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Serella posted:So I've got a question about divorce. Long story short, I am getting one. I am filing in Florida and have all the forms for Simplified Dissolution, but I need to know if I need a lawyer or not. The forms themselves are very simple, as is our case. We have been separated for a few years, are on amicable terms, have no children, and have no possessions which need to be divvied up. Might be easier to do a default prove-up if he's confident you won't out-right gently caress him over. For no contest divorces, I've seen prices from $750 total to $1500 total.
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Mar 2, 2012 18:42
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CaptainScraps posted:Might be easier to do a default prove-up if he's confident you won't out-right gently caress him over. Had to look up what that meant, but I don't quite understand. Does that mean that he just doesn't show up for the hearing and I can proceed from there? I'm not going to gently caress him over, and I'd like to know what the ramifications might be for not showing up for the hearing.
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Mar 2, 2012 18:52
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Serella posted:Had to look up what that meant, but I don't quite understand. Does that mean that he just doesn't show up for the hearing and I can proceed from there? I'm not going to gently caress him over, and I'd like to know what the ramifications might be for not showing up for the hearing. He doesn't show up, you tell the judge what you want, he or she generally gives it to you. Alternately you might be able to show up with an affidavit from your ex-husband. (Hire a family law lawyer, they'll do this for about $1000.)
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Mar 2, 2012 19:10
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Can you sue someone is Civil Court/Small Claims Court for your Criminal defense fees? It appears you can sue an accuser for false arrest if you are found not guilty, but this is a little different as I was never formally charged. Backstory: Location, Texas. Someone had me pawn a TV for them under my name. It turns out that the TV was stolen from a local hotel. The person that had me pawn it knew it was stolen at the time (I did not, obviously). Then entire pawn transaction was on video; I didn't take the money or the pawn ticket (I signed my name and left). The police never filed charges against me, but brought me in for questioning. Because of the seriousness (Felony Burglary of a Habitation) I did have to hire an attorney to protect myself during the ordeal (as well as move due to threats on my person). My attorney fees were $1,200 + moving + damage to my reputation, etc. Can I sue the person that had me pawn the television in Civil Court to recoup my legal fees (at least) and my moving costs, etc?
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Mar 2, 2012 19:30
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Negligent misrepresentation / deceit maybe? Restitutionary principles may apply? Short answer is I don't think you'd be able to sue for those kind of costs. But I'm not from Texas and am not super familiar with civil so I could be wrong -- this is not legal advice. Also, you may have to testify or be examined if you're going to file a civil suit, and will have to file supporting affidavits. If you do go ahead I'd be extremely cautious that you don't say anything inculpatory in your statements to the court. Also you run into the issue of whether a dude stealing televisions to pawn them is going to have the money to pay you, and how you're going to enforce any judgement against him. Taken together with the allusions you made to threats against your person over the affair...
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Mar 2, 2012 19:55
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CaptainScraps posted:He doesn't show up, you tell the judge what you want, he or she generally gives it to you. Alternately you might be able to show up with an affidavit from your ex-husband. Do we absolutely need a lawyer for this? I'm willing to hire one if necessary, but would prefer to avoid it if possible.
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Mar 2, 2012 19:57
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Serella posted:Do we absolutely need a lawyer for this? I'm willing to hire one if necessary, but would prefer to avoid it if possible. Why are you interested in avoiding a lawyer? Are you worried about the cost?
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Mar 2, 2012 19:58
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flip6-3hole posted:Can you sue someone is Civil Court/Small Claims Court for your Criminal defense fees? You could probably cook something up but good luck collecting any money from them.
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Mar 2, 2012 20:12
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CaptainScraps posted:You could probably cook something up but good luck collecting any money from them. Well, his primary occupation is "Drug Dealer" so he does ok for himself, but I imagine it is hard to garnish those funds as wages. He does work from time to time, so there are garnish-able funds at times. From what I've read the court can force non-exempt items to be liquidated to satisfy the debt; and the court can demand a discovery of assets (at which time they CAN be arrested for contempt of court if they don't respond). If I can't get paid back, I may as well get him locked up. On a semi-related note, how much evidence is required for a small claims court regarding loaned money? Can you show up and say they owe it to you, without much evidence, if you're confident they won't show up in court to defend it?
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Mar 2, 2012 23:10
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flip6-3hole posted:If I can't get paid back, I may as well get him locked up. IANAL, but I'm pretty sure we got rid of debtors' prisons. I guess what I'm wondering is that if you know it's unlikely you'll be able to collect, why would you want to antagonize someone who sounds like he's made death threats against you?
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Mar 2, 2012 23:31
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flip6-3hole posted:On a semi-related note, how much evidence is required for a small claims court regarding loaned money? Can you show up and say they owe it to you, without much evidence, if you're confident they won't show up in court to defend it? The more the better. It's up to the judge. Won't hurt to try.
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Mar 2, 2012 23:48
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Arcturas posted:Why are you interested in avoiding a lawyer? Are you worried about the cost? Yes. The filing fees alone are already going to be around $500, and if I can fill out and file all the forms myself, $1000 seems like a lot of money when I can't quite figure out the lawyer would be doing. I guess I'm just not clear on that part exactly. Thanks for answering my questions so far, by the way. Legal stuff is such a stressful, confusing process.
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Mar 3, 2012 00:18
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Serella posted:Legal stuff is such a stressful, confusing process. That's why its good to hire lawyers 
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Mar 3, 2012 00:32
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flip6-3hole posted:Backstory: Location, Texas. Someone had me pawn a TV for them under my name. It turns out that the TV was stolen from a local hotel. The person that had me pawn it knew it was stolen at the time (I did not, obviously). The problem is that the proximate cause of your legal problems was you, not him/her. When the drug dealer (who you [were] apparently on friendly terms with) gave you a TV and asked you to pawn it for him/her under your name, you were the one that did the pawning instead of thinking, "for what non-illegal reason would a drug dealer give me a TV and ask me to pawn it for him/her using my own name?" You failed to protect your financial, legal and reputational interests. Since you weren't arrested I'd say you're ahead of the game. The small claims judge where I am would ensure you NEVER forgot that lesson. Serella posted:So I've got a question about divorce. Long story short, I am getting one. I am filing in Florida and have all the forms for Simplified Dissolution, but I need to know if I need a lawyer or not. The forms themselves are very simple, as is our case. We have been separated for a few years, are on amicable terms, have no children, and have no possessions which need to be divvied up. Just do the "Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with no Dependent Children or Minor Child or Property" and comply with the notice/answer requrements (that are explained in the form) instead. (not a FL lawyer, not your lawyer) joat mon fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Mar 3, 2012 |
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Mar 3, 2012 00:34
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euphronius posted:That's why its good to hire lawyers But then how can you trust them and evaluate how well they will perform? It feels like a gamble.
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Mar 3, 2012 00:57
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In most states you can see whether a lawyer had been the subject of discipline. You could also get a word of mouth recommendation. I don't know. How do you know anything?
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Mar 3, 2012 01:37
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betaraywil posted:IANAL, but I'm pretty sure we got rid of debtors' prisons. I deal with child support contempt defendants regularly, many of whom are incarcerated with a purge payment set. If they make the payment, they can leave at any time but otherwise they serve up to 180 days. If you are under a court order to pay (or do anything else) and you don't do it, you can be charged with contempt of court and face imprisonment.
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Mar 3, 2012 01:58
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JesustheDarkLord posted:I deal with child support contempt defendants regularly, many of whom are incarcerated with a purge payment set. If they make the payment, they can leave at any time but otherwise they serve up to 180 days. If you are under a court order to pay (or do anything else) and you don't do it, you can be charged with contempt of court and face imprisonment. Sort of. The 13th Amendment did away with imprisonment for nonpayment of debt. Child support is not a debt; it is a legal obligation imposed by parentage. Similarly, other family obligations can be (en)forced by jail or the threat if jail. A small claims judgement is a debt, and the 13th Amendment applies.
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Mar 3, 2012 03:35
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baquerd posted:But then how can you trust them and evaluate how well they will perform? It feels like a gamble. Pretty much everything is routine to an old dog.
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Mar 3, 2012 04:19
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joat mon posted:Sort of. The 13th Amendment did away with imprisonment for nonpayment of debt. Debt-related arrest warrants are not unheard of at all. The arrestee isn't arrested for failing to pay debt; they're arrested for violating court orders. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704396504576204553811636610.html quote:More than a third of all U.S. states allow borrowers who can't or won't pay to be jailed. Judges have signed off on more than 5,000 such warrants since the start of 2010 in nine counties with a total population of 13.6 million people, according to a tally by The Wall Street Journal of filings in those counties. Nationwide figures aren't known because many courts don't keep track of warrants by alleged offense.
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Mar 3, 2012 15:50
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flip6-3hole posted:Well, his primary occupation is "Drug Dealer" so he does ok for himself, but I imagine it is hard to garnish those funds as wages. He does work from time to time, so there are garnish-able funds at times. Please go into court and tell the judge that you'd like to garnish his bank accounts for income earned from the sale of illegal narcotics. Then be prepared to explain how you know he sells the drugs.
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Mar 3, 2012 22:56
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CaptainScraps posted:He doesn't show up, you tell the judge what you want, he or she generally gives it to you. Alternately you might be able to show up with an affidavit from your ex-husband. $1000, or $1000 each? I wouldn't think a single lawyer would be able to represent both sides of a divorce, right?
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Mar 4, 2012 17:50
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fordan posted:$1000, or $1000 each? I wouldn't think a single lawyer would be able to represent both sides of a divorce, right? If it's agreed a single lawyer can handle it, although he or she doesn't really represent both parties.
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Mar 4, 2012 19:15
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fordan posted:$1000, or $1000 each? I wouldn't think a single lawyer would be able to represent both sides of a divorce, right? If it's a no fault divorce you don't need someone to represent both sides. You come to an agreement and the lawyer files all the paperwork for you.
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Mar 4, 2012 21:48
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So my fiancee wasnt home when I got here, called jails and hospitals to find her, and found her at a local ER. They wouldnt tell me anything besides that she is stable and they didnt have to take any life saving measures. They also told me she was extremely intoxicated and uncooperative, so I couldnt see her. I cant figure out: A. why she would be in the hospital instead of detox if it was a drunk in public kind of thing B. How she event Got to the hospital C. Why they wouldnt let me wait there for her Any medical law legal goons in here?
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Mar 5, 2012 13:48
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Old Man Pants posted:So my fiancee wasnt home when I got here, called jails and hospitals to find her, and found her at a local ER. They wouldnt tell me anything besides that she is stable and they didnt have to take any life saving measures. They also told me she was extremely intoxicated and uncooperative, so I couldnt see her. I cant figure out: They won't tell you anything because you're not a family member. Marry the poor girl, already, or call one of her real family members to find out the story. I don't know why they won't let you wait for her at the hospital. Most hospitals I know of have a waiting room I think you probably have a bigger problem, though. If your first impulse upon discovering that your fiancee wasn't waiting at home for you is to call jails and hospitals, and then you find her at the ER for extreme intoxication, then maybe the two of you need to take a serious look at what kind of lifestyle you're living. Sounds to me like she has a drinking problem, and you aren't helping.
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Mar 5, 2012 16:31
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King of the Cows posted:I think you probably have a bigger problem, though. If your first impulse upon discovering that your fiancee wasn't waiting at home for you is to call jails and hospitals, and then you find her at the ER for extreme intoxication, then maybe the two of you need to take a serious look at what kind of lifestyle you're living. Sounds to me like she has a drinking problem, and you aren't helping. Well, I knew she was going out drinking with friends last night, and after not being able to get in contact with them I started calling around to those places. We just got home from the hospital, and she was going to catch a cab back to our place, someone punched her in the back of the head and she fell and hit her face. She was intoxicated for sure. She was being uncooperative because she woke up strapped down (being held down or restricted is a huge trigger for her, she is also severely claustrophobic ) in a place she didnt recognize. Random act of violence. As far as the drinking problem thing, I dunno. Theres a reason I was so freaked out when she wasnt there, and I couldnt get ahold of her. Its not like her and its never ever happened before. I still have no idea why they wouldnt let me wait for her though. Edit: I called people who worked at the bars she had been to first as well (we work in nightlife and know the local spots) before thinking something was really wrong, sorry if I left that out originally, this has been a very scary night for me. Old Man Pants fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Mar 5, 2012 |
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Mar 5, 2012 19:18
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Weird question, but for all of you attorneys: Have you ever seen book of case law with a dust jacket? Like will we look like tools if we publish such a book with a big, colorful jacket as opposed to plain cloth?
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Mar 5, 2012 19:20
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betaraywil posted:Weird question, but for all of you attorneys: Practicing attorneys don't look at case books, they read practitioners' treatises and guides, and they do their case research on Lexis or Westlaw or some terrible free database. Are you publishing a case law textbook, like we would see in law school? If you are, then don't worry about it - lawyers won't look at it, and students won't care because either a) they were assigned your book or b) they are using your book to get a good grade, and all they care about is their grades.
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Mar 5, 2012 19:31
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I think it's more intended as a reference for jurisprudence scholars. Ed. So actually that sounds like enough to go on. Thanks!
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Mar 5, 2012 19:38
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Hah. Ok, so I took a friend to the St. Louis airport back around January 20th. While parked and sitting with them before their plane arrived, I got a ticket for parking in parking spaces that were apparently not to be used. It was a bullshit 15 dollar ticket, so I was going to pay it. I couldn't, however; not for 15 days could it be paid, so I put it on my desk and forgot about it. Today I noticed it and said "gently caress". The ticket, unlike other traffic tickets, needed to be paid "not before 15 days but before 30 days". So now there's a warrant out for my arrest in St. Louis. While I'm perfectly fine never driving to St. Louis again, this seems retarded and I'd like to get it cleared up. What should/can I do to fix this? Will there be some absurd fine because they put a warrant out, or could I just go down there, explain the situation to a judge, and pay the money? Any advice is helpful, thanks!
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Mar 5, 2012 20:41
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I use the annotated statute books for my state because I like them better than online research. Looking up cases in books though is dumb.
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Mar 5, 2012 20:45
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Monechetti posted:Hah. Ok, so I took a friend to the St. Louis airport back around January 20th. While parked and sitting with them before their plane arrived, I got a ticket for parking in parking spaces that were apparently not to be used. It was a bullshit 15 dollar ticket, so I was going to pay it. I couldn't, however; not for 15 days could it be paid, so I put it on my desk and forgot about it. Today I noticed it and said "gently caress". The ticket, unlike other traffic tickets, needed to be paid "not before 15 days but before 30 days". So now there's a warrant out for my arrest in St. Louis. While I'm perfectly fine never driving to St. Louis again, this seems retarded and I'd like to get it cleared up. What should/can I do to fix this? Will there be some absurd fine because they put a warrant out, or could I just go down there, explain the situation to a judge, and pay the money? Any advice is helpful, thanks! Wait, was it a moving violation or a parking ticket? Cuz where I'm from a $15 parking ticket usually goes to collections, not to a judge.
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Mar 5, 2012 21:02
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This say "Park/stop/stand where Official Sign Prohibits Parking. St. Louis County, MO ORD #1207 $15.00 fine if paid in Municipal Court. In the most literal sense, I was not moving. It's a parking ticket, in every way that makes sense to me. I thought it was odd, too, that I'd have to pay the court for a 15 dollar parking ticket, but this is what it appears to be.
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Mar 5, 2012 21:31
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Monechetti posted:This say "Park/stop/stand where Official Sign Prohibits Parking. Just call the municipal court clerk's office and see what it will take to fix it
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Mar 5, 2012 22:12
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You should also be able to pay those online. You can in most places. http://www.stlcitycourt.org/
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Mar 5, 2012 22:18
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Monechetti posted:Hah. Ok, so I took a friend to the St. Louis airport back around January 20th. While parked and sitting with them before their plane arrived, I got a ticket for parking in parking spaces that were apparently not to be used. It was a bullshit 15 dollar ticket, so I was going to pay it. I couldn't, however; not for 15 days could it be paid, so I put it on my desk and forgot about it. Today I noticed it and said "gently caress". The ticket, unlike other traffic tickets, needed to be paid "not before 15 days but before 30 days". So now there's a warrant out for my arrest in St. Louis. While I'm perfectly fine never driving to St. Louis again, this seems retarded and I'd like to get it cleared up. What should/can I do to fix this? Will there be some absurd fine because they put a warrant out, or could I just go down there, explain the situation to a judge, and pay the money? Any advice is helpful, thanks! This exact same thing happened to me a month ago and a few pages back. I went to traffic court and paid the ticket with a $50 late fee. The warrant was cleared. It sounds scary, but it's really no big deal. They don't give a poo poo about you, they just want your money.
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Mar 6, 2012 01:11
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I just realized something weird that I'm afraid may cost me a months rent, hope I could get some advice/clarification/knowledge. My lease states "This agreement is for a term of 12 months beginning on July 29, 2011 and ending at midnight on June 30, 2012." That's 11 months and 1 day. Did I sign a lease that just charged me a months rent for 1 day?
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Mar 6, 2012 07:15
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Old Man Pants posted:Well, I knew she was going out drinking with friends last night, and after not being able to get in contact with them I started calling around to those places. Sorry, didn't mean to get all preachy on you. Hope she's okay - getting hit on the head can be pretty serious.
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Mar 6, 2012 15:26
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spidoman posted:I just realized something weird that I'm afraid may cost me a months rent, hope I could get some advice/clarification/knowledge. You probably paid a prorated 3/31 portion of a months rent to account for July 29, 30, and 31 when you moved in.
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Mar 6, 2012 16:14
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