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So it goes. If that's something they can do I wouldn't mind making sure that I at least still have some element of surprise on my side, so I'll edit my previous posts and it would be really nice if those who quoted me could follow suit. Thanks a lot.
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Jan 14, 2013 15:59
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Alright, I'm back! Another question for you kind legal people. My girlfriend and I are in the process of attempting to move into a new apartment; we were, however, declined as one of my rental references claims I didn't provide 30 days notice and won't give a reference. I did give (over) 30 days notice but, as they required a form to be dropped in a drop box (there was no office location divulged at this property management company) I can't prove it. Looking into the few Idaho laws regarding landlord/tenant relationships, I can't see any laws pertaining to the situation. Is there anything I can do to rectify the situation? I did leave on extremely bad terms with the previous landlord, as I had been nagging them about fixing various parts of the apartment and they refused to do anything about it. I didn't break the lease and I did receive most of my deposit back. Thanks in advance!
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Jan 14, 2013 18:30
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There's no legal claim... it's a private reference. They could say you wore the wrong style of pants and therefore they cannot recommend you as a tenant.
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Jan 14, 2013 18:55
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Venetir posted:Alright, I'm back! Another question for you kind legal people. My girlfriend and I are in the process of attempting to move into a new apartment; we were, however, declined as one of my rental references claims I didn't provide 30 days notice and won't give a reference. I did give (over) 30 days notice but, as they required a form to be dropped in a drop box (there was no office location divulged at this property management company) I can't prove it. Looking into the few Idaho laws regarding landlord/tenant relationships, I can't see any laws pertaining to the situation. Is there anything I can do to rectify the situation? I did leave on extremely bad terms with the previous landlord, as I had been nagging them about fixing various parts of the apartment and they refused to do anything about it. I didn't break the lease and I did receive most of my deposit back. Thanks in advance! Can you simply not include that tennancy as part of your application? I've (British) left previous landlords off rental applications several times, as I tend to move rather often, and listing them all can be a pain. I've yet to be refused due to this.
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Jan 14, 2013 22:14
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How do I find a lawyer? I have no pressing need at the moment, but it seems like it'd be better to have an established relationship before I need one. My anticipated needs are pretty basic (real estate, contracts, trusts.) Beyond calling the local bar's referral service, is there any other good way to find someone beyond word of mouth? Are there any questions that I should ask or things to look out for?
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Jan 14, 2013 22:20
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Soylent Yellow posted:Can you simply not include that tennancy as part of your application? I've (British) left previous landlords off rental applications several times, as I tend to move rather often, and listing them all can be a pain. I've yet to be refused due to this. This new property management company wants us to account for every move for the last three years. It is the first place we applied for and we had no idea they were going to deny giving me a reference; however, we miraculously found a forgotten reply letter from the bastards where they reference my letter giving 45 days of notice and respond to a question I asked regarding the lease terms. We threatened to seek legal recourse if they continued to provide false information and are now receiving stellar references. Go figure. Thanks everyone!
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Jan 14, 2013 22:58
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PCjr sidecar posted:How do I find a lawyer? I have no pressing need at the moment, but it seems like it'd be better to have an established relationship before I need one. My anticipated needs are pretty basic (real estate, contracts, trusts.) I find this guy has written the best guide to your question: http://www.popehat.com/2011/05/27/how-to-cold-call-a-lawyer-a-potential-clients-guide/
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Jan 14, 2013 23:16
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Hey guys, I probably shouldn't be writing this, but its not like I'm involved in the case yet and I seriously need some advice. I should preface this with notification of my obvious bias. WOW THIS CASE IS ALL OVER THE NEWS.  Massive edits because holy gently caress I had no idea this was as huge as anything and  they have told me nothing.  So, um... My mom is now in jail, and she's been charged with all manner of awful stuff like manslaughter. My family CANNOT afford a lawyer. What resources are available to me to get good representation for my mother when she is pretty much POOR? How hosed is she? Should I contact the courts and get involved in the case? Be a witness? What can I do? I don't know much about what's going on, how can I find out more? Help me Goons, or at least tell me how hosed I/my mom is. Jenner fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 15, 2013 03:14
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If she was criminally charged (manslaughter) and doesn't have any money, she'll get a court appointed public defender. They're very good at what they do, and she should listen to them. The PD will make witness decisions and stuff like that, but will not keep you informed. The PD will keep your mother informed, instead, and it's up to your mother how much to share with you. For civil stuff (taking kids away, monetary penalties, etc) for you, your brother, and your mother, none of you will get free lawyers. You could try the local legal services or some clinics, but I don't know anything about your state or the availability of those. Contact the local bar for referrals/references. Arcturas fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 15, 2013 03:47
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Jenner posted:Hey guys, I probably shouldn't be writing this, but its not like I'm involved in the case yet and I seriously need some advice. Resources: The county where the charges are filed has a dedicated public defender office. They're probably pretty good. hosed? No way to tell, but if she was providing the level of care your brother said she was, tending in the yes direction. Involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment are serious charges - in my state, 4-life and 0-life. At least around here, helping better than the PD will cost in the $30,000 to $50,000 range, more if it goes to trial. (full disclosure - I'm a PD) How to help: At the very least you can help with taking care of Mom's affairs while she's in jail. If you can get in touch with your Mom, tell her to request a PD as soon as she can. DO NOT talk about the case with her. When the PD gets appointed, get in touch with the assigned PD and at the least, leave your contact information. You may well be a potential witness in the case, since the situation goes back a half-dozen years. This can help or hurt your Mom. Talk to her lawyer before you think about talking to anybody else. You have no duty to contact the courts or the judge or the prosecutor, and whatever you think you would have to say to them will not help your Mom. (Unless you're subpoenaed - then get yourself an attorney) Again, edit out your location. joat mon fucked around with this message at 05:00 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 15, 2013 04:39
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joat mon posted:edit out your location. Holy poo poo... this is huge. I may just burn this bridge... wow... Edit: (A google search later)  I guess I'm white trash now.  Thanks guys, I'm thinking I'll just back away slowly... Jenner fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 15, 2013 04:45
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This thread is way less fun once everything's edited out.
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Jan 15, 2013 05:08
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Javid posted:This thread is way less fun once everything's edited out. Like FOX just cancelled an intriguing show right after a cliffhanger, leaving you with just a few tantalizing hints and a metric assload of unanswered questions. (Jenner, best of luck, in any case.)
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Jan 15, 2013 05:18
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Jenner posted:...I may just burn this bridge... It looks like your family had more problems than they had resources. Your support is a resource your family could probably use right now. Your Mom probably felt very alone and very powerless. She's feeling that even more now. You don't have to defend her; just be there for her.* (but don't talk about the case with her and don't let her start talking about it either) *If you have an E/N story near-or-equal to that of your nephews/nieces, ignore as you see fit.
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Jan 15, 2013 05:34
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Javid posted:This thread is way less fun once everything's edited out. I have thought of the last two pages as several elaborate choose-your-own-adventure posts. I've pieced together a vague picture of what has happened, and that's entertaining enough for The Internet on a Monday night. Jokes aside Jenner, I'm a prosecutor and the top five best attorneys I can think of off the top of my head are all court appointed.
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Jan 15, 2013 08:01
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Question: I may have to have my mother's Power of Attorney over my father revoked. He is 91 years old with dementia and lives in a nursing home; she is 74 years old, is currently paying his bills and is responsible for making his medical decisions. She is batshit insane, but has never been diagnosed with anything as she believes everyone else has a problem and not her. (Her problems range from hoarding to depression to possible bipolar disorder -- it runs in the family and she exhibits all the symptoms.) She has, in the past, tried to disown my sister and I multiple times for the stupidest of reasons (always a misunderstanding or overreaction on her part, and my sister and I apologize even though we did nothing wrong, and it goes back to normal until a couple months later and she does it again). In October 2012 my sister finally took her up on it and hasn't spoken with her since. On Sunday, my mom called me with some idea that my Dad has been having an affair for the past 47 years because, while going through his things, she found a photo of 4 naked women (taken only God knows when, and by God knows who). She says she confronted him and he admitted it, but you have to understand that he has severe dementia and doesn't know what year it is or who anyone is most of the time. On various days he'll think my mother is my grandmother, that he's still 65 years old, or that he's still working and has a deadline to meet. His word is not reliable at this point. The point is, she went home and threw away all his things and everything he's ever done -- he was a writer and photographer, and she trashed more 70 years worth of his work. When I asked her to stop, she disowned me, and this time I took her up on it. I called his nursing home this morning to ask that they contact my sister or myself with any of my Dad's health issues, since we can no longer count on my mother to relay his info. They informed me that she called them yesterday and had everyone but her taken off his call list and instructed them to not give out any information about his health status to anyone but her. Apparently, this is legal in Ohio as she is his POA. At this point, I am confident that if he took ill she wouldn't approve any treatment for him, and would let him die. She has cut off my sister and I from visiting him out of pure spite, not because it's in his best interests for him not to have family that loves him and would never say or do anything to hurt him come visit him. I'm sure that she will also stop visiting him, which leaves him alone. I'm also afraid that she'll cut off his funding, and neither my sister or I -- or the two of us together--can afford his care. Currently my mother is using his social security payments to pay for his care, and we'd like to have those sent directly to the nursing home to cover his care. I'm not sure what we can do. I've looked online and the only revocation of POA I can find is for the person themselves to have it revoked. As my dad is not of sound mind, he won't be able to sign this and have it stand up in court, I'm afraid. I know that my sister and I will have to go to a lawyer to discuss this, but can you let me know what we need to ask and if this is possible to do? My only concern is for my dad's health and care, and that my sister and I can still visit him. At this point he could die and neither my mother nor the nursing home would inform us, so we would never know what happened.
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Jan 15, 2013 18:46
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Jenner, I just want to reiterate what everyone else is saying that your mom should listen to her PD. PDs are usually excellent at what they do -- they're human, you may get a bad one from time to time, but on average they tend to be very solid. Don't let anyone feed you bullshit otherwise.
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Jan 15, 2013 18:52
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Kali posted:I'm not sure what we can do. I ain't no expert in this area at all, but I think your legal steps would be to ask a court to assign him a guardian ad litem. That's an attorney assigned to him to represent his interests (it's commonly done for children, handicapped, elderly, etc when there is a dispute). A judge would have to assign it. That guardian could assess the situation and make recommendations to the court, potentially resulting in an order on his POA, finances, etc. You'd want an attorney specializing in elder care and/or guardianships. That kind of attorney would typically advertise in family law, adoptions, or wills/estates. If you're calling around, the question you're asking is can the attorney help you get a guardian ad litem in place for your grandfather with dementia (the attorney isn't going to be the guardian, but the one to ask a court to assign a guardian). If it's a full-on trial process it could be way too expensive, but it doesn't hurt to call around and see.
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Jan 15, 2013 19:10
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Kali posted:Question: I may have to have my mother's Power of Attorney over my father revoked. He is 91 years old with dementia and lives in a nursing home; she is 74 years old, is currently paying his bills and is responsible for making his medical decisions. She is batshit insane ... In addition to what woozlewuzzle said, Call his county's Adult Protective Services office and tell them you're concerned about elder abuse/neglect. (You're looking for the 'CDJFS' number) joat mon fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 15, 2013 19:21
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Woozle Wuzzle and Joat Mon, thanks very much! I will ask about the Guardian ad litem and see where it takes me. Thank you both!
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Jan 15, 2013 20:06
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Does not sound like much to be honest. I do not know why a court would go against your Grandfather's wishes on those facts.
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Jan 15, 2013 20:10
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Never thought I'd find myself posting here but here goes. I live in Kansas, for reference. Last year I was involved in a not-at-fault accident. There was no damage to either vehicle and no insurance claims, I did not receive a citation. Unbeknownst to me, however, my insurance had lapsed that previous week and I was not covered at the time of the accident. The state caught wind of this and promptly suspended my license. In order to get it back I have to pay a reinstatement fee and file an SR22 with the state, both of which I have already done. The final step, however, is to obtain in writing a document from the other party involved stating that I was not liable and that they are not going to sue me. To do this I have to contact the party directly. I understand this is usually something that one would ask a lawyer to do but I can't afford one. Obviously, I need to handle this delicately. I have the police report and I don't think finding the other party will be an issue, but how should I even begin to do this? It's not going to be an easy conversation but how should I get started? Is there anything I should do specifically when I'm wording the message? I feel like I only have one shot to do this so I have to do it right. I don't want to screw myself over by accident or something, I've never done this before.
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Jan 15, 2013 23:08
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euphronius posted:Does not sound like much to be honest. I do not know why a court would go against your Grandfather's wishes on those facts. Yeah, I like the adult protective services suggestion better than mine for immediate results. The one piece that sticks out that could make a judge double-take is her potential incapacity in making his health decisions. Like she sounds capable of just blurting out that he deserves to die.
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Jan 16, 2013 01:19
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woozle wuzzle posted:Yeah, I like the adult protective services suggestion better than mine for immediate results. The one piece that sticks out that could make a judge double-take is her potential incapacity in making his health decisions. Like she sounds capable of just blurting out that he deserves to die. Yeah, didn't want to give too many details since this isn't E/N, but she is very unstable and not afraid to hurt people. A relatively recent example: I had a scheduled C-section, which was moved up a few weeks due to my high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. My first C-section with my older child went VERY badly and I suffered some major complications. I was scared to death about having to undergo the surgery again. She was well aware of this; however, she chose moments before I was heading into surgery to call me and tell me I was a horrible daughter and she was disowning me. Her reason? A week before, I'd asked my husband's parents to watch my older child while I was having surgery instead of asking her. (I'd asked them for many reasons, such as 1. they lived 15 minutes from the hospital and knew the area, while my mother lived an hour and a half away, and 2. my mother had promised to come out after the baby was born to help me out with the kids for a week, so I didn't want to ask her to help both before AND after the birth (although she bailed on me on the postpartum help, too, stating that she was "busy that week.")) Instead of saying something to me anytime during that week, she purposely chose the worst possible moment to call me and tell me off. So, if she's willing to endanger the life of her own daughter and unborn grandchild for some minor personal affront--and I truly believe she did; I was sobbing like crazy and bawling my eyes out while they were trying to get my IV in, my blood pressure was all over the place, my baby's heartrate was going crazy ... not a good situation--I don't question for a minute what she could do to a man who she thinks cheated on her throughout their marriage. Edit: I noticed a couple people refer to him as my grandfather; this my dad I'm talking about. He's 17 years older than my mom, and had me when he was 50 years old. Kali fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Jan 16, 2013 |
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Jan 16, 2013 02:20
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That does not sound that bad in the context of the universe of bad things people have do to get themselves judged incompetent or incapacitated or have thier fiduciary powers stripped.
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Jan 16, 2013 02:51
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Can an Aussie goon comment on what constitutes "weapons parts" under our law? I ordered one of these http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/eeec/?srp=3 and apparently since it could be disassembled and reassembled into a butterfly knife, it counts as "illegal weapons parts" and was seized by customs. Now, I understand the law here (I think), and it's pretty clear that if I did order "weapons parts", I'm in the wrong, but I can't find the definition of "weapons parts" - there doesn't seem to be any mention in law that "anything that can be disassembled and made into something illegal is therefore illegal". The guy I spoke to on the phone compared it to "the trigger of a gun" (doesn't seem right, it's a whole item, not a component), and my assertion of "it's a bottle opener" was met with "but it could be turned into a knife", and trying to say "So could my phone or keyring" seemed like a bad idea, so I didn't say it. Additionally, similar products are offered for sale within Australia, for instance from here: http://www.outdoorswarehouse.com.au/products/Butterfly-Bottle-Opener.html So what do I do? I understand that if the law actually defines the item as illegal, I'm hosed.
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Jan 16, 2013 03:00
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Check out the regulations and see if any of those knives they mention are similar to what you ordered. I'm thinking somewhere between Part 2 (14) and Part 2 (17) there might be an answer. I don't know anything about knives so I can't tell you for sure. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/cir1956432/sch13.html edit: actually it just says under Part 2 (34) that you can't import without permission "Parts for butterfly knives, devices known as 'balisongs', or other devices described in item 33".
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Jan 16, 2013 05:48
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LordPants posted:Check out the regulations and see if any of those knives they mention are similar to what you ordered. I'm thinking somewhere between Part 2 (14) and Part 2 (17) there might be an answer. I don't know anything about knives so I can't tell you for sure. Yeah, I got that far, but this isn't "parts for a..." it's "shaped like a..." I can't find anything that says "if you can disassemble the item and reassemble it with different parts and it makes a weapon, it's illegal". You can buy the drat things in brick-and-mortar stores and onshore online stores here, along with combs shaped like flick knives (also illegal? I don't know, certainly you could remove the comb part and make up a knife blade that goes in the handle, which is the contention they're making about the bottle opener). It seems like they might have read the description and over-reacted, given that a friend said she ordered a "plush microbe" from thinkgeek and it was seized (and she got a letter about how it's illegal to import microbiological samples without a permit), and another friend had a shipment of chunky brass costume-jewellery rings seized because they were "brass knuckles".
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Jan 16, 2013 06:30
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I'm working on an indie PC game and I'm talking with a guy who wants to help us out with sound effects and music, but I'm not sure how to handle the compensation. Right now we have virtually no budget, and likely won't for at least a couple months. We're also working through the internet and none of us have actually met in person. Me and another guy have been working on the game for a little over a year at this point, and the two of us that have been working on the game the whole time have just pretty much said from the beginning that we would split the profits. In the near future we're going to be setting up a 50-50 partnership agreement with me and my partner on the game, and then set up an LLC. Bringing in someone new at this point, however is troublesome. The new guy is pushing for a percent of the profits, and we're not greedy or anything, but we also basically just met the guy and don't want to agree to anything that is going to bite us in the rear end down the line. Does anyone know how this stuff is usually handled? If we offer him a percentage and then it turns out he's garbage do we have any recourse? What about if he just stops working on stuff in a month, would we still owe him the percentage of the profits forever? I imagine this stuff would be worked out in a contract of some kind, but I'm having trouble finding an appropriate template or something online. The way I'd prefer to handle it is to have him work on a contract basis, but since we don't actually have any money at this point we would have to have something worked out where we pay him once we start making money, is that even an option? The guy understands that we don't have any money now and that no matter what he isn't getting paid in the very short term, but we want to work out something that protects us all legally. No matter what we decide to do, we're going to get a real lawyer to help us work out the specifics, but the whole process is kinda awkward since we're all spread all over the world geographically, so we want to have a rough idea of the kind of deal we want to work out before we start talking with an actual lawyer. Any advice you guys could give us would be super helpful.
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Jan 16, 2013 07:29
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This comes up a lot in equity discussions for startups, and what you're looking for is called "vesting" - it's usually something that people do with equity, but I suppose there's no reason you couldn't structure a similar deal around profit sharing. Probably you'd want the contract to specify a certain amount of money to be paid as soon as you have sufficient profit to pay him (to stand in for salary), and then some additional amount of profit sharing contingent on his continued work.
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Jan 16, 2013 08:40
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Profit sharing ON ACCEPTANCE I think is the idea you're looking for. It also mitigates your risk and pushes it to him, as "profit" is a bit nebulous (see hollywood accounting). You'd be silly not to offer something like this. And since it's on acceptance if you don't use it it costs you nothing.
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Jan 16, 2013 17:11
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These are the kinds of decisions that you really ought to talk to an attorney about, even if it hurts your wallet a bit now, at least if you're really serious. You don't need to know the deal going in, that's the whole point. You need to give him the data you have, and let him figure out what the best solution for you is. Trust me, as a lawyer who handles these kinds of questions, it's better for you to come into it with an open mind and an idea of the outcome you want to achieve. Let the lawyer figure out the best way to do it, whether that be vesting, restricted shares, whatever.
Leif. fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Jan 16, 2013 |
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Jan 16, 2013 20:06
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Depending on where you are, there may be a law school clinic/student practice organization nearby that offers free advice to startups and entrepreneurs. I know Harvard has one.
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Jan 16, 2013 21:36
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If your business is serious you should be developing a relationship with an attorney. The value an attorney gives you in the context of small businesses is greatly increased when they know you and your contexts and can be proactive in their representation.
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Jan 16, 2013 21:40
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euphronius posted:If your business is serious you should be developing a relationship with an attorney. The value an attorney gives you in the context of small businesses is greatly increased when they know you and your contexts and can be proactive in their representation. Interestingly there are also a number of lawsuits against the self help websites and storefronts offering you the basic legal docs etc for smaller issues on the grounds of unauthorized practice of law. Caveat emptor if you go through these guys, better to stick with a flesh and blood attorney.
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Jan 16, 2013 23:05
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Thanks for all the advice guys, I'm definitely going to seek out a proper lawyer. I've been putting it off as long as possible but it sounds like I'm at the point where I pretty much have to if I don't want to make horrible horrible mistakes.
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Jan 17, 2013 00:15
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Wow, I guess lawyers really do charge for everything. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Supreme Court has suspended an Eagan lawyer accused of having an affair with a client who said he billed her for time they spent having sex.
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Jan 17, 2013 06:46
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Hey again, I'm dealing with an offshoot of a previous landlord flooding issue. When my girlfriend and I moved into the house we were told that, in the far past, it had issues with plumbing but they had long since been fixed. Our landlord informed us, erroneously, that he had purchased water damage coverage for our property in case it flooded. Just in case, right? We, being stupid, did not get this in writing, and did not get water damage coverage on our renter's insurance. So our house flooded...with backed up sewage. We found out the plumbing issues were never fixed, and the water destroyed my work/school laptop. I contacted the landlord via e-mail who confirmed that he told us our property would be covered by his insurance and he would replace the laptop himself since the insurance would likely not. He also went on to say he'd let us out of the lease since he was not going to fix the plumbing issue and sewage would likely back up into our house again. This was three weeks ago and the landlord has been largely ignoring my e-mails and calls since. I've told him several times, truthfully, I need the laptop by the 22nd as I use it for school. Today I receive an e-mail telling me he won't be able to do anything in the near future, whatever that means. Do I have any legal recourse? I figure three weeks is ample time, so this is getting ridiculous.
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Jan 18, 2013 15:25
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Suing him would probably cost more than a new laptop.
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Jan 18, 2013 15:44
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euphronius posted:Suing him would probably cost more than a new laptop. Couldn't I just do this in small claims court? It's a $1300 laptop, would it cost more either way, and couldn't I sue him for legal fees as well?
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Jan 18, 2013 15:48
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