. But the worst case scenario has played out into reality. I'm on temporary disability while I'm under the care of a doctor at the VA for PTSD and other rehab. About a month ago now, someone hacked into my online account and did two maximum fund transfers of $3k, so, a total of $6k. I immediately put in a claim and have been waiting. During that time, I was told not to worry and that it couldn't happen again while I waited on my new card. I explained to them it didn't happen with my card, it happened online, in the actual account. I spoke to ten people over multiple calls and hours until someone finally understood what I was saying and they said we need to set up over the phone authentication. We did. Or so I thought. One week later it happened again as soon as the 7 day wait period went by to take out another fund transfer. They were able to somehow change all of my security questions and answers and my email on the account to log in. Again. All while my new card was still in the mail, which I ended up getting the next day. By the time I got that next card it had already been cancelled because of this latest incident. I finally got my newest card yesterday and was able to get the last bit of my funds out of the account to another bank. Today, I was told would be the day a decision should be made by on the first claim. It was, and it was denied. They aren't giving me reason beyond just that they see multiple times my email has changed. Yea...whoever did this changed it multiple times and then I also did change it once I found out that I could with them over the phone out of fear that the person was going to keep doing it. I also logged complaints because none of the reps even told me I can and should change my email with them over the phone while my account was locked due to the open claim. I have dealt with nothing but incompetence over the phone with the reps. They didn't listen to me when I told them a new card wouldn't stop it from happening again. They didn't tell me I can and should change my email with them over the phone until it happened again. Multiple reps didn't ask me my security questions on my calls when I called to check the status, and when I called one of them on it and said "Aren't you supposed to ask me some security questions first?" she said "Hang on, let me check..." and then hung up. I don't know what to do. This is all the money I had saved for rent next year when I get out of the hospital. And now the bank is saying they aren't paying me back and are basically accusing me of being a felon. I'm already a broken man from the PTSD and substance abuse issues and I just can't seem to get any positive traction in life. I'm defeated. Assistant: File a report with the CFPB. I work for a bank. The CFPB is very powerful and scares the hell out of them. Be very clear about the facts and they will investigate.

Human: Major bank denied my fraud/identity theft claim of $9k. So, out all my rent money for next year and essentially being accused of being a felon and committing bank fraud. Everyone told me, including bank reps, not to worry. I'll get my money back. I'm being paranoid. But the worst case scenario has played out into reality. I'm on temporary disability while I'm under the care of a doctor at the VA for PTSD and other rehab. About a month ago now, someone hacked into my online account and did two maximum fund transfers of $3k, so, a total of $6k. I immediately put in a claim and have been waiting. During that time, I was told not to worry and that it couldn't happen again while I waited on my new card. I explained to them it didn't happen with my card, it happened online, in the actual account. I spoke to ten people over multiple calls and hours until someone finally understood what I was saying and they said we need to set up over the phone authentication. We did. Or so I thought. One week later it happened again as soon as the 7 day wait period went by to take out another fund transfer. They were able to somehow change all of my security questions and answers and my email on the account to log in. Again. All while my new card was still in the mail, which I ended up getting the next day. By the time I got that next card it had already been cancelled because of this latest incident. I finally got my newest card yesterday and was able to get the last bit of my funds out of the account to another bank. Today, I was told would be the day a decision should be made by on the first claim. It was, and it was denied. They aren't giving me reason beyond just that they see multiple times my email has changed. Yea...whoever did this changed it multiple times and then I also did change it once I found out that I could with them over the phone out of fear that the person was going to keep doing it. I also logged complaints because none of the reps even told me I can and should change my email with them over the phone while my account was locked due to the open claim. I have dealt with nothing but incompetence over the phone with the reps. They didn't listen to me when I told them a new card wouldn't stop it from happening again. They didn't tell me I can and should change my email with them over the phone until it happened again. Multiple reps didn't ask me my security questions on my calls when I called to check the status, and when I called one of them on it and said "Aren't you supposed to ask me some security questions first?" she said "Hang on, let me check..." and then hung up. I don't know what to do. This is all the money I had saved for rent next year when I get out of the hospital. And now the bank is saying they aren't paying me back and are basically accusing me of being a felon. I'm already a broken man from the PTSD and substance abuse issues and I just can't seem to get any positive traction in life. I'm defeated. Assistant: File a police report. It's shitty, but many banks will just assume you're lying until you tell your story to a police officer and put yourself at risk of going to jail for making a false police report if you're not telling the truth. Once they have the police report number, they should take your claim seriously.

Human: Parents have taken all of the money out of my bank accounts after I moved out in the middle of the night. This week, I moved out of my parents home and went to stay with my grandmother. This move was done without my parents knowledge, but I’m 18 so it was completely legal. However, last night, when I was trying to put gas in my car to get to work, my card declined. I realized that my parents had taken every penny out of my bank account without my knowledge. The total amount saved was about 2000$ and was all money I earned through my job. However, I believe that they have some joint connection to the account. It is a “student” account through PNC bank, so I believe my father is some kind of manager of it. Is there anything I can do to get the money I need to survive back? I reached out to them and they have not responded. (I can clarify anything in the comments, I apologize but I’m a bit in shock right now.) Assistant: In the meantime, open an account at a new bank. Solely in your name. Make sure you inform your employer if you have direct deposit paychecks

Human: Parents have taken all of the money out of my bank accounts after I moved out in the middle of the night. This week, I moved out of my parents home and went to stay with my grandmother. This move was done without my parents knowledge, but I’m 18 so it was completely legal. However, last night, when I was trying to put gas in my car to get to work, my card declined. I realized that my parents had taken every penny out of my bank account without my knowledge. The total amount saved was about 2000$ and was all money I earned through my job. However, I believe that they have some joint connection to the account. It is a “student” account through PNC bank, so I believe my father is some kind of manager of it. Is there anything I can do to get the money I need to survive back? I reached out to them and they have not responded. (I can clarify anything in the comments, I apologize but I’m a bit in shock right now.) Assistant: Someone already said it but if it’s some sort of joint account, there’s not much you can do besides sue them. At that point they essentially have the same right to access the account as you do. If it is not some sort of joint account, you could potentially contact the police and get them charged with theft.

Human: Neighbor’s contractor dumped a giant mound of gravel and dirt on my vegetable garden/flower bush. [IA USA] I own my home, and the house next door is a rental. Our garages both open into an alley. There’s some space between our garages, and even though they’re not fenced off, you can tell by where the rest of our fences end where the cutoff is. In that space, I have a vegetable garden that is clearly delineated by a short brick enclosure. In front of it are flowering peony bushes. Two days ago, I walked outside to find my plants buried under a large mound of dirt and gravel. From the looks of it, it’s clear my neighbor’s landlord was clearing away the gravel in front of the garage to make way for a paved section of ground. I talked first my neighbor (the renter), who said she was also surprised by the unexpected construction work. I finally got ahold of her landlord, who assured me it would be taken care of by the contractor. I contacted the city to confirm my property lines— yes, they did dump on them. I then asked if they got a permit, which they said they did. The permit showed where the property lines are. It’s been two days, and there is no sign of the dirt being removed. Even when it is, my plants are toast. They didn’t cost me much to begin with, since I grew them from seeds, but man am i steamed. What, if anything, should I do? Assistant: Include the cost of your time. The plants may have come from seed, but they didn't make a garden all by themselves.

Human: Neighbor’s contractor dumped a giant mound of gravel and dirt on my vegetable garden/flower bush. [IA USA] I own my home, and the house next door is a rental. Our garages both open into an alley. There’s some space between our garages, and even though they’re not fenced off, you can tell by where the rest of our fences end where the cutoff is. In that space, I have a vegetable garden that is clearly delineated by a short brick enclosure. In front of it are flowering peony bushes. Two days ago, I walked outside to find my plants buried under a large mound of dirt and gravel. From the looks of it, it’s clear my neighbor’s landlord was clearing away the gravel in front of the garage to make way for a paved section of ground. I talked first my neighbor (the renter), who said she was also surprised by the unexpected construction work. I finally got ahold of her landlord, who assured me it would be taken care of by the contractor. I contacted the city to confirm my property lines— yes, they did dump on them. I then asked if they got a permit, which they said they did. The permit showed where the property lines are. It’s been two days, and there is no sign of the dirt being removed. Even when it is, my plants are toast. They didn’t cost me much to begin with, since I grew them from seeds, but man am i steamed. What, if anything, should I do? Assistant: The value of your damages is not the cost of the seeds you paid for. Your damages are the cost to make you whole, bringing you back to where you were they dumped gravel on your plants. If the plants are dead, that means the cost to both BUY and HAVE INSTALLED BY SOMEONE ELSE the same type/size/age/etc of plants you had.

Human: My neighbor falsely believes my disabled BIL was being creepy and I want to protect him This all just happened today, and I haven’t had great luck googling, so I’m posting here to help myself and my husband calm down. My BIL is physically and intellectually disabled, almost completely nonverbal, and lives with my husband and I. Our apartment complex has a small courtyard with some flower beds and a playground. My BIL’s favorite thing to do after work is sit in the courtyard. He doesn’t pay much attention to the kids on the playground (or anybody else in the complex)—he'll say hi if they do, but that’s it, he’s not chatty—but he really likes the flower beds. He takes a bunch of pictures on his phone of them almost every day (we have an evening routine that includes picking one or two and deleting the rest so his phone can keep any storage space, lol). Today when I went out to get him to tell him dinner was ready, and a woman I’ve seen around but never met before came over to me. She asked me if/how I knew my BIL, and when I answered, she told me he’d been filming her daughters. I was super taken aback, and said I was almost certain there was a misunderstanding and that he was taking pictures of the flowerbeds/garden, maybe even the trees. If her daughters were in the pictures, it was probably accidental, and I said we could look at his phone together and delete any she didn't want him to keep. She said she'd seen him “filming” her kids before, multiple times, and that as soon as she got home she was calling the police. She told me she only stayed as long as she did to make sure he didn't "try anything" with other kids (?!). Look: I will be the first to admit my BIL lacks the capacity to make the best social decisions or understand how he comes off to strangers (he doesn’t “look” disabled, and he has definitely accidentally freaked people out before just because he’s very tall and quiet and doesn’t have really any social skills). But I go through his phone most nights (if I don’t, my husband does), and we’d know if he were filming or photographing children on the playground. He isn’t. I tried to explain this to my neighbor but she left. I did go through my BIL’s phone right after, and it was just the usual flower/tree pics. The back of one girl’s head was in one photo, in the corner. I asked him if he meant to take a picture of her and he told me he meant to take a picture of the tree. I have no idea if this will blow over, or what. My husband is having a lot of anxiety about it, and I won’t lie, I’m kind of stressed too—again, I know my BIL didn’t intend any harm, and I know this woman is almost certainly just a well-meaning mom who didn’t know what my BIL was doing, but I don’t want this to become a “thing.” Are there any steps I should take to ensure my BIL is protected and this all goes smoothly, or should I want to see if anything even happens? We're in New York state. (This is my very first time posting, I hope I flaired it okay/included all the necessary information!) Assistant: There's no expectation of privacy in a publicly accessible courtyard. It's crap like this that has caused me to largely abandon photography as a hobby.

Human: My neighbor falsely believes my disabled BIL was being creepy and I want to protect him This all just happened today, and I haven’t had great luck googling, so I’m posting here to help myself and my husband calm down. My BIL is physically and intellectually disabled, almost completely nonverbal, and lives with my husband and I. Our apartment complex has a small courtyard with some flower beds and a playground. My BIL’s favorite thing to do after work is sit in the courtyard. He doesn’t pay much attention to the kids on the playground (or anybody else in the complex)—he'll say hi if they do, but that’s it, he’s not chatty—but he really likes the flower beds. He takes a bunch of pictures on his phone of them almost every day (we have an evening routine that includes picking one or two and deleting the rest so his phone can keep any storage space, lol). Today when I went out to get him to tell him dinner was ready, and a woman I’ve seen around but never met before came over to me. She asked me if/how I knew my BIL, and when I answered, she told me he’d been filming her daughters. I was super taken aback, and said I was almost certain there was a misunderstanding and that he was taking pictures of the flowerbeds/garden, maybe even the trees. If her daughters were in the pictures, it was probably accidental, and I said we could look at his phone together and delete any she didn't want him to keep. She said she'd seen him “filming” her kids before, multiple times, and that as soon as she got home she was calling the police. She told me she only stayed as long as she did to make sure he didn't "try anything" with other kids (?!). Look: I will be the first to admit my BIL lacks the capacity to make the best social decisions or understand how he comes off to strangers (he doesn’t “look” disabled, and he has definitely accidentally freaked people out before just because he’s very tall and quiet and doesn’t have really any social skills). But I go through his phone most nights (if I don’t, my husband does), and we’d know if he were filming or photographing children on the playground. He isn’t. I tried to explain this to my neighbor but she left. I did go through my BIL’s phone right after, and it was just the usual flower/tree pics. The back of one girl’s head was in one photo, in the corner. I asked him if he meant to take a picture of her and he told me he meant to take a picture of the tree. I have no idea if this will blow over, or what. My husband is having a lot of anxiety about it, and I won’t lie, I’m kind of stressed too—again, I know my BIL didn’t intend any harm, and I know this woman is almost certainly just a well-meaning mom who didn’t know what my BIL was doing, but I don’t want this to become a “thing.” Are there any steps I should take to ensure my BIL is protected and this all goes smoothly, or should I want to see if anything even happens? We're in New York state. (This is my very first time posting, I hope I flaired it okay/included all the necessary information!) Assistant: Even if he was filming their kids it's not illegal. I'd ignore her going forwards and if the police show up it's up to you how to proceed. You can tell them to pound sand and not talk to them or you can try to explain. I'd personally tell them to stop contacting you about this as photography in public is legal.

Human: What can I do to make my neighbor stop falsely telling people I'm a pedophile? For a bit of background I'm in Nova Scotia, 28 years old and married to my wife who is 24 years old. She is very petite and has a face that makes her look young but she is certainly 24. I looked online and the best description I can give is that she looks a bit like Miranda Cosgrove except younger looking. Basically what happened is that I moved to my best-friend's hometown to open a business that they needed with him. We have just started and things are looking good except that my neighbour is telling people that I'm a pedophile. This has resulted in me having to show my wife's ID to some customers so they know I'm not some sort of pervert. I had a client tell me that the person who told him I was a pedophile was my neighbour (he gave her name). I'm also sure it's her because I leave for work at 6 am which is the same time my wife goes out for a run, and we always kiss goodbye as I get in my truck. The only other person up at that time is my next door neighbour who walks her dogs then. She never says hello and gives us nasty looks which I never understood until the rumors started. This is something that is a huge issue for me because where I live is small enough for people to know each other and if I get known as a pedophile our business will be done. I haven't ever been in trouble with the law and when me and my wife tried to show the neighbour her ID and explain she wouldn't answer the door. I brought this to the attention to the local police who talked to her but I'm still getting people looking at me with anger and our business is losing customers. Whenever I do talk to someone who seems angry with me and prove to them that I'm not who they think I am they keep either telling me that the neighbour told them or that they heard it from someone else. The police have been nice enough to keep going back to her place but I don't know what else I can do. I wanted to go to a lawyer but if she is willing to ignore what the cops say would she really listen to a letter from a lawyer? I'm at the point where I'm just wondering if I should sue her for slander. What else can I do? She won't talk to me and she won't listen to the cops. Can I, or should I sue? What should I do at this point? Assistant: Sue for defamation.

Human: What can I do to make my neighbor stop falsely telling people I'm a pedophile? For a bit of background I'm in Nova Scotia, 28 years old and married to my wife who is 24 years old. She is very petite and has a face that makes her look young but she is certainly 24. I looked online and the best description I can give is that she looks a bit like Miranda Cosgrove except younger looking. Basically what happened is that I moved to my best-friend's hometown to open a business that they needed with him. We have just started and things are looking good except that my neighbour is telling people that I'm a pedophile. This has resulted in me having to show my wife's ID to some customers so they know I'm not some sort of pervert. I had a client tell me that the person who told him I was a pedophile was my neighbour (he gave her name). I'm also sure it's her because I leave for work at 6 am which is the same time my wife goes out for a run, and we always kiss goodbye as I get in my truck. The only other person up at that time is my next door neighbour who walks her dogs then. She never says hello and gives us nasty looks which I never understood until the rumors started. This is something that is a huge issue for me because where I live is small enough for people to know each other and if I get known as a pedophile our business will be done. I haven't ever been in trouble with the law and when me and my wife tried to show the neighbour her ID and explain she wouldn't answer the door. I brought this to the attention to the local police who talked to her but I'm still getting people looking at me with anger and our business is losing customers. Whenever I do talk to someone who seems angry with me and prove to them that I'm not who they think I am they keep either telling me that the neighbour told them or that they heard it from someone else. The police have been nice enough to keep going back to her place but I don't know what else I can do. I wanted to go to a lawyer but if she is willing to ignore what the cops say would she really listen to a letter from a lawyer? I'm at the point where I'm just wondering if I should sue her for slander. What else can I do? She won't talk to me and she won't listen to the cops. Can I, or should I sue? What should I do at this point? Assistant: Ouch, small town Nova Scotia. It might already be too late. I would honestly go full out on this. You tried small steps and they didn't work. Normally you have to prove damages in a defamation case (and you probably could, with the business and all), but this falls under two categories of defamation per se: accusations of criminal conduct, and accusations of sexual deviancy. So you can win without proving damages.

Human: Bank refusing to return a large wire transfer which was deposited to the wrong account I wired a large amount of money from my account to a family member's account (the intended account is also part of the same large US bank so it's effectively an internal transfer). I used the wrong account number but the correct family member's name. The wire was deposited to the (wrong) account and this beneficiary has refused to return it when the bank requested my money back. The bank says I have no recourse and they won't divulge the details of the beneficiary they say that's protected information. I don't know if there is anything I can do in this position? Pretty desperate. Assistant: Unfortunately the only thing available is to get a lawyer and get the money back through legal means, as the bank said, fedwire or wire transactions (not sure if this was internally routed or if it went through fedwire) cannot be reversed without the recipients consent and unfortunately they most likely have a policy stopping then from giving you their info.

Human: Bank refusing to return a large wire transfer which was deposited to the wrong account I wired a large amount of money from my account to a family member's account (the intended account is also part of the same large US bank so it's effectively an internal transfer). I used the wrong account number but the correct family member's name. The wire was deposited to the (wrong) account and this beneficiary has refused to return it when the bank requested my money back. The bank says I have no recourse and they won't divulge the details of the beneficiary they say that's protected information. I don't know if there is anything I can do in this position? Pretty desperate. Assistant: Talk to a lawyer

Human: Fertility Dr. is charging us for her own mistake. (U.S.) My wife and I are doing invitro fertilization in the U.S. with a fertility doctor. In January 2022, the Dr. told my wife she has a mis-shaped uterus and recommended a surgery to correct it. This surgery was not required, the Dr. said, but recommended because the shape of my wife's uterus could cause complications in child birth. My wife had the surgery done in Feb. 2022, performed by the fertility Dr. Fast forward nine months later to today. We have spent an additional \~$20k on the IVF process. It came time to implant the embryos and the Dr. just informed us that the surgery she performed correcting the shape of my wife's uterus didn't completely fix it and she needs to do it again. She now wants to charge us to do the surgery again is not willing to move forward with the IVF process until it is done. The Dr. wants to do the surgery at a surgery center where we would have to pay cash. The surgery would not be covered by insurance at this surgery center. We keep trying to get the surgery scheduled at a hospital so insurance will cover it, but the Dr. is making that difficult. She really wants to do it at this surgery center where we will have to pay cash. In my opinion, the Dr. should do the surgery for free. We already paid to have it done once, she didn't do it correctly, and now we're being held in a position where the $20k we've spent so far goes to nothing if we don't pay the Dr. again to do the surgery. Do I have any recourse here? Assistant: Please seek a second opinion

Human: Fertility Dr. is charging us for her own mistake. (U.S.) My wife and I are doing invitro fertilization in the U.S. with a fertility doctor. In January 2022, the Dr. told my wife she has a mis-shaped uterus and recommended a surgery to correct it. This surgery was not required, the Dr. said, but recommended because the shape of my wife's uterus could cause complications in child birth. My wife had the surgery done in Feb. 2022, performed by the fertility Dr. Fast forward nine months later to today. We have spent an additional \~$20k on the IVF process. It came time to implant the embryos and the Dr. just informed us that the surgery she performed correcting the shape of my wife's uterus didn't completely fix it and she needs to do it again. She now wants to charge us to do the surgery again is not willing to move forward with the IVF process until it is done. The Dr. wants to do the surgery at a surgery center where we would have to pay cash. The surgery would not be covered by insurance at this surgery center. We keep trying to get the surgery scheduled at a hospital so insurance will cover it, but the Dr. is making that difficult. She really wants to do it at this surgery center where we will have to pay cash. In my opinion, the Dr. should do the surgery for free. We already paid to have it done once, she didn't do it correctly, and now we're being held in a position where the $20k we've spent so far goes to nothing if we don't pay the Dr. again to do the surgery. Do I have any recourse here? Assistant: Do you have any reason to believe that the doctor "didn't do it correctly" other than that it wasn't successful? All surgeries entail risk, and it's possible for a doctor to do everything "correct" but for the surgery to fail to bring the intended result. In that case, you paid for *the surgery*, not the intended result, so you wouldn't be entitled to her doing "the surgery for free".

Human: Is it legal for my employer to ask me, and only me, to change my hair color? [Texas] I have had blonde hair for 1 and 1/2 of the 2 years that I have been employed by my company. Today a supervisor told me that my hair color was inappropriate, and that I would not be allowed to return to work until I changed it. This caught me by surprise because our official policy vaguely says “no unnatural hair colors” which I, and many others interpreted to mean no colors such as blue, pink, green etc. I have many coworkers who have dyed their hair blonde and other various shades of naturally occurring colors with no issue. The only difference I can see between me and my other coworkers is that they are all white and I am African American (female). My company employee makeup is about 99.5% white, (I did the math), and I can’t help but feel there is racial undertones to why it is inappropriate for me to have blonde hair, but not others. My response to my supervisor was that I was unaware my hair color choice was inappropriate, and I asked why I had never received any sort of notice that it was inappropriate in the 1+ year of having the hair color. My supervisor did not acknowledge my response, and said that I would have to dye my hair to a “naturally dark” shade before being allowed to return to work. I did not want to misinterpret what she said, and so I asked for photos of acceptable hair color for clarification which I am still waiting to receive from her. She said she would need to discuss an appropriate hair color for me with her boss before she got back with me. Her boss is a white woman with naturally dark hair who bleaches her hair to a similar shade of blonde as I do. I also would like to add that in my time with this company I have never had any disciplinary actions taken against me, and I was under the impression - up until this point - that I was in very good standing with my company. Assistant: Everything in writing, follow up every phone call and in person meeting in an email describing the interaction, basically act as if they haven’t committed to anything they haven’t put in writing. Keep asking why whatever adjective they use to describe appropriate hair color does not apply to you and your hair color.

Human: Is it legal for my employer to ask me, and only me, to change my hair color? [Texas] I have had blonde hair for 1 and 1/2 of the 2 years that I have been employed by my company. Today a supervisor told me that my hair color was inappropriate, and that I would not be allowed to return to work until I changed it. This caught me by surprise because our official policy vaguely says “no unnatural hair colors” which I, and many others interpreted to mean no colors such as blue, pink, green etc. I have many coworkers who have dyed their hair blonde and other various shades of naturally occurring colors with no issue. The only difference I can see between me and my other coworkers is that they are all white and I am African American (female). My company employee makeup is about 99.5% white, (I did the math), and I can’t help but feel there is racial undertones to why it is inappropriate for me to have blonde hair, but not others. My response to my supervisor was that I was unaware my hair color choice was inappropriate, and I asked why I had never received any sort of notice that it was inappropriate in the 1+ year of having the hair color. My supervisor did not acknowledge my response, and said that I would have to dye my hair to a “naturally dark” shade before being allowed to return to work. I did not want to misinterpret what she said, and so I asked for photos of acceptable hair color for clarification which I am still waiting to receive from her. She said she would need to discuss an appropriate hair color for me with her boss before she got back with me. Her boss is a white woman with naturally dark hair who bleaches her hair to a similar shade of blonde as I do. I also would like to add that in my time with this company I have never had any disciplinary actions taken against me, and I was under the impression - up until this point - that I was in very good standing with my company. Assistant: This is sticky. You should ask HR directly for clarification. Let them know what’s going on.

Human: [Florida] Police officer came to my house saying a neighbor identified me damaging city property Throwaway, sorry if this doesn’t belong here. Please let me know if anything is amiss and I will update/delete the post. About a month ago, city contractors came by and put up a huge, 2 post construction sign at the edge of my neighbor’s lawn - one of those “Road Construction Ahead” type of orange diamond traffic signs. After about 3-4 days, it was taken down by somebody (assuming it wasn’t the city). About 3-4 days afterwards, a new sign was put back up in its place. These neighbors live behind me. My backyard faces a street that houses a row of houses, with their front lawns facing my back lawn. Fast forward to today and I’m in my driveway cleaning out my car. A police officer pulls up, asks to see my ID, what I’m doing, and if my backyard connects to the street the sign was put up. I explain that it does. He then proceeds to ask me about the sign, specifically saying “Why’d you do it?” I asked him to explain, and he said “the sign isn’t even in your yard, why would you take it down?” I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, that the sign was up, then down, then up again. He went on to tell me that a neighbor (he didn’t specify which neighbor) said he could specifically identify me out of a lineup. I told the officer that perhaps the neighbor was mistaken, or perhaps there’s something else going on as I am the only renter in the neighborhood, which has caused some of my neighbors to get miffed (no clue why, but they seem to take issue with it). Before the officer left my driveway he said he would have to follow up with the neighbor for another description of the person who took the sign down. I didn’t say much of anything to the officer, but after he left I started getting a bit worried/anxious. Do I have anything to be concerned about? Do I need to sit down with an attorney? I already have a fear of police and do not trust many of them (I know that one bad apple doesn’t spoil the bag, but I am wary of the entire institution). Basically, do I need to be concerned? And if so, what should I do? Assistant: The cop was lying. There's no neighbors IDing you. He was hoping you'd confess like a dumbass. Don't talk to police. Refuse to answer questions.

Human: [Florida] Police officer came to my house saying a neighbor identified me damaging city property Throwaway, sorry if this doesn’t belong here. Please let me know if anything is amiss and I will update/delete the post. About a month ago, city contractors came by and put up a huge, 2 post construction sign at the edge of my neighbor’s lawn - one of those “Road Construction Ahead” type of orange diamond traffic signs. After about 3-4 days, it was taken down by somebody (assuming it wasn’t the city). About 3-4 days afterwards, a new sign was put back up in its place. These neighbors live behind me. My backyard faces a street that houses a row of houses, with their front lawns facing my back lawn. Fast forward to today and I’m in my driveway cleaning out my car. A police officer pulls up, asks to see my ID, what I’m doing, and if my backyard connects to the street the sign was put up. I explain that it does. He then proceeds to ask me about the sign, specifically saying “Why’d you do it?” I asked him to explain, and he said “the sign isn’t even in your yard, why would you take it down?” I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, that the sign was up, then down, then up again. He went on to tell me that a neighbor (he didn’t specify which neighbor) said he could specifically identify me out of a lineup. I told the officer that perhaps the neighbor was mistaken, or perhaps there’s something else going on as I am the only renter in the neighborhood, which has caused some of my neighbors to get miffed (no clue why, but they seem to take issue with it). Before the officer left my driveway he said he would have to follow up with the neighbor for another description of the person who took the sign down. I didn’t say much of anything to the officer, but after he left I started getting a bit worried/anxious. Do I have anything to be concerned about? Do I need to sit down with an attorney? I already have a fear of police and do not trust many of them (I know that one bad apple doesn’t spoil the bag, but I am wary of the entire institution). Basically, do I need to be concerned? And if so, what should I do? Assistant: > (I know that one bad apple doesn’t spoil the bag, but I am wary of the entire institution) Just commenting to say that you seem to be mistaken; the saying is precisely that "one bad apple *does* spoil the [bag|bunch|barrel]," and the saying is indeed applicable to the institution of law enforcement in the US, despite what people try to say.

Human: Mother wants my older brother to move in my house which I do not agree to Sorry if there's bad grammar, English is my second language. The house, in Texas where my mother and I lived, is currently under my name, my mother did help with the down payment, but ultimately only my name is under the house. My brother is apparently struggling ( I do not have empathy for his situation because his past made me hold a deep grudge against him), and my mother wants him to move in with us. I express my displeasure and continuously said "NO. I do not want to live under the same roof with that man". She still express an interest in letting him move in with us even after all the conversations we had. What can I do to prevent him from moving in? thank you Assistant: You need to have a direct conversation with your mother about how she lives in the house as your tenant and you can evict her if it’s not working out. Her inviting your unwanted brother into the house would be a reason for you to start the eviction process on her. Don’t mince words. If this is important to you, set a firm boundary.

Human: Mother wants my older brother to move in my house which I do not agree to Sorry if there's bad grammar, English is my second language. The house, in Texas where my mother and I lived, is currently under my name, my mother did help with the down payment, but ultimately only my name is under the house. My brother is apparently struggling ( I do not have empathy for his situation because his past made me hold a deep grudge against him), and my mother wants him to move in with us. I express my displeasure and continuously said "NO. I do not want to live under the same roof with that man". She still express an interest in letting him move in with us even after all the conversations we had. What can I do to prevent him from moving in? thank you Assistant: Info: Is your mom still living with you? If so, she would be able to invite him over

Human: Got injured at work, boss wants to pay for the X-ray out of pocket and bypass workers comp- is this insurance fraud? In CT: yesterday I (25) hurt my hand at work, it wasn’t bad at first but overnight it swelled and bruises appeared. I didn’t report it to the office right away because it seemed minor, just informed my direct field supervisor. Today it was worse so I called my doctor and they advised an X-ray, which I scheduled. I then told the office/upper management and asked what the policy was for being injured at work. They offered to write me a check for the cost of the X-ray and not report to workers comp. I told my parents this, as I am on their insurance. My mom called her lawyer and her friends that work in insurance and now believes my boss is trying to commit insurance fraud. She is worried if I accept the check and not go through workers comp then she might get in trouble for fraud as she in the primary holder. Is this fraud? If so, What is the likely hood of the insurance company finding out and going after those involved? Thanks Assistant: I handle comp cases (not your attorney, probably not your state). It's not fraud, but it doesn't help you if you ultimately need more treatment or disability benefits.

Human: Got injured at work, boss wants to pay for the X-ray out of pocket and bypass workers comp- is this insurance fraud? In CT: yesterday I (25) hurt my hand at work, it wasn’t bad at first but overnight it swelled and bruises appeared. I didn’t report it to the office right away because it seemed minor, just informed my direct field supervisor. Today it was worse so I called my doctor and they advised an X-ray, which I scheduled. I then told the office/upper management and asked what the policy was for being injured at work. They offered to write me a check for the cost of the X-ray and not report to workers comp. I told my parents this, as I am on their insurance. My mom called her lawyer and her friends that work in insurance and now believes my boss is trying to commit insurance fraud. She is worried if I accept the check and not go through workers comp then she might get in trouble for fraud as she in the primary holder. Is this fraud? If so, What is the likely hood of the insurance company finding out and going after those involved? Thanks Assistant: Not on the part of the employer. They (and you) aren't required to go through workers' compensation for on the job injuries. Workers' compensation protects the employer. However, you do need to let your primary insurance company know that you were injured on the job so that they can subrogate any costs that they pay to the employer's insurance company.

Human: Late dad’s girlfriend won’t leave house. What are my options? Hello all. To make this short, my(26)father passed away and left his home to me under his will. In this house, we used to live as 4. My dad, his girlfriend, her son, and me. She’s been living here for about 5 years, but I do not have a good relationship with her as I have never had a liking to her. (Destroyed my late mother’s property when she moved in) I want her out, but she is refusing saying I can’t because she is a resident here now and her son is also in her care. What are my options to get her out? I don’t know the situation arrangement of how my late father and her split the bills previously, but since it is under my name now, that shouldn’t matter right? Thank you for your advice and I really do appreciate it and looking for help and guidance.. Assistant: Has the property gone through probate and the title changed to your name? If so, you can evict her following the laws of your state. Until then the house is owned by the estate, not you.

Human: Late dad’s girlfriend won’t leave house. What are my options? Hello all. To make this short, my(26)father passed away and left his home to me under his will. In this house, we used to live as 4. My dad, his girlfriend, her son, and me. She’s been living here for about 5 years, but I do not have a good relationship with her as I have never had a liking to her. (Destroyed my late mother’s property when she moved in) I want her out, but she is refusing saying I can’t because she is a resident here now and her son is also in her care. What are my options to get her out? I don’t know the situation arrangement of how my late father and her split the bills previously, but since it is under my name now, that shouldn’t matter right? Thank you for your advice and I really do appreciate it and looking for help and guidance.. Assistant: You need to formally evict them under the laws of your state and city. You can’t just kick them to the curb, this is their home and they are legally entitled to proper notice of eviction in order to make the proper arrangements in finding new housing.

Human: (NY) Coworker attempting to frame me for sexual harassment so he can get my promotion. I work in an office setting. Recently a manager position opened up that I was a great fit for. A coworker was a similarly good fit, but I was confident that I would get it. I have more experience and have been here longer. Unfortunately, before a decision could be made there was a sexual harassment event. A female worker found a large *sex toy* in her drawer in the morning. When I heard the news I knew it would cost me the promotion and maybe my job. The issue was, many years ago when I first started, I had put a similar sex toy in a woman’s drawer as a prank. I got in big trouble and learned my lesson. Everyone knows that it was me, including my rival. I think he staged the new sex toy so everyone would assume it was me again. Walk me through my options. Assistant: Does your office have surveillance cameras?

Human: (NY) Coworker attempting to frame me for sexual harassment so he can get my promotion. I work in an office setting. Recently a manager position opened up that I was a great fit for. A coworker was a similarly good fit, but I was confident that I would get it. I have more experience and have been here longer. Unfortunately, before a decision could be made there was a sexual harassment event. A female worker found a large *sex toy* in her drawer in the morning. When I heard the news I knew it would cost me the promotion and maybe my job. The issue was, many years ago when I first started, I had put a similar sex toy in a woman’s drawer as a prank. I got in big trouble and learned my lesson. Everyone knows that it was me, including my rival. I think he staged the new sex toy so everyone would assume it was me again. Walk me through my options. Assistant: Go back in time and don’t do it the first time. If a time machine is not available, it might be time to look for a new job without that in your history. There are certain things that paint people in a particular light no matter how hard they work to change their image, and this is an ugly reminder that you *did* do it once, even if you are innocent this time.

Human: Severe accident caused by drunk driver, could have been prevented by Brevard County Sheriff (FL) Last night, I was rear ended by a drunk driver who fled the scene of the accident. During the hour or so I waited for police to locate him, I heard the county Sheriff telling another officer that he’d spoken with the man earlier that night and told him “not to drive.” After calling and speaking with the State Trooper who had arrived on scene of the wreck, I asked for closure on the incident and inquired as to why the drunk driver was not charged with a DUI in court today. During the phone call with the Trooper, he informed me that the county Sheriff had been called to the man’s residence prior for domestic battery. While the police were there, they determined the man was extremely intoxicated and advised him not to drive that evening. Well, he drove anyways and would have killed my spouse, my dog, and myself if it weren’t for the fact we were driving a tank of a truck. So here’s the kicker, our drunk friend was awaiting trial and already on probation (he’s a real piece of work with multiple felony charges). The State Trooper informed that him being intoxicated means the officers should have arrested him on the spot. If their job had been done correctly, my truck wouldn’t be totaled and my family wouldn’t be experiencing severe pain. However, when making a call to the County Sheriff who had responded to the battery call, he informed me that there was “no probable cause” and therefore he didn’t make an arrest. So my question Reddit dwellers is: What legal actions can I take from here? I feel as though the Brevard County Sheriff’s Department failed and it’s directly effected me financially, physically, and emotionally. Assistant: Read up on Castle Rock v Gonzales. Much clearer pattern that law enforcement failing to enforce the law caused direct damage. Court ruled that there's no obligation there to a citizen. Even if he got in his car and drove away in plain view of the officers and they opted to drive away instead of pull him over, they're not liable for any harm he causes. You have no right to be protected from crime by police. If they fail to do so, there is no right they've violated.

Human: Severe accident caused by drunk driver, could have been prevented by Brevard County Sheriff (FL) Last night, I was rear ended by a drunk driver who fled the scene of the accident. During the hour or so I waited for police to locate him, I heard the county Sheriff telling another officer that he’d spoken with the man earlier that night and told him “not to drive.” After calling and speaking with the State Trooper who had arrived on scene of the wreck, I asked for closure on the incident and inquired as to why the drunk driver was not charged with a DUI in court today. During the phone call with the Trooper, he informed me that the county Sheriff had been called to the man’s residence prior for domestic battery. While the police were there, they determined the man was extremely intoxicated and advised him not to drive that evening. Well, he drove anyways and would have killed my spouse, my dog, and myself if it weren’t for the fact we were driving a tank of a truck. So here’s the kicker, our drunk friend was awaiting trial and already on probation (he’s a real piece of work with multiple felony charges). The State Trooper informed that him being intoxicated means the officers should have arrested him on the spot. If their job had been done correctly, my truck wouldn’t be totaled and my family wouldn’t be experiencing severe pain. However, when making a call to the County Sheriff who had responded to the battery call, he informed me that there was “no probable cause” and therefore he didn’t make an arrest. So my question Reddit dwellers is: What legal actions can I take from here? I feel as though the Brevard County Sheriff’s Department failed and it’s directly effected me financially, physically, and emotionally. Assistant: He wasn’t driving. If there was no probable cause as to the DV they couldn’t arrest him only for being drunk at home. Were they supposed to sit there all night and make sure he didn’t drive? You’ve got no case.

Human: I have sunbathed nude on my patio for 25 years, thanks to an 8-foot privacy fence, and trees that go even higher. The 1-story house next to me was demolished, and replaced with a 2-story house that has several upstairs windows facing my nude sunbathing area. What are my options? (Lee County, FL). I have enjoyed nude sunbathing on my patio for 25 years, thanks to an 8-foot privacy fence, and trees that go even higher. Recently, the 1-story house next to me was demolished, and replaced with a 2-story house that has several windows with a direct line of sight to my nude sunbathing area. 1. If I continue my nude sunbathing and am seen, is this illegal? They're the ones who built windows looking over my fence. 2. For the sake of my own privacy, can I force them to pay for installing trees or shades to block the view? Why should I have to pay for thirty foot tall trees when they're the ones who built the house? Thanks! Assistant: I am not a lawyer Public nudity is not per say illegal in Florida. It requires lewd acts to accompany the nudity, for criminal indecent exposure. Not that your own private back yard is considered public even if it can be seen from public property. So a higher burden exists as well. But no there is no general cause of action that can allow you to force them to give you privacy.

Human: I have sunbathed nude on my patio for 25 years, thanks to an 8-foot privacy fence, and trees that go even higher. The 1-story house next to me was demolished, and replaced with a 2-story house that has several upstairs windows facing my nude sunbathing area. What are my options? (Lee County, FL). I have enjoyed nude sunbathing on my patio for 25 years, thanks to an 8-foot privacy fence, and trees that go even higher. Recently, the 1-story house next to me was demolished, and replaced with a 2-story house that has several windows with a direct line of sight to my nude sunbathing area. 1. If I continue my nude sunbathing and am seen, is this illegal? They're the ones who built windows looking over my fence. 2. For the sake of my own privacy, can I force them to pay for installing trees or shades to block the view? Why should I have to pay for thirty foot tall trees when they're the ones who built the house? Thanks! Assistant: I can't answer number 1 but for number 2, it's absurd to think you can force them to put up shades or plant trees to give you privacy so you can go nude.

Human: Mother is actively trying to get me committed, she thinks she can cash out my life insurance. So, I'll start off here by saying that I do have an alcohol problem. I have gone to a rehabilitation hospital, and I have a sponsor and I'm completing the steps. I've just had a few bumps along the way. When I began my job here in downtown Chicago, I had been going through the process of moving in with my then girlfriend. Our rent is high, but we took what was available in the small town we live in. We eventually broke up amicably, and parted ways. She however left me on the lease, and moved out. This overnight left me with an additional $600 or so in debt, at least. One thing led to another and I sought treatment but that meant missing out on work. I also was very good at my job and loved it there. So work eventually let me go, because I ran out of FMLA time. I did try and work with them, but ended up getting evicted and that really triggered my habit. My mother had gotten a benefits package from my work when I started. (And she opened my mail.) She was listed as a beneficiary to all my disability benefits, including life insurance. So one day, she decided to start gathering documentation. She told my ex girlfriend who had moved out that she wanted me declared disabled. The motivation on her part is monetary only. She actually has been virtually unsupportive of me and my road to recovery. (I understand this is not how things work, she can't cash out on me somehow.) But here we are. I know she's been talking to an attorney and on my latest trip to the hospital for treatment she "petitioned me." which was pretty much them putting me in a room when I asked to leave. I've talked to the social worker that night and she found no reason to keep me. Since then I've decided to go back to rehab to get better. In the meantime, I moved back in with my mom and dad. - My dad has been very supportive. Today when helping me move, she mentioned that she wants me to "sign contracts" before I can stay. I also want to mention, that this isn't the first time she's done things to have me put away. I had talked to a psychiatrist about it who said my best bet is to get an order of protection. So here I am, trying to seek help, trying to recover and I mentioned I'd like to visit the same hospital where I had gotten my inpatient and outpatient treatment. She said that "I may not get to choose." and I'm going to do what my attorney said. I am a fully functioning adult. Today, she told me I shouldn't call my sponsor to talk. My dad thought that she was right somehow and agreed. I'm not sure this is the best environment, but if I leave- there's a possibility I'll either be homeless, or somewhere that I'm far away from the opportunity to work. What would be the best way to approach this. I don't want to burn a bridge with her, and she's done some really serious things that concern me. Example, on a hot summer night I slept in the nude. She took pictures, and sent them to my ex girlfriends. (They were not welcome.) I'm worried about my safety. I also know with the correct support and treatment, I'll be okay. But her negativity is not something I can tolerate for long. Also, my ex girlfriend is out of state, finishing school. She's a psych major, so she knows how to support me. My mom had contacted her, and accused of her of being an enabler and even went to far as to say she gave me pills? It was regular blood pressure medication I had on the counter. It's getting to the point with my mom where she's attempting to control me. I'm 32 years old with a very treatable problem. I know it comes off as "a protective mom." but I've had different people, from police to firefighters that told me to stay away from her. Legally, what can happen- what do I do? What would be the best approach? &#x200B; &#x200B; Assistant: Its time to talk to the police. Sending nudes without permission is a crime in most areas, nowadays. Also, taking pictures of someone nude is a different crime. Your mother needs to be behind bars. Don't eat anything she feeds you.

Human: Mother is actively trying to get me committed, she thinks she can cash out my life insurance. So, I'll start off here by saying that I do have an alcohol problem. I have gone to a rehabilitation hospital, and I have a sponsor and I'm completing the steps. I've just had a few bumps along the way. When I began my job here in downtown Chicago, I had been going through the process of moving in with my then girlfriend. Our rent is high, but we took what was available in the small town we live in. We eventually broke up amicably, and parted ways. She however left me on the lease, and moved out. This overnight left me with an additional $600 or so in debt, at least. One thing led to another and I sought treatment but that meant missing out on work. I also was very good at my job and loved it there. So work eventually let me go, because I ran out of FMLA time. I did try and work with them, but ended up getting evicted and that really triggered my habit. My mother had gotten a benefits package from my work when I started. (And she opened my mail.) She was listed as a beneficiary to all my disability benefits, including life insurance. So one day, she decided to start gathering documentation. She told my ex girlfriend who had moved out that she wanted me declared disabled. The motivation on her part is monetary only. She actually has been virtually unsupportive of me and my road to recovery. (I understand this is not how things work, she can't cash out on me somehow.) But here we are. I know she's been talking to an attorney and on my latest trip to the hospital for treatment she "petitioned me." which was pretty much them putting me in a room when I asked to leave. I've talked to the social worker that night and she found no reason to keep me. Since then I've decided to go back to rehab to get better. In the meantime, I moved back in with my mom and dad. - My dad has been very supportive. Today when helping me move, she mentioned that she wants me to "sign contracts" before I can stay. I also want to mention, that this isn't the first time she's done things to have me put away. I had talked to a psychiatrist about it who said my best bet is to get an order of protection. So here I am, trying to seek help, trying to recover and I mentioned I'd like to visit the same hospital where I had gotten my inpatient and outpatient treatment. She said that "I may not get to choose." and I'm going to do what my attorney said. I am a fully functioning adult. Today, she told me I shouldn't call my sponsor to talk. My dad thought that she was right somehow and agreed. I'm not sure this is the best environment, but if I leave- there's a possibility I'll either be homeless, or somewhere that I'm far away from the opportunity to work. What would be the best way to approach this. I don't want to burn a bridge with her, and she's done some really serious things that concern me. Example, on a hot summer night I slept in the nude. She took pictures, and sent them to my ex girlfriends. (They were not welcome.) I'm worried about my safety. I also know with the correct support and treatment, I'll be okay. But her negativity is not something I can tolerate for long. Also, my ex girlfriend is out of state, finishing school. She's a psych major, so she knows how to support me. My mom had contacted her, and accused of her of being an enabler and even went to far as to say she gave me pills? It was regular blood pressure medication I had on the counter. It's getting to the point with my mom where she's attempting to control me. I'm 32 years old with a very treatable problem. I know it comes off as "a protective mom." but I've had different people, from police to firefighters that told me to stay away from her. Legally, what can happen- what do I do? What would be the best approach? &#x200B; &#x200B; Assistant: Remove her from benefits and leave her ass behind. Should be fine with most of this unless you are under 18 lol other wise just kick her off your stuff and move out. Dont live under her name take any help or anything at all from her.

Human: I got a call from the sheriffs office saying my social security number has been tied to a number of felonies and I hung up and called back and it really was the sheriffs office. They say there’s a warrant out for my arrest. What are my first steps legally? Assistant: Are you *actually* sure it was the sheriff's office? Did you just call back the number that showed up in your caller ID? Warrants should appear on your county's records, many of which are accessible online. You can also contact a bail bondsman or a lawyer. You can also try double-checking that you actually reached the sheriff by looking up their number on your state/county/city's website and calling that. If there are warrants, you need to find out what they're for, and then speak to an attorney.

Human: I got a call from the sheriffs office saying my social security number has been tied to a number of felonies and I hung up and called back and it really was the sheriffs office. They say there’s a warrant out for my arrest. What are my first steps legally? Assistant: I don't think they would call you about a felony arrest and warn you. I'm pretty sure they are would just show up and arrest you.

Human: Upstairs Neighbor wants to build a deck over my Condo -Illinois I along with my siblings just inherited a condo. (Uncle passed away tragically 3 months ago). We basically just got the place in order to potentially list for sale and the condo president texts me—the guy above me wants to put a deck over one side. This would completely block all the light going into the condo now. It would lower the value in my opinion. He was just asking if it was ok if he gave this guy on the 2nd floor my number to discuss (hasn’t happened yet). Anyway, what is the best course of action to squash this. Doesn’t condo property end at the wall? I’m already prepared to go to the next board meeting In January. Also this is only a 6 unit building. There are no other upstairs decks. There is a deck for our unit that leads to yard. I requested bylaws, rules and regs, etc This is in Chicago, Illinois. Assistant: You've gotten a lot of good advice, I agree you need an attorney. Also your opinion that it may lower your value, isn't going to be worth much, you need a real estate appraiser to agree with you. One POSSIBLE thing to consider, since it's a small association - would it be possible to construct a deck in a way that your view and natural light is not obstructed, but make it a common element everyone in the complex can use? Like build a roof deck perhaps?

Human: Upstairs Neighbor wants to build a deck over my Condo -Illinois I along with my siblings just inherited a condo. (Uncle passed away tragically 3 months ago). We basically just got the place in order to potentially list for sale and the condo president texts me—the guy above me wants to put a deck over one side. This would completely block all the light going into the condo now. It would lower the value in my opinion. He was just asking if it was ok if he gave this guy on the 2nd floor my number to discuss (hasn’t happened yet). Anyway, what is the best course of action to squash this. Doesn’t condo property end at the wall? I’m already prepared to go to the next board meeting In January. Also this is only a 6 unit building. There are no other upstairs decks. There is a deck for our unit that leads to yard. I requested bylaws, rules and regs, etc This is in Chicago, Illinois. Assistant: If they are reaching out to you, they may be willing to pay for the devaluation. If you don’t plan on living there, it could be worth it. Unlikely, but possible.

Human: [CT] daughter is suspended from school for 2 weeks and school will only let her back if she gets unnecessary therapy. Please help. My daughter is 6 and just started first grade. The school brought in a wildlife instructor to show them some animals. My daughter hates snakes and that was one of the animals they brought. The instructor told her to touch the snake. She said no. The teacher also told her to touch the snake. She said no again. Both the instructor and the teacher began pressuring her to touch the snake and told her they wouldn’t move on until she did. She started crying and ran out into the hallway. She stayed in the hall right outside the door. This is the story from the teacher FYI, so I know my daughter isn’t lying or exaggerating. I got called into school and the principal said that running out of class without permission is an automatic 2 week suspension. When I heard the story, I asked why they didn’t just let her not touch the snake. It seems to me that she had a fairly expected reaction for a 6 year old in that situation. They said that they were doing “exposure therapy” and were working to make sure she got over her “irrational fears.” I asked if there was any way that they could change the suspension, since I can’t afford unexpected childcare for 2 weeks. They said that they would waive it if I could show proof of getting her therapy for her fear of snakes. Frankly, I can’t afford therapy, and even if I could, there are many things that my daughter could make better use of than therapy for a fear of snakes when we live in a city and rarely encounter snakes. I’m furious with the school and also at a loss. Can the school put her through “exposure therapy” without my permission? Would a lawyer help me get her back into school? Are there any legal remedies here? Please help. TIA. Assistant: Ask them whose license they were practicing "exposure therapy" under and for a copy of that person's license and liability insurance.

Human: [CT] daughter is suspended from school for 2 weeks and school will only let her back if she gets unnecessary therapy. Please help. My daughter is 6 and just started first grade. The school brought in a wildlife instructor to show them some animals. My daughter hates snakes and that was one of the animals they brought. The instructor told her to touch the snake. She said no. The teacher also told her to touch the snake. She said no again. Both the instructor and the teacher began pressuring her to touch the snake and told her they wouldn’t move on until she did. She started crying and ran out into the hallway. She stayed in the hall right outside the door. This is the story from the teacher FYI, so I know my daughter isn’t lying or exaggerating. I got called into school and the principal said that running out of class without permission is an automatic 2 week suspension. When I heard the story, I asked why they didn’t just let her not touch the snake. It seems to me that she had a fairly expected reaction for a 6 year old in that situation. They said that they were doing “exposure therapy” and were working to make sure she got over her “irrational fears.” I asked if there was any way that they could change the suspension, since I can’t afford unexpected childcare for 2 weeks. They said that they would waive it if I could show proof of getting her therapy for her fear of snakes. Frankly, I can’t afford therapy, and even if I could, there are many things that my daughter could make better use of than therapy for a fear of snakes when we live in a city and rarely encounter snakes. I’m furious with the school and also at a loss. Can the school put her through “exposure therapy” without my permission? Would a lawyer help me get her back into school? Are there any legal remedies here? Please help. TIA. Assistant: Time to escalate this right up the chain. Is this coming from the principal? Frankly, I would argue that their negligent "exposure therapy" has actually exacerbated her fear of snakes resulting in a need for therapy, and that you may actually have a case for damages against the school.

Human: (NYC) Got hit by a sanitation truck that was running a red light while my car was at complete stop. Should I get a lawyer? Got the police report, pics, and dash cam footage. My car's pretty much wrecked and I had to take ambulance to nearby hospital. All the "supervisors" called at the scene from the sanitation department told me to file the vehicular property damage claim form - and I'll be filing it - but was wondering if I should get a lawyer to do it for me. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Assistant: You need to contact your insurance company first, and follow their directions. This is what you pay them for. Do not submit that form unless your insurance company directs you to.

Human: (NYC) Got hit by a sanitation truck that was running a red light while my car was at complete stop. Should I get a lawyer? Got the police report, pics, and dash cam footage. My car's pretty much wrecked and I had to take ambulance to nearby hospital. All the "supervisors" called at the scene from the sanitation department told me to file the vehicular property damage claim form - and I'll be filing it - but was wondering if I should get a lawyer to do it for me. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Assistant: Not a lawyer. You got a loss of vehicle, ambulance, and medical bills. You should start with your insurance and don't sign anything yet. The "supervisors" are looking out for their company, not you. A consult should be free, and not a bad idea.

Human: Amazon sent my father an iPhone he didn’t order, told him he could keep it four times and now wants it back after he gave it away. What is his legal responsibility to retrieve and return it? Location: California A few weeks ago my elderly father received a package addressed to him from Amazon. He doesn’t have an Amazon account and didn’t order it. It turned out to be an iPhone. We contacted Amazon (through my account as this was the only way we knew to contact them) and were able to learned that the phone was sent to him as either a security breach on another account, or system glitch. In any case, when we asked what they wanted us to do with it, Amazon told us that he could keep the phone, and sent an email confirming this. This was confirmed to us three more times by Amazon over the course of a week. After being told the phone was his to keep, my father gifted the phone to another relative. Fast forward to today, I received an email from Amazon saying they had previously told us incorrect information and they want the phone back. Do either of us have any legal obligation to retrieve and return the phone? Assistant: >Fast forward to today, I received an email from Amazon saying they had previously told us incorrect information and they want the phone back. Forward them the email from them telling you to keep it.

Human: Amazon sent my father an iPhone he didn’t order, told him he could keep it four times and now wants it back after he gave it away. What is his legal responsibility to retrieve and return it? Location: California A few weeks ago my elderly father received a package addressed to him from Amazon. He doesn’t have an Amazon account and didn’t order it. It turned out to be an iPhone. We contacted Amazon (through my account as this was the only way we knew to contact them) and were able to learned that the phone was sent to him as either a security breach on another account, or system glitch. In any case, when we asked what they wanted us to do with it, Amazon told us that he could keep the phone, and sent an email confirming this. This was confirmed to us three more times by Amazon over the course of a week. After being told the phone was his to keep, my father gifted the phone to another relative. Fast forward to today, I received an email from Amazon saying they had previously told us incorrect information and they want the phone back. Do either of us have any legal obligation to retrieve and return the phone? Assistant: Sounds like a scam; were you contacted by an actual representative of Amazon or is it from a third party seller?

Human: can I refuse to give my brother his keys if he has been drinking heavily? Hi. My brother is extremely drunk and wants to drive. My mom took his keys until he sobers. Will we get in trouble? Assistant: Depending on where you live you may even have a lawful duty to prevent him from driving. Not to worry... Provided the facts surrounding the matter are as you stated them, in the extraordinarily unlikely scenario that you're met with any potential penalty for your responsible intervention, just about any attorney would enthusiastically accept your case.

Human: can I refuse to give my brother his keys if he has been drinking heavily? Hi. My brother is extremely drunk and wants to drive. My mom took his keys until he sobers. Will we get in trouble? Assistant: I’m in the UK but here you have to have a guilty action and a guilty mind, you might not be entitled to hold his keys so that action could be wrong but you have no bad intention. Also for it to be theft you’d need to shown to Permanently deprive your brother of his car, which you’re not trying to do. The Bottom line is you’re doing everyone a favour by keep a drunk off the road

Human: Friend of mine has a recording of a manager telling him they won't hire him because he doesn't believe in god, how strong is his case? I want to keep details sparse. Location is Georgia. In said state 1 party consent on recordings is legally allowed. Friend was interviewing for a job , said job pays approx $75k a year which is about avg for his position. Friend was recording the job interview on his phone as he has recorded several interviews to play back/record later to see how he did it. The company in question employs about 150 people. In the interview the manager asked "how important is faith based decision making to you?" Confused my friend asked "What do you mean?" the manager said "How important is gods opinion in your decision making" My friend said "Well not at all, I make my decision based upon the facts of the situation and whats best for the company" The manager said "So you don't consider god as a part of your process?" Too which my friend said "No, I base the decisions I make on the facts of the situation" The manager then asked "What church do you go too?" my friend confused asked "This is a Mon-Friday job right?" the manager said "yes" then asked "What church do you go to?" My friend asked "Why does it matter what church I go too?" The manager said "Do you believe in god?" to which my friend asked "How that relevant to this job?" the manager then said "I won't work with someone that doesn't believe in god, and I don't believe you believe in god so I think unfortunately I'll need to pass on you" My friend is in fact an atheist. I've listened to the recording, clear as day. I've told my friend his case is super strong that the employer discriminated against him based upon his religion. Also the company/job has NOTHING to do with religion. This isn't a church or some religious organization. Nor does this business have any major affiliations with any religious organizations. How strong is my friends case? Manager is not aware he was recorded. Assistant: Not a lawyer but work for a firm in GA. Get in contact with a legal firm to handle your case. Your friend has approx 180 days from that interview as his statute of limitations to file with the EEOC. Tell your friend to save the recording, any emails to and from the company, etc. ANYTHING that can be considered evidence should be preserved. Wishing your friend the best!

Human: Friend of mine has a recording of a manager telling him they won't hire him because he doesn't believe in god, how strong is his case? I want to keep details sparse. Location is Georgia. In said state 1 party consent on recordings is legally allowed. Friend was interviewing for a job , said job pays approx $75k a year which is about avg for his position. Friend was recording the job interview on his phone as he has recorded several interviews to play back/record later to see how he did it. The company in question employs about 150 people. In the interview the manager asked "how important is faith based decision making to you?" Confused my friend asked "What do you mean?" the manager said "How important is gods opinion in your decision making" My friend said "Well not at all, I make my decision based upon the facts of the situation and whats best for the company" The manager said "So you don't consider god as a part of your process?" Too which my friend said "No, I base the decisions I make on the facts of the situation" The manager then asked "What church do you go too?" my friend confused asked "This is a Mon-Friday job right?" the manager said "yes" then asked "What church do you go to?" My friend asked "Why does it matter what church I go too?" The manager said "Do you believe in god?" to which my friend asked "How that relevant to this job?" the manager then said "I won't work with someone that doesn't believe in god, and I don't believe you believe in god so I think unfortunately I'll need to pass on you" My friend is in fact an atheist. I've listened to the recording, clear as day. I've told my friend his case is super strong that the employer discriminated against him based upon his religion. Also the company/job has NOTHING to do with religion. This isn't a church or some religious organization. Nor does this business have any major affiliations with any religious organizations. How strong is my friends case? Manager is not aware he was recorded. Assistant: Don’t hesitate. EEOC complaints are time sensitive. Consult with an attorney that concentrates in this field of law.

Human: Hi. Ex-spouse was ordered in divorce decree to quit claim the property as it was awarded to me in the divorce. This was in 2015. He has not done so and refuses. What can I do, and what is the least expensive route? I’m broke and need to refinance or sell and he won’t cooperate. Thanks. Assistant: Not a lawyer, but I had to do this with my ex. I hired a real estate attorney and sued for 'quiet title', I think it was called.

Human: Hi. Ex-spouse was ordered in divorce decree to quit claim the property as it was awarded to me in the divorce. This was in 2015. He has not done so and refuses. What can I do, and what is the least expensive route? I’m broke and need to refinance or sell and he won’t cooperate. Thanks. Assistant: You'll have to file for a motion to compel or a motion for contempt. Your divorce lawyer can handle this for you as he or she is most familiar with the case.

Human: (VT) Can my employer use my saved PTO to round me up to 40 hours every week? I work from open to close, 4 days a week. Most weeks, this means about 36-38 hours (9-9.5 hour shifts). I recently found out my employer is using my PTO time to round my weeks up to 40 hours each week. Because of this, the 40 hours of PTO I started with is already down to 15 hours. Their excuse is “you need to hit 40 hours to make you full time if you want benefits.” Yet at the same time, they refuse to schedule any overtime — so every employee is expected to hit *exactly* 40 hours per week, or risk losing PTO. I’d much rather see a slightly smaller paycheck week to week, and actually have the ability to take days off / take vacation. Assistant: What would they do if you took "unpaid" time off? Mathematically there's no difference between what you want to do (work 38 hours, get paid for 38 hours, get 2 paid PTO hours later) and what their system would look like if you took unpaid PTO (work 38 hours, get paid 40 hours, take 2 unpaid PTO hours later). You should also ask them what they plan to do about the fact that you won't have enough PTO to cover the total "shortfall" in your scheduled hours by the end of the year.

Human: (VT) Can my employer use my saved PTO to round me up to 40 hours every week? I work from open to close, 4 days a week. Most weeks, this means about 36-38 hours (9-9.5 hour shifts). I recently found out my employer is using my PTO time to round my weeks up to 40 hours each week. Because of this, the 40 hours of PTO I started with is already down to 15 hours. Their excuse is “you need to hit 40 hours to make you full time if you want benefits.” Yet at the same time, they refuse to schedule any overtime — so every employee is expected to hit *exactly* 40 hours per week, or risk losing PTO. I’d much rather see a slightly smaller paycheck week to week, and actually have the ability to take days off / take vacation. Assistant: It’s legal as long as it’s actually being paid