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Mentally disabled young adult has run off with dude from the internet

Anonymous — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:30:19 -0800

A (legally) mentally disabled 21 year old girl in Vermont ran away with a guy from New Hampshire who she met on the internet. Her parents unfortunately did not establish guardianship, and the police say there is essentially nothing they can do. Can anyone recommend a lawyer in Vermont/New Hampshire who can help the parents establish temporary guardianship, and also, what else should the parents be doing? The young woman in question is mentally disabled, and due to her immediate trust in basically everyone she meets, is very vulnerable. The meeting with the guy from New Hampshire was facilitated by a "friend" of hers, who apparently does not care about her disability (has done some other mean-spirited/putting her in danger things in the past). The guy who she ran off with she has never met before, and is not known by friends or family, although his name and location is known to the police.

Any recommendations for a lawyer in the state of Vermont or New Hampshire who has experience in special needs/guardianship? Also, what are some other steps that her family could take to retrieve her safely?

Finally, in the brief contact that she had with her parents after running away, she expressed that the reasons for her actions were that she she was bored at home. Her parents are good caretakers, but obviously she needs a more independent, adult, and yet supervised living situation. Any resources along those lines you could point to in the Vermont area?

What's a good gift for a lawyer?

arniec — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:32:19 -0800

My lawyer did an awesome job for me on a case. He's late 30s/early 40s, male. Need ideas for a "thank you" gift. Catch: we live in Springfield, IL so lots of more "urban" upscale options are nil. If he was a she I'd send a bouquet of flowers, but what can we give a guy? Do we send wine? Caviar? Cupcakes? Looking for ideas of something that can be delivered, not something we take ourselves as that's a bit "folksy"

Need an Employment Lawyer in LA

ApathyGirl — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:45:54 -0800

A friend needs an HR/Employment specialty lawyer in LA, preferably in the SGV, but no further west than downtown. Difficulty: Friend works at a law firm. I am happy to provide more details in memail, but briefly: it appears the partners are trying to get my friend to quit and are doing so unlawfully.

Do employment contracts mean anything in China?

deadweightloss — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:03:56 -0800

The company behind my Chinese summer teaching job unilaterally terminated my contract after several months of using my name and record to advertise their program to students. I need help understanding the situation. Last November, I accepted a 2013 summer teaching position in Beijing with a Chinese summer school private program (one of the programs this article is about). I signed a contract when doing so, and planned my summer around the trip (I live in the US). including turning down summer teaching opportunities at my home school. Upon my acceptance, the program began using my name, CV, photo, and syllabi on their website to recruit students. Two days ago, the program contacted me to say that my classes have been cancelled. Not all classes were cancelled, and the program is not shutting down. My take is that given 1- the contract, which we both signed and does not have any explicit clause allowing for termination, and 2- the fact that they have been using me to recruit students for months now entitles me to compensation. I have emailed them politely expressing this view, and they have responded with a mild concession (offering to give me a "contract" for next summer) and their take on the validity of the contract, which I quote in full below:

As for the question regarding contract, according to it:
5. Governing law, jurisdiction, and venue All matters relating to the interpretation, construction and enforcement of this Agreement shall be governed by the laws and regulations(excluding choice of law principles) of the People’s Republic of China. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement that is not subject to arbitration may be brought only in the courts of the People’s Republic of China, and Parties consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts over them and waive any objection to venue.
According to the law of China, the contract is provisional, service based contract. Either party can terminate it with three days in advance. The contract is not employment based.

The last three sentences are the opinions of the person emailing me, not language from the contract. Again, there is no clause in the contract explicitly giving the program the ability to unilaterally terminate the contract, and in general, the contract's language is unexceptional. However, it does refer more than once to it being a "provisional contract".

My questions:

1- what legal meaning does "provisional contract" have in general, and bonus if you happen to know what meaning it has in China.

2- I know I need to talk to a lawyer to go any further with this; any idea how to get an English-speaking lawyer, preferably in Beijing or Shanghai (I will be in both cities on unrelated business in June).

3- On a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being a massive waste of time, and 0 being well worth pursuing, what is your subjective impression of my situation?

I can't post the full contract without giving away my identity. I realize this constrains the usefulness of answers. Thank you.

Help me prepare to talk to a real estate lawyer.

OmieWise — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:42:41 -0800

I will be seeking a consultation with a real estate lawyer to talk about an issue with my property line which is the side of my house. Unfortunately there is a negative gradient and a lot of water coming onto my property (and into my basement) from the adjoining property. I have an easement for "ingress & egress" on that property. The landowner there has not responded to my repeated requests to correct the negative gradient. In the 1940s, a previous landowner on that side actually sold the then owners of my house the land under my chimney, which was originally on their land. The foundation wall on that side of my house has been replaced in the past, likely due to hydrostatic pressure against that wall.

My ideal solution would be to purchase the strip of land between my house and the easement (2.5'), but my immediate concern is finding a way to correct the negative gradient and stop (some of) the water infiltration.

I live in Maryland, and would like to speak intelligently about this to whatever lawyer (feel free to recommend one) I end up consulting.

Detective Says I'm A Witness, But Won't Say To What?

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:17:32 -0800

I know you are not my lawyer. I have a Kafkaesque situation invovling the cops. This evening there was a knock on my door from a police officer (call him Officer Bob) from the city in which I live. S/he said that he had just been requested by Detective Something in a different local city to call Officer Something, and that Officer Bob didn't know what it was in regards to. Officer Bob wrote down Officer Something's last name, direct line, and the local city precint Something was in, then leaves.

I call the number for officer Something, and get voicemail. The full name of Officer Something is given, and the name checks out. I leave a message saying my full name, my cell, and that I haven't been to other Local City in ages, but I'd be happy to assist. I leave my cell phone downstairs and go upstairs to watch tv. I return around midnight to find I'd missed a call from Officer Something & s/he left a message. S/he says that instead of playing phone tag, I am asked to report to the Local City station, because there were some questions they wanted to ask me, and asked me to come after a certain afternoon time on Wednesday (two days from now).

ON a hunch, I call the main line back, get transferred to Something and get them. THey say that I need to be asked a few questions as a witness. When I ask "to something that happened in Local City" all they say is yes, and elaborate no further, only that I must be asked in person, at the precinct. I tell the truth-- I has classes that day and may have to stay late for a project, and will be super busy, so if I can make it, I won't even know until that day.

I have a healthy skeptcism of the police, yes, but more importantly, I am being asked to come in, but details are very vague. I am a witness supposdly but have been served no suppose and further details were not given. I have done some reading and have seen lots of lawyers and even former cops say that just going in and talking to a cop can be bad, even if I've done nothing wrong. I can think of nothing I've witnessed that came even close to a crime. It was very weird for Officer Bob to randomly show up on a Sunday evening saying only that s/he'd rec'd a request from Officer Someone in Local City to contact me and home and give me Officer Something's contact info, and stranger still that i be asked to come down to a precint as a witness and be told that I can't be further details. But there has been no supoena given to me. Even though there's supposedly no rush and Something wants to talk to me two days from now.

I have heard horror stories of completely innocent folks going in for these questionings across the country and between nerves, desire to please, etc, somehow implcating themselves. I can think of nothing I have done that is illegal. I see places advising me to get a lawyer before going in to talk to anyone.

I can't afford a lawyer, and until/unless I am charged with something, the state can't assign one for me I don't think. I live in central NJ. I don't know what to do and am tied up in knots. I already have an anxiety disorder and my nervers are jangling off the charts. I cannot afford an attorney at all for any prelim anything. I am confused and don't know what to do pr what's going on and I can't get more explanations from the detective. Help!

How much should estate planning cost?

Admiral Haddock — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:49:34 -0800

What would you expect to pay a lawyer for a suite of estate planning/healthcare documents that are more or less standard forms (i.e., no complicated trusts, just everything going to the other spouse)? I'm in Boston, but data points from comparably priced areas are welcome. Also, are there documents I'm forgetting in the list inside? My wife and I are looking to execute simple wills that should effectively be LegalZoom-level complexity, but we will have a lawyer work on them for us. We'll also need durable powers of attorney, healthcare proxies/living will/advanced medical directive etc. (We're in MA, but I'm not sure what legal mechanisms we'll need in this jurisdiction.) Of course, our lawyer will be able to advise us, but I'd like to go in with an idea of all the documents I'll want.

What should we expect to pay for the entire suite of documents? We do not expect (or want) complicated documents--all assets will go to the other spouse or a TBD contingent beneficiary (either individual or charity), no kids, no house, spouse will have the (broadly defined) healthcare proxy rights, etc. We definitely still have blanks to fill in, but we are not looking to set up GRATs or QTIPs or do fancy planning. We are well, well, below the estate tax threshold.

For the record, I know you are not my attorney and any responses you give are not legal/tax/financial advice. IAAL, and will engage a lawyer for our needs.

Any recommendations for a Cantonese speaking divorce lawyer in SF?

roquetuen — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:39:59 -0800

I am hoping that someone has a recommendation (or even a "stay away from") for a Cantonese-speaking divorce lawyer in the San Francisco area. I have done the google thing and know that several have free consultations, but would really appreciate it if anyone could help speed the process. Thanks in advance.

Legal/accounting advice for filmmakers

drjimmy11 — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:04:52 -0800

I'll be shooting a feature film in L.A. later this year, and I need some advice about how to handle the business side. I'm hoping that somewhere there's some sort of low-budget service that provides help to people who are new to the process. I know I'll need to set up a production company, and I don't really know how to do that. I'm sure there are "walk yourself through it" guides online, but I'd prefer to talk to a real human being who can go over all the tax and legal in-and-outs. (I am aware of the minimum tax of $800/year in CA)

Additionally, I'd ideally like to get some advice about payroll and how to handle that. We'll be using and paying SAG (union) actors, which means we're required to do "real" payroll.

I'd also like to know what making this movie will mean for me (and my equally inexperienced investors) tax-wise. Finally, I'm sure there are a ton of legal and financial issues that I haven't even thought of.

I realize this is sort of two different things (lawyer and accountant), but I'm hopeful there's some kind of low-cost service/person somewhere in L.A. who walks new filmmakers through all these business hurdles. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

I rented a single-family house in MA. YANML, but I probably need one.

woodvine — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 19:12:26 -0800

I rented a single-family house in MA with 2 roommates. We have 2 toddlers. This house isn't deleaded, and it needs to be, and landlady is very unhappy about the expense. We offered to vacate the lease, but my now crazy landlady wants to keep the security deposit I put down. Help? (Stupid move #1) I signed a lease via email 2/28, on a single-family house in Somerville, MA, to begin tenancy March 1. I had seen the house about a month before and had noted some issues that the realtor assured me would be fixed.

We did a walk-through on 3/1, after signing the lease instead of before (stupid move #2), and after we made a list of the needed repairs to be added to the lease, I gave the realtor a certified check for a security deposit (stupid move #3). It was in an envelope, and I neglected to keep my copy (stupid move #4). [I tried to get the realtor to give me a receipt, but she refused. The lease says that I paid 1st month's rent; we have the landlady on a voicemail requesting through sobs to keep the security deposit, as well as an email from the landlady stating that she is willing to give me a receipt for the deposit.] My roommate did not have a check at the time of walk-through on 3/1, so we agreed to meet up to exchange the check for keys on 3/2.

My roommates (a couple) have a two-year-old daughter. I have a two-year-old son. On close inspection, the property clearly had not been deleaded. Roommate and I decide we want out of this lease. We request the check back. The landlady says, "No," which she is within her rights to do. She has the house lead inspected.

Last night, we received the results of the inspection. The house is FULL of lead paint and will cost a lot of money to fix. The landlady is now willing to let us out of the lease so that she doesn't have to have the place deleaded, but wants to keep my $2100 security deposit! Hell to the no.

Landlady has now cried on the phone with both my roommate and I, as well as into my roommate's voicemail. She is not emotionally stable or particularly reasonable (which is the main reason I wanted out of the lease in the first place. Stupid move #5, not meeting the landlady before signing the lease. Don't be like me).

So, I've sent her an email that basically says, "Here is the lead law. You can either a) vacate the lease and return my deposit or b) honor the lease and get the place deleaded ASAP."

Eeeek, it's awful to see all my stupid moves laid out like that. I really did not think this through. I figure that tomorrow I need to get a lawyer. Problem is, I really do not have lawyer money right now. What should I do? YANML, of course.

I certainly can't afford to let this woman keep my deposit, and if we honor this lease I will have a pissed-off, emotionally unstable landlady. So tips for dealing with that would be good also.

If your only answer is "lawyer," can you recommend one in the Boston area? Preferably one who won't charge me the entire contents of my bank account?

looking for recommendations for attorneys to create trusts in NH

canine epigram — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:58:57 -0800

Pretty much what it says - I'm looking for recommendations for a southern NH attorney to help create a trust for a relative.

Subletting dispute: what are my options?

suncoursing — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 12:16:09 -0800

I recently subleased a place in NYC for three months. I put down a $2000 deposit and paid $3200 for the first month. I’ve been there for two weeks. The lease specified that I’d pay for each remaining month on the first of the month. I've been told "you’ve lost your fucking money, get out". What next? The roommate, who’s subletting the spare room to me, hadn’t expressed any concerns about the arrangement until today, when she screamed at me for half an hour about all the things I do that annoy her. She told me that if I can’t live by her rules I should get out. That’s fine with me, so I said that if she wanted to pro-rate the rent I’ve paid and return the rest of my money, I could be out whenever she wanted. Her response was “no, you’ve lost your fucking money, get out”. Later, she said that if I wanted to stay, she wanted the rest of my rent up front, so it’s not clear to me if she really wants me out or not. In any case, it seems like a bad idea to give more money to someone who has already expressed a desire to take my money and leave me without a place to stay.

Both legally and practically, what are my options? I can afford to eat a $3600 loss ($5200 - the $1600 in rent) and find another place, but, as a matter of principle, I’d rather not. In case it matters, I’m certainly not wealthy, but I’ve earned enough as an engineer that I can handle a surprise $3600 expense without it being a disaster.

This happened less than an hour ago, so I’m planning on seeing what she has to say when she’s calmed down. But, if that doesn’t work out, I’d like to know what a reasonable course of action might be. I’ve never had a landlord or subletter dispute, so I’m really familiar with the law, and if that law even matters practically (e.g., even if I’m legally allowed to stay, staying in a place where the other person is trying to make your life miserable seems like an unpleasant experience).

Refinancing fees

Behemoth — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:38:40 -0800

The good faith estimate for my refinance included government recording charges $X, and title services/title insurance $Y. In the settlement statement, it turned out that the government recording charges were less than estimated, so the lawyer's office just increased the other fee so the total amount is still $(X+Y). Is this standard practice, or kind of a dick move? The law office claims that their fees are "set" at that amount, and only the total $(X+Y), which did not increase, matters. This is in MA.

Can a lawyer help us get this nightmare transaction done with?

Tarumba — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:15:47 -0800

We paid $4000.00 for a service, and now we're having trouble getting what we wanted. It's been 3 months and we need a resolution to this nightmare! So, we paid a pressing company so we would get 500 items done for our very small businessl. We were supposed to get these items in November, but we still haven't got them. After two batches of substandard product and really bad customer service, we need to either get a refund or the order done properly, but they are not being cooperative at all.

Is this too small potatoes for a lawyer? What are our resources?

Need an employments right lawyer STAT

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:07:27 -0800

A friend works overseas for a US-based defence contractor. He's been involved in a somewhat work-related incident in his country of work and his employer is, long story short, refusing to advise him, maybe even turning against him. Lots of details we don't want to put on the internet. Need to find a good attorney in the US that has specialization in working with employment rights, particularly in international situations for US based entities (not sure if the defence contractor part is relevant or not). If state matters, pick Texas.

Lawyer's Sloppiness May Have Screwed Up My Case...Recourse?

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:04:07 -0800

The lawyer I hired to negotiate a settlement for injuries suffered in an auto accident sent a letter to the other driver's insurance company that contained the name of another client copied and pasted into my letter, plus an incorrect and inflated amount of damages (possibly from the other client's case). Has this sloppiness jeopardized my case? What can I do about it? Bonus question: After pointing out these errors, the lawyer will not return my calls. In case that's not enough detail, the injuries I suffered in the accident are fairly minor but permanent. The other driver was at fault and her insurance company accepted liability and offered a settlement of $22,000. I didn't think that was enough but couldn't get them to budge so I hired this attorney for a fixed fee ($1,000) to negotiate a better settlement. Unfortunately I did not make the attorney write down all the details of my arrangement with him, though I do have some e-mails from him discussing the case and a copy of the sloppy letter he sent to the insurance company.

I'd really like to be done with this, so hiring another lawyer to sue this one does not appeal to me even though he may have messed up my chances (which he previously said were pretty good) for a better settlement. Is there a way I could motivate him to refund what I paid for him so I can just move on? I am thinking about filing a complaint with the local or state Bar association, but don't know if that's effective or if mentioning it will sound like an extortion threat.

Divorce and immigration attorney in Philadelphia area

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:55:02 -0800

I need recommendations for an attorney in the Philadelphia area, who can handle divorce and custody cases where one party (myself) is a non-US citizen, who is here on a marriage-based Green Card. The Card itself is about 2 years old.

Seeking professional UK immigration advice while living in the US

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:27:32 -0800

How can I find a lawyer or similar professional with experience in applying for EEA Family Permits in the UK, while I am still living in the US? My (unmarried, opposite sex) partner recently got an offer to work in the UK and plans to accept. I plan to relocate with him.

He is a citizen of an EU country, so he has an automatic right to live and work in the UK. However, I am a US citizen and would need an EEA family permit to live with him.

We are planning to get in contact with the immigration specialist office at his new workplace as soon as he signs the contract. However, we may also choose to get our own legal advice. How would we go about finding an immigration lawyer with this experience while we are still living in the US? Is it realistic to expect to find someone competent in our current mid-sized Mid-Atlantic city? Would it be a better idea to contract a laywer within the UK remotely? Thanks for any advice or experience you can share with us!

Never loan money to friends / family / boyfriends.

sunshine37 — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:02:52 -0800

This was me We broke up and he's stopped paying. Do I have any recourse? I loaned my (now ex) boyfriend money. He's stopped making payments and whenever I try to ask him to set up a payment plan, he comes up with an excuse as to why he has no money. Do I have any recourse? I'm financially perfectly fine without the money, but I know he makes enough to at least make payments and has been bragging on Facebook about new purchases he's made. He has a full time job in addition to his side business and lives with his parents rent-free. He owes around $10k and I am just asking him to pay $250 a month. Is it worth it to try to get a lawyer or do I just need to forget about the money and move on?

Family lawyer in Winnipeg

TheGoodBlood — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:40:51 -0800

Can you recommend a good divorce lawyer in Winnipeg (MB), Canada? Or, if you can't, can you tell me how I can find one? I wouldn't know how to begin looking. My friends and family are not a good resource in this case.

How do I shop long distance for a Colorado based lawyer?

tangyraspberry — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:15:54 -0800

I've got a potential, medical malpractice law suit regarding a now deceased sibling who lived in Breckenridge, CO, but need to find a solid lawyer from where I reside in Portland, OR. Any suggestions?

Looking for a family law attorney in Austin, TX

marble — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:50:58 -0800

Looking for a family law attorney in Austin, TX. Got any recommendations? I am a non-custodial mother and my daughter's father is intending to move her out of state, which I find quite unacceptable. The timeline is either this summer or next summer. I need to consult with a lawyer to find out if I have a chance of preventing the move. I do not wish to use the lawyer I had for the original drafting of the custody agreement (I really don't think she did a good job). We were never married so divorce is not part of my case, if that matters.

So, do you have any recommendations in the Austin area? Or info about resources to help me in my search would also be helpful. I have looked at the mefi wiki "Get a lawyer" page, but I would prefer a specific recommendation if possible. The Texas Bar Association had 59 pages of listings, so I need some way to narrow things down.

Traffic Attorney in Arlington, VA?

missjenny — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:03:54 -0800

Good traffic attorney in Arlington, Va / Fairfax county? My husband got a ticket for reckless driving over the holiday (54 in a 25 or something like that). We live in NC, so would prefer to hire a lawyer instead of coming back up here to appear in court. A search brings up an unmanageably high number of options. Any recommendations?

Should we sue the hospitals?

Diag — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:37:57 -0800

My father contracted MRSA during a long stay in hospital. Is it worth investigating legal action against the hospital(s)? About 6 months ago, my 71 year old father had a fall and broke his femur. He was taken to hospital, where they put the metal rod down the bone and screwed everything together. This all seemed to go OK, although his recovery was quite slow mainly due to some pre-existing conditions.

He has had type 1 diabetes since he was 30. Thrice-daily insulin injections for as long as I can remember. About 6 or 7 years ago, he had a heart attack and ended up having coronary bypass surgery. A couple of years later, he developed blood clots in his legs and had to have several stents put in.

He's been fairly frail since the heart surgery, and the leg artery problems basically immobilised him for about a year. But he was improving incrementally. Up until this broken femur, he had got himself to the point that he could walk unaided 1 km or so to the local shops.

OK, back to the recent stint in hospital. While he was recovering in hospital from the operation on his femur, it seems he developed and MRSA infection in the heels of both feet. They put him on heavy antibiotics (IV at first, then tablets), and kept him in hospital. The wounds in his heels were horrific.

After 3 and a half months in hospital, they sent him home. The infection still hadn't cleared up. He was in pretty bad constant pain. He needs a walking frame to get from the Jason recliner we got him to his wheelchair. It is almost impossible to get him in and out of cars since he can't bend one leg more than a few degrees.

He is on a wide array of medications. Aside from the insulin and medication he was already on to deal with his cardiovascular problems, he is also on a strong antibiotic (which actually isn't approved for use in this country yet and he can only get from the hospital who import it from the US), antidepessants, antipsychotics (prescribed off-label for nausea), opiates (lots - he is most certainly addicted).

He has had a district nurse visiting him every second day to change the dressings on his feet.

The first month or so he was home, he appeared to be slowly improving. He was able to move around a bit more quickly, although still either in a chair or on the walking frame.

But the last few weeks, the pain from the infection has gotten a lot worse. He is in constant pain. Getting from his recliner to a weelchair is agony for him. He can't get more than a couple of steps on the walking frame. He is doped to the gills on opiates (oxycodone and fentanyl patches). Spending Christmas day with him was ... terrible... to see him in so much pain.

He has another angeoplasty procedure coming up mid-January. One of the nurses that comes around recently said to my mother, quietly, that she's pretty sure they'll keep him in hospital after this procedure, since he doesn't seem to be getting any better with regards to the infection.

OK, here's my question:
Given all of the above, I am wondering whether it's worth seeking legal action against the hospital for the MRSA infection. I've done a bit of research online. There are lawyers who will assess your case at no charge and, if they think there is a case, pursue it on a "no win, no fee" basis. My father is against the idea. Well, he's apathetic to it. But fortunately my mother has taken extremely detailed notes of everything that's happened since he first went into hospital.

What I've read says he may be compensated for lost income (which is nothing since he was already retired), but also medication costs, doctor/specialist costs, my mothers time (since she is now his full-time carer), and maybe loss of "quality of life" caused by the infection (which I assume constant crippling pain and a heavy opiate dependence would probably fall into). But I'm concerned that his pre-existing diabetes and cardio conditions might be a problem.

A few articles/posts I found on the web said that people have been unsuccessful with suing for MSRA infection, but they were all in the USA. We are in Australia.

Has anyone pursued legal recourse for this kind of unfortunate situation in Australia? Was it successful?

Need a lawyer recommendation in DC.

tinamonster — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 13:21:49 -0800

Looking for a recommendation for a construction dispute lawyer and/or mediator for a property owner in Washington D.C.