Ask a lawyer—Double Hearsay Edition

>>18381482
how do I go about getting my family member who is an addict forced into rehab?

also what kind of money dollars do you earn?

>>18381494
>forced into rehab
There are some proceedings you can bring to have a person declared mentally incompetent or unable to manage his own legal decisions, and get someone appointed a guardian. That MIGHT work. But the fact that it'd be used to impose involuntary commitment, I'm guessing in an inpatient facility, would almost certainly trigger other requirements. It might not even be possible to be honest.

>also what kind of money dollars do you earn?
Not a lot right now, but I'm not very experienced yet. I charge around $200/hour for those matters I handle on an hourly rate (which isn't many), and since I'm a solo practitioner that all goes to me. The real key is keeping the clients flowing.

Bumping for new questions.

Bumping again

I'm going into mediation this month for a case where I was hit by another car. What should I expect?

I'm currently on the lawyer don't call list. I'm above the legal aid cut off, but nobody will touch me with a stick on this. Had a roommate evicted when he broke his probation as he started choking and slapping a woman around. He left all of his belongings here when he went to jail. Didn't pay rent for months. Refuses to pay rent and refuses to pick up his items after saying over and over that he doesn't want them. When they were about to be disposed of he sent a lawyer after me asking when and where they can be picked up. That was a month ago, but they never responded back to me.

The landlord has setup times for him to come get his things. Multiple times. 1 was in fact yesterday, even though it interfered with my schedule and the landlord was off and was supposed to be at his kids soccer game.

After not appearing for 2hours, we went our seperate ways. 9 hours after the meetup was supposed to occur, he sent a text saying, and I'll get it out to be exact, "I just saw the email telling me to come by this morning to get my things. I apperiate you holding on to them. I would like to get them tonight if that's okay. I will ask a friend to come help me. As you know I don't drive and need to make arrangements to get around. Please can I come get my things. It's all I have.. Sorry for the inconvenience. I always thought we were friends."

I'm in another state at the moment, so it was impossible. But do I even need to respond? His appointments are supposed to be setup by the landlord and this is the 3rd one he failed to make.

In addition, his new apartment is one building over in the same complex. He doesn't need to drive at all to get his things anywhere. And he can't drive due to his two OWIs. So I'm not giving him any pity there.

>>18384475
I'm not a lawman but you should reply in a somewhat friendly manor just to reduce the risk of him accidentally taking something that isn't his. Also don't let him know that the apartment is unoccupied.

What crimes can be committed online behind 7 proxies with effectively zero risk of getting successfully prosecuted?

Oy vey! I was asking some lawyer advice last night. So my question is in regards to marital assets and how you can dodge the bullet.

Question 1: If you are planning a divorce is it possible to sell of assets to family and friends pre-divorce without letting your spouse know so that after the divorce there are no assets left?

Question 2: I know that usually they'll try to take the value any dissipated assets out of the remaining asset pool. So my question is what if there are no remaining assets?

Question 3: What if you give a friend money to buy assets with during the marriage? So let's say you want a nice car. You give your friend $30,000 dollars as a 'gift' and then he buys a car and 'lends' it to you.

>>18384528
piracy as long as you're not capturing watermarked images that could reveal your identity.

>>18384552
I just remember, Question 4: If you put your primary assets into a discretionary trust with other family members are said assets considered as marital assets?

where has lawman gone?

>>18384435
Probably not much. I'm guessing it's nonbinding? It'll be you and the other party, with or without counsel, sitting at a table with a mediator who will try to guide both parties to settling the case instead of going to trial.

>>18384475
Oh what a pain in the ass asshole that old roommate of yours is.

So this is what I'd respond with:
>[name], I'm sorry but I can't oblige you tonight. It'll have to wait until [date you get back] because I need to be able to be there the whole time you're moving out your stuff.
>I want to say that I'm really frustrated about this. We've made three appointments for you to come get your stuff. [landlord] and I have given you every opportunity to come get this stuff. If you set another time to come over to get your stuff and then don't show up at all, we're going to have a problem. Understand?

Honestly I'm not sure why you can't get basic legal help on this. It's not a hard issue, but it's highly jurisdictional, so I can't tell you exactly what you need to do. In many jurisdictions you can send a demand letter requiring him to come get his property within a certain period of time. Fact of the matter is you aren't being paid to hold his property, and you're not benefiting from holding his property, so your responsibilities as a bailor of his property are very low. But in no jurisdiction may you simply throw his shit out without warning.

>>18384552
>Question 1: If you are planning a divorce is it possible to sell of assets to family and friends pre-divorce without letting your spouse know so that after the divorce there are no assets left?
Is it possible? Sorta. It's not legal though, and I'm pretty sure your soon-to-be-ex could attach those assets despite their sale, especially if it was for a substantially below-market-value price, and regain possession of them as fraudulently conveyed.

>Question 2: I know that usually they'll try to take the value any dissipated assets out of the remaining asset pool. So my question is what if there are no remaining assets?
See above. If you fraudulently conveyed your assets under the pretense of liquidating them, and "lost" the money (or sold them for severely below market value), your ex can use an attachment proceeding, or even sue the person to whom you conveyed the assets, either to regain the assets or their value.

Or, worse, the court will enter a judgment against you for the division of the marital assets presuming you still have possession of the property or money, and when you fail to pay it, will hold you in contempt and possibly jail you.

>Question 3: What if you give a friend money to buy assets with during the marriage? So let's say you want a nice car. You give your friend $30,000 dollars as a 'gift' and then he buys a car and 'lends' it to you.
Same as above. Family courts have seen all these gimmicks before and have little patience. Some work better than others, but they're by and large easy to detect.

>>18384570
>I just remember, Question 4: If you put your primary assets into a discretionary trust with other family members are said assets considered as marital assets?
I'm not sure. The answer may vary from state to state. I imagine that in a community property state they would be considered marital assets.

>>18381482
If I were to theoretically steal some money, put it into a paypal, transfer the money in small pieces to other non-paypal accounts, then use another paypal account to recollect all the money, would this be enough to evade any sort of lawsuit?

If not, what would be a better theoretical method of laundering transferred funds?

>>18385368
>If I were to theoretically steal some money, put it into a paypal, transfer the money in small pieces to other non-paypal accounts, then use another paypal account to recollect all the money, would this be enough to evade any sort of lawsuit?
No. You're not going to create a bitcoin tumbler using PayPal accounts.

>If not, what would be a better theoretical method of laundering transferred funds?
Put the cash in a mesh bag, machine wash cold, no bleach, tumble dry low. Iron medium, no starch.

>>18385376
By splitting up the transfers to various other free banking solutions based in and outside of the US jurisdiction, this would leave any people taking legal action a mountainous amount of work of getting the transfer records, especially if a company was unwilling, for each account from each company. Theoretically, wouldn't this alone be enough to prevent them from determining where every dollar of the money went without taking a multitude of years?

>>18385406
no

>>18385406
If you're personally in the same country as your victim, all they'd do is sue you personally once you were found, and that wouldn't be hard.

>especially if a company was unwilling
The online banks are all willing. They won't even deal with each other if they can't ensure a transfer to the other bank would be in line with their nation's financial regulations. That's what the beauty of BTC was, especially in the early days: The businesses that handled them and converted them to cash were either completely unregulated or barely regulated.

If I wanted to marry someone from another country and bring them to America but don't meet the financial requirements to do so (I work a part time job) I can get a co-sponsor to 'make up the difference' financially.

I have family willing to do so but I've heard co-sponsorship makes you more likely to have your application declined and is much more rigorous to prove. What can I expect?

Additionally, what if we went through a courthouse wedding initially to save on costs and make planning/time constraints easier while we focus on visas, immigration, and everything involved with moving with a full wedding planned down the line after handling the immigration side of things? Would that make them more suspicious of us having a genuine relationship and less likely to approve the spousal visa down the line?

>>18385289
He's had warning though. Two months worth. A certified letter was sent to his jail, he's had emails (which were responded to, but only on the final end date that he was supposed to get them) and notice was posted outside of my apartment and on his own apartment.

But he doesn't talk to me until the very last second he's supposed to pick them up and it's just asking for extensions at that time. As for why I can't get basic legal help, I really don't know either. Legal aid referred me to a website since I'm 3k yearly above the cutoff. And everybody on the website responds with, "We don't handle landlord-tenant disputes" despite having that on their specialties... and it's not even a landlord-tenant since I'm not his landlord.

Think it's okay if I modify your thing to something along the lines of, "
>[name], I'm sorry but I can't oblige you. [You will] have to wait until [the work week to speak to the landlord] and
[see he how he can attempt to accommodate you again]..
>I want to say that I'm really frustrated about this. We've made three appointments [with] you to come get your stuff that [you've agreed upon]. [landlord] and I have given you every opportunity to come get this stuff. If you set another time to come over to get your stuff and then don't show up at all, we're going to have a problem. Understand?

I personally don't want to be there, I want as little responsibility in this as possible. And I want to continue using the landlord to setup all appointments.

>>18385494
>Additionally, what if we went through a courthouse wedding initially to save on costs and make planning/time constraints easier while we focus on visas, immigration, and everything involved with moving with a full wedding planned down the line after handling the immigration side of things? Would that make them more suspicious of us having a genuine relationship and less likely to approve the spousal visa down the line?

This is the only aspect of your question that I can say anything about. Marrying your betrothed BEFORE trying to bring them over is far more likely to result in a positive outcome.

See an immigration lawyer. You can probably get a free consultation.

>>18385515
>Marrying your betrothed BEFORE
Well I'd be marrying them beforehand either way, a wedding with a ceremony is much more expensive than just the legal side of things though. Is that what you meant?

>>18385509
>He's had warning though. Two months worth. A certified letter was sent to his jail, he's had emails (which were responded to, but only on the final end date that he was supposed to get them) and notice was posted outside of my apartment and on his own apartment.
Part of the issue is that you need to make sure you're RIGHT ON THE LAW with the form of the notice and how you dispose of the property. This is why I say it's highly jurisdictional. You might need to provide a notice stating where and when he can collect the property, a minimum number of days after the notice when you'll dispose of the property, and the like.

>As for why I can't get basic legal help, I really don't know either. Legal aid referred me to a website since I'm 3k yearly above the cutoff. And everybody on the website responds with, "We don't handle landlord-tenant disputes" despite having that on their specialties... and it's not even a landlord-tenant since I'm not his landlord.
Find some other legal aid organization if you can. Like perhaps your closest law school's clinic.

>I personally don't want to be there, I want as little responsibility in this as possible. And I want to continue using the landlord to setup all appointments.

Unless his property is separate and in another unit, you MUST be there just to protect yourself. Honestly you need to be there anyway. He'll say "Oh, my TV isn't here! It's in the living room. I'll go get it." And then your TV is gone. Or he'll find some broken piece of shit that was in his property and say "What the fuck?! My X is broken! That asshole roommate of mine did it!"

The absolute ideal is to have a sheriff's deputy or local cop present for the exchange to ensure there's no problems. They're usually all too happy to do this. They do it ALL THE TIME for domestic violence move-out situations.

>>18385526
I just mean having the legal status of being spouses as opposed to just being engaged and planning on getting married as soon as he/she hits the ground.

>>18385533
That's the plan. Would it make a difference if we only went through a legal wedding and saved the rest of it for after, do you know?

As an aside, how would I go about choosing a good immigration lawyer? Is there anything in particular I should consider when looking for one?

>>18385544
>That's the plan. Would it make a difference if we only went through a legal wedding and saved the rest of it for after, do you know?
I doubt it. At worst they'd approach it in the same way they'd approach a fiancée visa: They'd ensure you actually knew each other and were actually betrothed, etc. In such cases it might matter that the foreign person's family knows you and approves of you (this has been an enormous problem with LGBT marriages involving middle eastern partners).

>As an aside, how would I go about choosing a good immigration lawyer? Is there anything in particular I should consider when looking for one?
You know, it's funny, I've never had to hire a lawyer for myself. I mean, as a lawyer I'd just talk to the guy and bring up a few issues to see that he actually knows what he's talking about. I might look for a history of discipline by your state bar; that's usually pretty easy to find.

I did have to find local counsel once so I could participate in a lawsuit outside of my home state. I literally just found a guy on Craigslist, chatted with him on the phone and hashed out a deal. But that probably wouldn't work for you.

>>18385557
Alright, one last question: What sorts of things should we have prepared to prove our relationship is genuine? We've kept evidence of booking flights/hotels/activities together on our visits, as well we have old chat logs, pictures together (by ourselves, with friends, with family, and with family friends). Is there anything else we should consider or does that sound adequate?

Are the chat logs even a good idea? They span almost 10 years and I wouldn't know where to begin pulling from that or proving they're genuine.

>>18385529
That's a good point. Guess I have to be here. And yeah, we tried a property retrieval with police here before. Here it's a one-and-done as they described it. He gets one opportunity to get all of his items with police on site, but he no showed to that appointment and the officers said he wasn't entitled to get again with police assistance. So I think I can request them, but he can't anymore.

I'll look into the law school near here and see if they offer assistance, are willing to help or at least willing to take my money. Thanks for the advice.

One additional thing though. Do I even need to respond to him? All appointments are to be setup through the landlord. Can I just have them call him tomorrow when they open up for business again?

>>18385579
Pictures together are important. The booking flights, etc. is also good. Those are both big. There's a rumor, which I think is mostly false, that they might interview you separately and look for discrepancies evidencing you don't really know each other.

The chat logs, eh. You could ask your lawyer if they help. I kinda doubt they'd be necessary considering the other evidence.

>>18385588
>One additional thing though. Do I even need to respond to him? All appointments are to be setup through the landlord. Can I just have them call him tomorrow when they open up for business again?

Do you have to? Probably not. I would though because, as you say, he's just one building over. What if he comes and knocks on your door, realizes you're not there, then picks your lock open or kicks your door down? He'd probably get busted but who wants the trouble?

>>18385747
Alright, thanks.

>>18381482
do you enjoy your job?
do you think its worth the 8 years in college?
do they really punish you hard in law school?
what are the chances of making it in law with a pre medicine course?
how difficult is it for a foreign lawyer to make it to the US?

sorry if these aee not the type of questions you anticipated, but a career in law is something im very interested in

I have a 2nd dui and just finished college with a math education degree. Planning on teaching middle school. Can I still teach or am I fucked?

>>18386718
bump

>>18386725
Not OP and I'm probably not from where you are, but where I live, they do criminal checks on teachers.

>>18381482
Legal anon, I'm >>18378181 from the previous thread. We mostly discussed work comp, but you also mentioned pain and suffering. Would I have to pursue that case separately? It is somewhat related to the aspects, as the tinnitus and hyperacusis make me second-guess myself when it comes to potentionally loud events, even just going to the movies now.

>>18386718
>do you think its worth the 8 years in college?
Actually it's only 7, but it's not bad.
>do they really punish you hard in law school?
First year is really punishing. The profs are a lot more laid back after that.
>what are the chances of making it in law with a pre medicine course?
Long as your undergrad GPA isn't horrifying and you score a good LSAT, you'll get into a good school.
>how difficult is it for a foreign lawyer to make it to the US?
There's a lot of competition, especially if you wind up going to where all the other foreign lawyers end up going: New York. That said, you're more likely to find a support network of your countrymen in the practice who may take you under their wings. Sorry I can't give a more straight answer than that.

>>18386725
I don't really know, and I expect it depends a LOT on the state. If it's not a felony, and I don't think a second DUI is usually a felony, it shouldn't be disqualifying provided you can show you aren't an alcoholic or an addict, and that it wouldn't affect your ability to teach or to properly care for your students. DUIs don't really affect that provided you're not drunk at school or continuing to set a bad example for the children.

That said, even if you do make it in, both the board of ed. and your school board will be watching you like a hawk during your probationary period. Any slip-up you might expect to get you canned.

>>18388133
So here's the issue with work comp...

1. The work comp system is your only way to get relief for a work injury. You are ONLY permitted to seek relief from your employer in the setting of a work comp case.
2. You cannot seek pain and suffering or punitive damages in a work comp case.

The only real advantage to work comp is that you don't have to prove they were negligent, as you would in a normal civil case, and they aren't allowed to claim comparative fault in order to reduce your reward. In the old days employers would claim you were the negligent one at work by, say, improperly carrying something and dropping it on your foot, or by continuing to work despite the numbness and tingling you felt in your hands.

There are some wrinkles to this in each jurisdiction, but across the nation these are the general points. You cannot get pain and suffering from your employer for a work injury.

Importantly, these rules are different if you're a seaman, longshoreman, or railroad worker. Under those rules you could be barred from seeking work comp, and would have to file a civil suit (and get pain and suffering).

Like I said before, you really need to see a work comp lawyer in your area. You should be able to get a free consultation.

>>18381482
if someone sold another person drugs more than 5 years ago and they've been in jail for drug and weapons possession during that time, what would happen if he said something? would they even believe him since it's been so long?

>>18389126
You're asking whether someone, who has been in prison for like 5 years, could rat on someone who sold him drugs before he got put in prison?

I think it might be enough to trigger an investigation, but by and large dealers are already on the cops' radar, and the testimony of a felon isn't worth a whole lot, so it's unlikely that they'd bring charges just on the basis of that testimony. They'd have to find something else.

So to the extent that the guy in jail knew about a dealer who had evaded police scrutiny for all that time, and dealt enough for them to actually want to take special effort to take down, the inmate's fingering that guy might start a police investigation. Otherwise, they'd not really care, because they'd probably already know that guy was dealing.

>>18381482
I've had a wet wreckless it's been about 5 years since, is there any way of cleaning my record up.

>>18389174
>wet wreckless
I have no idea what that means.
>is there any way of cleaning my record up.
Criminal record "clearing" statutes vary substantially from state to state, and the effects of convictions vary enormously from state to state. You really need to see a lawyer in your state.

>>18388752
Thank you again, legal anon. I will pursue the options available to me. You've been very helpful.

>>18390237
No problem. Good luck with everything. Just don't sit on this for too long. You need to move on it in case there's a time limit on filing a claim.

>>18391610
I have a feeling 3 years is the statute of limitations here. It will be 3 years near the end of the year. I will consult counsel by the end of the month and file suit by the end of the summer.

>>18392301
That sounds like a civil action/personal injury SoL. Work comp SoLs tend to be shorter. That said, it's not very likely to be a number of months greater than two years but less than three years; i.e., either you still have time or you already missed it.

But work comp SoLs can be more complex; like the time may start to run from when you were aware of the injury, or in the case of repetitive injury, such as chemical exposure, when that exposure last occurred.

So... I'm just gonna say once again that time is probably of the essence. I can't say with any degree of certainty that end of the month won't make a difference. Consider making a few phone calls to work comp firms by this weekend.

>>18388133
Nah you don't have any documented proof of ever raising concerns of the noises.

Also, since you knew you had tinnitus going into a job with loud noises the court will tell you that you are a stupid poopoo head....which you are.

>>18392473
I checked legal anon. It is 2 years in my state.
>There is a two year statute of limitations that applies to workers' compensation cases. A formal claim petition must be filed within two years of the date of injury or the date of last payment of compensation, whichever is later. Medical treatment authorized by the employer is considered a payment of compensation. In cases of occupational illness, such as asbestosis, lead poisoning or hearing loss, the claim petition must be filed within two years from the date the worker first became aware of the condition and its relationship to employment. Please note that the filing of an application for an informal hearing does not stop the two-year statute of limitations from running.
Since these are occupational illnesses, it is when I first realized they were work-related, so I have less than a year for each injury. Thank you once again. I'll let give a status update in future threads. Wish me luck… I'm going to need it, as they have an awful lot of wiggle room to argue. I wish I posted in one of these threads much sooner.

>>18386725
I wouldn't want some drunk idiot around my kids except me!

>>18384475
Don't have roommates.

Best advice

>>18392510
I have emails and a log. They wouldn't do shit. It didn't become damaging until I was relocated. I didn't realize how much worse the new environment was for a long time though.

>>18392512
Pre-existing condition, my dude.

>>18392512
Your lawyer will probably be able to work with this.

>>18392533
WC lawyer will argue aggravation of the preexisting condition, so the company will "own" a portion of this guy's hearing loss/tinnitus.

>>18392510
>since you knew you had tinnitus going into a job with loud noises

This is actually completely irrelevant in a work comp setting. The company takes its employees as it finds them. Even if they have a skull the thickness of an eggshell, the company is responsible for the full extent of the damage to that person from what should've been a minor blow to the head.

The only real limitation to the company's absolute responsibility to pay for its injured workers is when the injury did not arise from the employment and in the course of the employment, such as when a guy on the shop floor intentionally hits himself in the hand with a hammer thinking he'll get a big settlement.

Bumping for more questions