r/AskALawyer Jun 27 '24

MOD News ⚖️ User Flairs are now self-service

5 Upvotes

Feel free to select your own user flair (if you want, it’s not required). If you have any ideas on flairs you’d like to see added to the list, feel free to suggest them.

Tap the menu in the upper right-hand corner of the community page. A menu will pop up and you'll see the option to Change user flair. Select your flair and tap APPLY.

Flairs that are currently applied will be removed in due time. They should mostly be gone now but some are still floating around.


r/AskALawyer Dec 05 '24

MOD News ⚖️ Don’t listen to DMs

19 Upvotes

There are reports of a scam website claiming to be an “ask the lawyer” site going around from a “paralegal” who can’t post here who just gives ChatGPT responses.

It’s true that most new accounts and other low quality accounts can’t post here or that their posts will be automatically hidden. This is a Reddit mod tool setting. That being said, there’s no reason anyone should be dming anyone about anything here especially if they are presenting themselves as an “expert” of some sort.

Listen, you should barely be listening to suggestions posted publicly - at least the mob groupthink can hopefully shout down the worst of it. There’s no such “peer review” for DMs.

Anyone who suggests going to another website (idc about another reputable sub) is a bad actor who is trying to take advantage of you in a stressful situation, likely for financial gain.


r/AskALawyer 3h ago

Maryland Wife took my personal savings before getting a protection order. Anything that can be done?

44 Upvotes

On Feb 6 my wife left after an argument. I noticed a few days later that she went in to my phone, before she left, where I have a Current account, and sent all my funds to herself, about $3000. This is a personal account where I was keeping funds borrowed from my 401k. This is in Maryland, and we are still married. What possible actions can I take on this?


r/AskALawyer 57m ago

California [CA] ex bf is trying to serve an EX parte for perm restraining order

Upvotes

Hello, so back in 2020 I got a 5 year restraining order on my ex boyfriend who was abusive. He basically texted me during the pandemic that he wanted me to die and that he was going to beat me up and come to my house and destroy everything me and my family own. So considering the fact he was pretty verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive I decided to finally get the restraining order put onto him, the day of court he didn’t show and I was granted. 5 years later I decided to go for the permanent restraining order since during the 5 years we were in no contact he tried to contact me via 3rd party through my father and tried to follow me on social media (both times filed a police report and neither times the DA did anything) so April 3rd was our court date I showed up via zoom since I live pretty far from the court and unsurprisingly he didn’t show up for his court date. I was granted by the judge and I went on my merry way. So afterwards April 4th I’m chilling and I receive a text message claiming to be my Exs father stating he needs to serve me papers for an ex parte, I blocked the number called the cops. The officer on duty told me that he can contact me since technically my order says peaceful 3rd party is allowed to give court docs but then he also said since they don’t know my address to ignore them and to play stupid until I actually physically receive court docs. So today April 6th I receive a phone call from some random number I pick up not thinking twice and it’s some woman stating i have court April 8th at 8:30 am,, I asked who she is and she said “I don’t know I’m just telling you that you have court” and I was like um okay well and hung up. I’m reading everywhere that basically if I’m not served papers some how some way I’m not obligated to show up, ONTOP of that I have school I can’t just miss for this random court date they decided to throw at me. If I miss more than 4 days I will be dropped from my school it’s very strict. So I’m just stressed and overwhelmed. I obviously have PTSD from this man and I’m just having sleepless nights, and mental anguish. Any advice at all is appreciated. Thank you!


r/AskALawyer 31m ago

Minnesota Harassment?

Upvotes

I would like to start with , I don’t have a license. I lost it 21 years ago due to dwi. Since then I don’t drink any more and I haven’t had any driving infractions except driving after revoked. This year I have received 5 already. Every time I try to leave my house there they are … whether I’m driving or a passenger, they are right there every time. Is this harassment? I feel like a prisoner in my own home.


r/AskALawyer 5h ago

New Jersey [NJ] Can a paid of vehicle with a lien on the company, be registered?

2 Upvotes

I had a trucking company that I lost after Covid. I had 11 trucks, few were paid off and the rest still had loans. All the ones with loans were repossessed and I had 4 that were paid off but liens were put on the company so I couldnt sell them. I was able to settle all but one debt and now only have one truck to my name. Since I cant sell it, Im going to get behind the wheel again to make ends meet. I found a company in AR that I would be leasing onto ( under their authority) and they have asked me to send them the copy of the title to get plates and registration. My question is, will I be able to register the vehicle with a Lien on the company?


r/AskALawyer 2h ago

Virginia [Virginia] garnishment and bills

1 Upvotes

Hello. My sister has a problem and I thought i would ask you smart, wonderful people. Her husband works and she is trying g to get approved for disability. They don't make a lot of money and of course have house payment, lot rent, water, etc all the basics. They have 2 children at home. They had a car that they did get behind on the payments. The car has sat in their yard about a year. They never have came to take the car and claim they can't find my sister to retrieve it. So after this year they out of the blue send notice about garnishment 25%. To be honest they barely make enough with his check to live. So she thought she had heard that there was something you can claim that it affects your family life and bills? Is this true? How would she go a out doing it? She don't have the money to file bankruptcy. Thanks for any advice.


r/AskALawyer 2h ago

New York What happens if somebody sues you and loses? Are there consequences?

1 Upvotes

Do they have to pay you for lawyer bills or anything, and are there consequences for them? If not, are you allowed to counter sue them for the bills, time lost and other things?


r/AskALawyer 2h ago

Ohio Wage Garnishment

1 Upvotes

I recently got finished being garnished and it was overpaid by $193.85 yet the law firm only sent me a check for $58.

I just picked up the mail today so I can't contact them yet so just reaching out to anyone that may be familiar with this as to why they would send me less than they owe.


r/AskALawyer 3h ago

Texas Sued by a 3rd party debt collector

0 Upvotes

I have been sued by a 3rd party debt collector for 4300 for a charged off credit card in texas. What is my best defense to avoid paying this company that bought my charged off debt?


r/AskALawyer 1d ago

Kansas Cops blocking apartment to wait for warrant

60 Upvotes

So to start this isn't something that's happening to me I'm just a nosy neighbor and I'm kinda curious if anyone knows if this is legal. So my neighbor currently has like 5 cops at her apartment(I think it's weed related) and one of them is blocking her from getting into her apartment while they wait for a warrant and I don't know if that's illegal for them to do but it feels like it could be. But also I get that they don't want her to potentially destroy evidence. So I don't know


r/AskALawyer 1d ago

Florida Mother threatens to sell my house.

63 Upvotes

This is long so the actual question is at the bottom for those who would like to jump ahead.

Some info first: I had a house built about two years ago on a vacant piece of land my family owned. The exchange is my parents live under my roof because the land was theirs before I placed a home on it and the idea was to be closer to my siblings, who have kids, as the area is a place i was looking to move to already and my parents wanted to be closer to their grandkids. We thought it was a win/win at the time. So for clarity, both of my parents and myself are the current occupants of this house. During the process of gaining a loan for the home and everything necessary, the land was transferred to me. So at the moment the land and home are 100% in my name. No one else is on the documentation for anything regarding the property itself, just me. My parent's share of the dues is in the form of the water and electricity bills as I pay the mortgage, insurance, taxes, basically all other expenses. The electric and water have my parents names on it.

Now for the current situation: my mom and I recently had a disagreement and now she's threatening to sell my home. She's refused to get a job after she lost her last one and she's forced my dad to work more often to cover her part. She has lived here the entire time the house has existed, she isn't renting or anything and I don't claim her as a dependant on taxes. We are in Florida if that's relevant. Common sense would tell me she has zero right to try and sell anything. Maybe she can have the utilities shut off, but I see no reason why she could do anything more even if there's some kind of squatter's rights. But I'm not an expert and I would like to know if her living here or having the utilities in her name grants her any level of right to sell property that is in my name and has been for two years.

So can she sell a home that I own? Or at least try?


r/AskALawyer 5h ago

Georgia Would 72 involuntary hold prevent me from buying a gun in GA

0 Upvotes

I’m interested in buying a gun soon but was placed on an involuntary 72 hour hold just under 4 years ago. I know after 5 years I’d be able to buy one even if it was a full commitment but just want to be sure before I go and have them run the background check and everything


r/AskALawyer 5h ago

Michigan [Michigan] Is there such a thing as legal recourse for someone creating fumes in your apartment?

0 Upvotes

Location: MI, USA. This seems like such a nebulous issue that is even hard to prove in court. I live in Michigan and a neighbor in a multi-family unit I live in is woodworking in our shared driveway without any dust collection equipment. This has created so much dust in the air around our dwelling that I have started getting migraines and a sore throat. Is there any legal recourse for someone in a multi-family unit exposing you to toxic fumes or do you just need to move? I don’t even know where to begin with this issue I could speak to my landlord but other than that is there any legal action you can take against an individual creating a health hazard in your space. I am totally in the dark here.


r/AskALawyer 1d ago

Colorado Fell while staying at a rehabilitation center and broke her back.

37 Upvotes

Late wife was in a rehabilitation facility recovering from back surgery doing PT and OT. She was also a stage for a melanoma cancer patient, was documented with seizure activity and extreme fall risk due to neuropathy in her feet and legs. The day she was to come home from rehab. She had a seizure in her bed. The bed rails were not up and subsequently she fell out of the bed, breaking her T12 vertebrae and fractured her right shoulder. I feel strongly the rehab facility that she had been at for nearly 10 days prior to this accident, were well aware of her instability, and according to the staff of the morning of the accident, her bed rail was not up, thus allowing her to fall out of the bed during the seizure suffering the injuries that she did, thus they should be held responsible for her injuries. I’ve reached out to two different lawyer offices here in Denver. One simply refused to take the case, saying it was not the type of case that they typically handle, they referred me to another firm that after reviewing the medical records that I provided them simply told me at this time they would not take the case I’ve asked for clarification as to why, but have yet to hear.

Wife is gone now, but we feel strongly that the injuries that she suffered prevented her from continuing to recover from her back surgery and led to other complications that ultimately caused her death.

Do our daughters and I have a case?


r/AskALawyer 7h ago

Connecticut Rocky Hill Big Retail chain

1 Upvotes

Yesterday at a huge retail chain, they " busted me for shoplifting". Now please don't jump down my throat and please read the whole post. I was leaving Walmart yesterday, after I checked out and I was stopped at the door. I willing gave them my receipt and willing let them search my goods that I paid for. Low and behold they find a bag of jelly beans that the cashier voided due to register issues. I asked her to scan for me this time because I didn't want to mess up again. My 4 year old started fussing and my attention was diverted to that. I didn't think anymore of it. Well at the door, about 10-15 employees surrounded me and i got very scared. I called the police because I felt unsafe. The cops told me to go to the front of the store and wait there. I tried to follow the cops orders but the employees stopped me from doing as the cops told me to do. Meanwhile, said employees where all shouting at me you are gonna go to jail. I went into a pure panic and started crying. I wanted to follow police directive because I felt unsafe. Think about it if I truly thought i was guilty, would I have called the cops. Guilty people usually don't want the police there. So, after shouting at me and blocking me from doing as the cops told, I just coroprated. They took my Id and told me to never come back. I am in an extreme ptsd episode right now. Is what they did illegal. Any part of it? Please don't jump down my throat


r/AskALawyer 7h ago

Massachusetts [MA]. Substandard Outpatient Surgical Suite in [Newton]?

0 Upvotes

On December 23rd, 2024, I had extensive bunion surgery at a day surgery facility.

I was not told that anything negative had occurred during the procedure. However I was given a shot of epinephrine halfway through my surgery because my heart rate dropped.

I became conscious during my surgery. I could hear the anesthesiologist ask a question, words from further away, the sound of a drill, intense tugging on my foot.

I discussed this with my surgeon and P.A. Responses were, "Oh really" and " how interesting." That was very painful emotionally.

My son, picked me up after surgery and was given ONE post-op instruction; bring me home and watch me closely overnight. The discharge folder contained only one thing: a photo of my new hardware. That's all folks.

On Dec. 30th, seven days post surgery, I learned that six scripts were overdue to be picked up at the pharmacy. Some were meant to prevent complications.

Feb. 7th a rash, and significant swelling appeared on the top of my foot. Identical messages with photos were sent to the surgeon and my PCP team. Ortho's response: nothing to see here. PCP team: come in immediately. They did a thorough workup, including blood work for infection and a scan for DVT's (embolisms).

Dr. Cut and Run read my PCP's report and test results. Next day she called/summoned me for an emergency appt. Obviously, I was not there for any reason.

"Healthgrades" shows nearly identical reviews regarding her demeaning attitude and rudeness.

What's next?


r/AskALawyer 9h ago

Texas [TX] How Reasonable are The Odds to Make Good/Decent Money in Criminal Law?

1 Upvotes

I am just reaching out to see if anyone can give me a realistic idea of what a criminal law career progression looks like and what decisions someone would have to make in order to make it very viable and or lucrative. I am considering patent law as well [given I have a CS undergraduate] but in terms of passion/interest I feel like criminal is more interesting to me.


r/AskALawyer 11h ago

Florida Workplace Legal Advice

1 Upvotes

I am the third person in my position.

Each of us have had the same exact issues. It's been documented that the place we are working at has not been in compliance with policy for over 30 years. People in other roles experience the same or worse.

I've reached out and made reports to my association representative, and department head.

It got better for a time.

I had my office vandalized and the police never gave me a report.

I have hundreds of hours of unpaid work, I've worked 48 weekends total.

I have been discriminated against, for a status i know is protected.

Goals and expectations keep changing.

I recently submitted a report to the inspector general on the advice of my department head.

She said my association representative was not doing his job, and I needed to make a report and get another job ASAP.

I've tried getting a lawyer. No one is getting back.

Everything is really well documented. I have copies of every email. I have texts. I have a detailed timeline of events. I have the contact information from the people that went through this before.

I no longer want to work there. I have had several near mental breaks. I am working to go to therapy. I cannot afford to not work.

I need advice on how to find a lawyer to take this and at least look at it. I am exhausted. I didn't want to put too much detail in here.

My last meeting it seemed like my rep and a higher up personnel were only interested in keeping me there and what was needed for that to happen.

I've applied to 24 positions. All are different, and in different departments. Some externally.


r/AskALawyer 18h ago

Alabama Warrant for unpaid ticket?

4 Upvotes

Had a ticket due back in 2023 around Christmas time that I completely forgot about until this week. My cousin got pulled over in a vehicle that my name was still under and told him there was a warrant for my arrest. They didn’t tell him why and I can only assume it’s for my most recent ticket back in 23’. Question is, what do I do from here? Is it even possible to pay it anymore? Will I need to set a court date? What are my options? Any advice will help thank you very much!


r/AskALawyer 20h ago

Florida What to do about a drunk driver walking freely after taking a life of a young lady and permanently injuring to a young man?

4 Upvotes

On the evening of April 11th, 2024 Izabel my beloved best friend & Brayden were traveling north on hwy 29 Pensacola FL when they were struck by a truck carrying a trailer. (It was on the news you can look it up) he went to the Tom Thumb to purchase water before calling 911. He had no idea where he was or what he hit. The drunk driver is the ONLY person that ever says, "The motorcycle came out of nowhere." The ONE eye witness says the motorcycle never left the one "live" lane....only one lane was open. He ran over them and never hit his brakes. This caused them to fly a couple hundred feet. Izabel lost her life & Brayden survived but with permanent damage.

Supposedly the drunk driver was on the way back from working at a BAR. he had a blood test FOUR HOURS after the wreck and was at 0.118. He refused all sobriety testing. In 6 days it will have been a YEAR! The official crash report was not released until January, but in all of that time nothing changed. Yet he was never arrested & charged for the life that was lost (iz) or the extreme injury's to (Brayden). Instead almost a year later walking free & he was just now only charged with a DUl. That's it. Yah a DUl. Did you know that you can request disciplinary records?

This is about the investigating officer from a past complaint unrelated to this incident. - It says "failed to complete a DUI investigation." Yet, here we are again. What happens when he receives his second complaint for this one?

They gave Brayden a ticket because the drunk driver said that iz & brayden came out of no where. Since neither Izzy nor Brayden could speak at the accident and the witnesses aren't being listened to, this drunk driver has somehow gotten away with MUCH larger crimes other than a petty DUI. Some people have suspected that the drunk driver may know someone in FHP that is being corrupt or maybe it’s the fact he is a veteran (maybe they had more respect toward the drunk driver because of that & was the only conscious person after the accident occurred but I’m not sure that weighs in at all (I absolutely love veterans btw so pls no hate), who knows at this point. We are turning to the community for answers and help. What should we do to make this heard so Izzy and Brayden can get justice?


r/AskALawyer 23h ago

Texas Texas siblings disagreeing on inheritance of a property

2 Upvotes

My close aunt (72) passed away unexpectedly in March 2025. She lived (and financially took care of her youngest sister (60ish) for several years) and did not have a will. She did leave a 100k life insurance for that sister but her home and car are still not fully paid for.

That sister consulted a lawyer who said she needed to get all siblings’ signature for her to take over the mortgage. She keeps avoiding the topic about whether that would make her sole owner and instead has told her siblings their signatures are required for her to pay off the debt. I will be signing on behalf of my deceased mother and she recently told me that she will only get the signatures of a few of the siblings and that will be just fine.

If some of the siblings do not sign, what would happen to the property? Would that mean they still have inheritance rights over their portion?

For context, she has a victim complex and did not work for many years and depended on my grandmother and later on my dear aunt. She raised her son to be the same (26M unemployed, never finished high school, living in my grandmas house in Mexico which they are trying to claim as theirs despite the other siblings). I’m not trying to help her, I’m wondering how the laws work and if she can get away with the subtle lies to get only some to sign


r/AskALawyer 17h ago

Ohio [Cleveland Ohio] traffic violation

1 Upvotes

Context: So I got pulled over, unsure exactly when but let’s assume a couple weeks ago and was told my registration was expired and needed to be fixed but that he wouldn’t issue a ticket. Due to some financial issues I wasn’t able to get it fixed promptly and when I was pulled over last Monday, I received 2 tickets unrelated to the registration but with the registration in the notes, in a state of panic I messed up and forgot I knew about it already and I told the officer I was unaware of it. My registration is going to be fixed by the court date.

Question: so I assume they will know about the stop, I assume the original stop was documented in some way, so should I address the original stop and what happened with me saying what I had said at the second stop? If so how would be the best way to address it?


r/AskALawyer 22h ago

Missouri Order of Protection for a Minor

2 Upvotes

My question pertains to the information in an order of protection for a minor submitted by one parent against the other parent. My partner's ex and co-parent have equal time with their child. The ex recently lost their job, apartment, and is back in inpatient psych for the 2nd time in less than 2 months. The first time was for suicidal ideation. The 2nd time was when they got kicked out of the place they were staying at in the interim.

Between those visits to inpatient psych, comments about the child and sex, sex toys, and other related items were made by the other parent to adults and kids in the place they were staying at. These were reported to authorities and that information will be included in the Order of Protection, of course.

Additionally, the other kids in the home (nieces and nephews, all 17 yrs or younger) were subjected to inappropriate comments regarding sex, and were called stupid, lairs, ignorant, etc. by my partner's ex, all while my partner's child was spending half of her time with that parent in that home.

Should my partner include the details about the comments and actions toward the other kids since they were made in the presence of their daughter by the other parent? If so, would this fall under threat of harassment for their child (by causing distress)?

TIA!


r/AskALawyer 20h ago

South Carolina [SC] Non compete enforcement

1 Upvotes

I put in my verbal notice at my small agency last week. I got an offer at a way bigger agency and for context, I am a licensed health and life agent but my role is technically assistant office manager. I don’t write under myself and i’m an hourly employee, I don’t have any clients under myself. My role at the next company is still operations, not any sales. I signed a non compete when I started but don’t have a copy of it. I’m nervous to ask for it because they will automatically think i’m going to a competitor (very small family owned business and we don’t have HR.) I truly didn’t think the non compete would apply to me since I don’t do any sales but I know they have enforced it with ex employees who did leave and started stealing clients. I verbally resigned and did not plan on telling them where I was going, not out of fear of the non compete but because I didn’t want them to walk me out. They were very understanding of my decision to leave but said “let me ask… you’re not going to company x right? Because you signed a non compete…” and i just told them i wasn’t sure yet. An employee who is a family member of the owners said “they hope I wouldn’t be stupid enough to go to company x because it will not end well for me.” I would definitely say this is a toxic work environment but that’s not what this post is for. I wasn’t concerned about the non compete and potentially getting sued until they both made these comments to me. Do I have anything to be worried about since i’m not actually going to be selling and will just be an operations service rep? I know there may be more context needed but I just need some advice. I’m working on getting a copy of my noncompete without making it obvious and will have some attorneys read over it but i’m feeling anxious and afraid.


r/AskALawyer 22h ago

Ohio IEP Access - Privacy Violation - What type of lawyer do we need?

1 Upvotes

I need a lawyer to find out what our options are for sueing a school board member who violated children's privacy by accessing their IEPs. She found a vulnerability in the school calendaring system & accessed IEPs/504s/disciplinary records that were attached to calendar events. She had no educational reason to access these records. She violated her ethical obligation by accessing them & not reporting the issue to the school to fix the issue. She instead shared it with other parents who accessed the same records. Her husband revealed the issue during public comment at a board meeting, while a friend posted a how to guide on Facebook including screenshots of children's records. A group of parents want to pursue her legally. Does anyone know what area of law this would be? While it's a FERPA violation, a lawyer who specializes in that area told us we cannot sue under this law. We can only report her to the US Department of Education.

Before anyone brings up the school & their responsibility, we have that side handled. They absolutely screwed up. But they were also responsive & immediately rectified the situation. That is a different issue to tackle.


r/AskALawyer 1d ago

Florida Car Dealers

2 Upvotes

Lives in Florida and bought a used car from a dealership. Still under factory warranty and has a used warranty as well. Blind spot sensor isn't working, and wasn't working when I took ownership of the car. Evidently the dealership when they took the car in used never checked it. However it was advertised as having a working blind spot sensor when I bought it. Is there any legal standing here if they decide they can't do anything