Florida Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

There is never an entitlement to use credit cards for payment and tow services routinely refuse them to avodi "the chargeback game" where people pay with a CC, get the vehicle released and then try to cancel the payment. Whats missing from these facts WHY was your car getting towed, as this sounds more like a repo issue not a towing. If this is some attempt to describe a predatory towing incident, you may have to decide if you want to spend the money suing them if alw enforcement won't intervene. ... Read Answer

Its literally impossible for you to have been sued and have a judgment recorded against your property and never learn of it until 5 days prior to a foreclosure sale, unless you intentionally avoid doing so. Thats critical because you will now have to spend a good deal of money hiring a lawyer to immediately figure out what ACTUALLY happened to see what remedies may be available, including possibly filing a bankruptcy to seek an automatic stay. Retain a real estate lawyer to address this immediately. ... Read Answer

Dear Anonymous: The short answer is no, you do not have to voluntarily consent to change your child's last name.  If the father files an action to establish paternity, (and you do not state whether this has ever been done previously) he can, at that time, request that the child's name be changed.  However, absent an agreement between the parties, if the Court permitted the name change it would be a hyphenated version, with both party's names included, and in alphabetical order. So, for example, if your last name was Jones and the father's last name was Smith, then the birth certificate would be amended to be "Jones-Smith."  Since he has been out of your child life for so long, it is questionable whether he would actuallyspend the time and money to go through the legal process for a name change, particularly since it would also, subject him to paying child support...if he is not already. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Miami-Dade: 954-316-3496 Boca Raton/Palm Beach: 561-962-2785    ... Read Answer

If the school was on actual or constructive notice that your daughter was being bullied by these students and didn't separate the bullies from your daughter, then she may have a case. You didn't specify the extent of her injuries. This is important because the value of the case would not only depend on liability but also on her damages, past and future. ... Read Answer

All prior A numbers should be listed so that CIS can consolidate all applications under the same number. You do not specify the details of your case: 1) how did you get a green card previously? 2) why did you abandon it? 3) on what legal basis are you now obtaining a new work permit?  These are very important issues that you should review with a qualified immigration attorney.... Read Answer

Not on those facts. This is a contract issue and starts with hiring a lawyer to review the contract. There is also a reason why the manufacturer is refusing to re-side it or that you have opted to contact a third party siding company and those facts are critical to such an assessment. You will need to retain a lawyer ASAP before you do anything further. ... Read Answer

You won't. Your non-payment of rent is likely in violation of Fla. Stat. 83.60 and Fla. Stat. 56(3). None of what you described would support witholding rent. That said, if you are looking for a lawyer to "do lawyer work" like set out a "good written argument" to try to overcome those issues, you will have to plan to PAY and HIRE a lawyer for that. Thats what lawyers do for a living. That said, if you qualify, you can try local legal aid to see if they can help you, but be prepared to be told that you wrongfully withheld rent and are subject to eviction if the LL did his part properly. That aside, if the LL "changed the locks" to lock you out of the property without a writ of possession being issued, you might have a remedy under Fla. Stat. 83.67. It won't stop an eviction nbut you might be entitled to seek damages. ... Read Answer

You did not provide sufficient information for answering this inquiry in any detail.  Even with more information, it would not be possible, in my opinion, for an attorney to answer what you primarily are wanting to know.  Here is what I can tell you:  even if you never previously violated your probation, you may still face more jail or prison time.  It would depend a lot on the points on your Criminal Punishment Code (i.e., scoresheet); what kind, if any defenses you may have; whethter the prosecutor assigned to your case is willing to do any meaningful plea bargaining with your defense attorney; and, to some degree, where in Florida your case is set for court.  Based on my experience, although the prosecutor may be willing to make a VOP offer, the prosecutor is unlikely to engage in direct negotations with you.  In other words, I suggest you have an attorney.  If you cannot afford one, I recommend you ask the court to appoint the Public Defender.      ... Read Answer

Dear Anonymous:   Generally, all assets accrued and liabilities incurred during the marriage, whether by one party, or jointly (regardless of how an account or asset may be titled) are divided equally.  However, if one party can prove marital waste (i.e. he spent money on another woman) then those liabilities or wasted assets are put back in the marital "pot" for the purposes of what we call equitable distribution.   As to alimony, the basic premise is whether you have a need for alimony and whether your husband has the ability to pay it.  A 9 year marriage  is considered a short term marriage under Florida law, and if a party otherwise qualifies to receive alimony, the recipient can get alimony for a maximum of half the length of the marriage, which, in your case, is 4.5 years.  As to the amount, it really depends on both party's net incomes and a laundry list of other factors that are set forth in  FLorida Statute 61.08.  Here is the link http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.08.html   These are a little too complicated to get into in this answer, particularly when you have not provided any other facts about your specific situation but reviewing the statute may give you more insight. As to child support, Florida has a formula based on the number of children, the net incomes of the parties (and if you receive alimony, that will be added to your net income and deducted from your husband's income) the number of overnights each parent has,  health insurance costs for the children and child care expenses , if any.    In addition, where there are children involved in the divorce the parties must first come up with a parenting plan that encompasses parental responsibilities including, but not limited to timesharing, including holidays, travel and decision-making authority.  One would have to establish the parenting plan and the number of overnights each parent has with the children before  child support can be calculated.  Understand this is an overview of the basic issues that must be resolved in a divorce, and  you could probably get a better understanding of your situation if you  sought a consultation with  counsel and provided the missing facts to that person. I wish you the best of luck.   Cindy S. Vova  Family Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward-Miami-Dade: 954-316-3496 Boca Raton-Palm Beach: 561-962-2785... Read Answer

You should seekrepresentation immediately. It would be wise to preserve photos of the scene, your body and store away your footwear. Seek appropriate medical care. You should contact a Personal Injury Attorney as soon as possible to review all facts and circumstances-especially details regarding the dangerous condition which caused your injury- and hopefully obtain representation. If there is a dangerous condition that caused your fall, resulting in a significant injury, a Personal Injury attorney can investigate this matter and determine all possible responsible parties rather than you pursue this on your own. A Personal Injury attorney experienced in handling Slip/Trip and Fall cases can guide and advise you and evaluate your claim. However, if you are interested in consulting with one of us, you will have to reach out, as attorneys are unable to directly solicit on this forum. Do not delay so a notification to preserve any video evidence may be sent timely and not to potentially prejudice your rights. Loren L. Gold, Esq.... Read Answer

Yes, you can keep them out of bankruptcy because they have no equity. If SSDI is your only income you don't have to go bankrupt because creditors cannot take social security benefits. Your credit would remain ruined and creditors may continue to bug you but that's it. If you want to know about protections from debt collectors, i.e. bugging you, google federal trade commission, consumerfinance.gov and myfloridalegal.com Look for information about debt collectors or debt collection.... Read Answer

Good afternoon, please contact the FL child abuse hotline. You can google it. You are required by law to report child abandonment to the child abuse hotline. The department of children and families will become involved and will take the necessary action including a court case if warranted. The children should be placed with you because you are the relatives and they are in good hands. I cannot guarantee the latter. If you want legal representaiton, contact the Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service and ask for a Juvenile lawyer in your area.... Read Answer

Please go to floridalawhelp.org This is a website which will direct you to the Legal Aid agency in your community. Public housing is a very specialized field that private lawyers normally don't do  but Legal Aid agencies do and have the expertise necessary to practice in the field. In the future,  if you have legal questions and your income is limited, check out Free Legal Answers, a program by the FL Bar to answer legal questions from persons with limited income. Make sure that the program is run by the American Bar Association (A.B.A.) There a lot of pretenders out there. It does not necessarily mean that you will get an answer. It is simply another resource that you may want to try.... Read Answer