Florida Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

This is an interesting question. This will all depend on the details of the reverse mortgage contract. She will need to retain a real estate lawyer to review that document ASAP. Otherwise, its possible that there may be fines, penalties or assessments that cause a more expensive controversy. ... Read More

There is no means for a "highly skilled" lawyer to address an issue in which you have actual legal counsel that represents you dealing with a criminal prosecution in an internet blurb nor is there an inherent means to dismiss or "throw out" criminal prosecution simply because you find it disagreeable, inconvenient or that you have somehow suffered financially as a result. The fact that you claim you did nothing wrong, whether that is true or not, is of little consequence if the State Attorney and the "victim" contend differently. I would urge you to have a serious discussion with your existing lawyer about the pros and cons of the settlement offer and the details of your case. If you cannot get on the same page, you may need to discuss the need to change counsel and hire a new lawyer that might have a different perspective on acheiving a favorable resolution. You also want to be wary of posting public comments on social media or internet Q&A forums as those comments might be found by investigators and potentially used against you. You should restrict your disclosures to communications in which you have attorney client privilege. Hope you get this worked out to a favorable result. ... Read More

There is no means to answer such a question absent actually hiring a lawyer to review the contract terms. I can honestly say I have never seen a "lifetime warranty" on a wearable/consumable mechanical product like an entire vehicle. That immediately suggest something is shady about such a warranty from the onset. You need to retain a lawyer BEFORE you do anything further. ... Read More

Our advice in the past has been that a straight flight to a US territory like St. Thomas and a direct flight back to the US is legally feasible for persons with pending adjustment of status applications, although there could be problems with immigration authorities on the return. The advice still holds even as we have noted instances in which people have been given problems on closed loop voyages due to confusing advice by Customs and Border Protection. We have also just heard that a F-1 student was required to produce an original USCIS approval on a domestic trip from New York to Los Angeles. If you are willing to deal with a potentially stressful situation, you can go, but if you do not do well in such situation, you may decide to cancel the trip. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

They are most likely after the homeowner insurance policy. However, if all of you are insured under the same policy thete is no cross liability and insurance won't cover the claim. However, if the injury was caused by your son to a third party non resident , then the insurance will cover the claim. Call counsel here in Florida for more specific advice. ... Read More

You will likely need to spend some money out of pocket to hire a lawyer to intervene and address this with the landlord. As a general rule, it is very difficult to sue a landlord to force them to evict another tenant for a variety of reasons. The typical remedy would be to sue the offending neighbor but that is often an expensive and complicated case simply because most residential tenants are "judgment proof" for money damages and judges require a very high level of proof in regard to issuing injunctions against co-tenants. You better bet is to hire a lawyer to try to use the unruly tenant as a basis to terminate your tenancy and allow you to move elsewhere. Use the find a lawyer feature to retain a lawyer for this purpose ASAP. ... Read More

There is no way to answer a quesiton about any  law suit "being worth it." This is a purely subjective determination. That said, you would have to have direct evidence that (a) the mattress in fact has fiberglass components and (b) that it has somehow contaminated your entire house by ordinary use and (c) that there is some negative health issue specifically attributable to that circumstance. You will likely need to retain a forensic expert to test your home and the mattress to show that it is shedding fiberglass and why. The common fight on such issues surrounds improper removal or washing of mattress covers. That said, if there is a fiberglass issue with the product, you shoudl certainly make a claim with the manufacturer to see if they will replace the mattresses with some that don't have fiberglass or allow you to return them for a refund. With the proper documentation, some manufactuers will reimburse loss of furntiture or clothes, etc.... Read More

There is no "we" in this equation absent an existing guardianship over the mother. This is important as there appears to be a potential sibling vs. sibling controversy, one must be very careful in addressing such issues as they can rapdily expand into personal vendettas, as referenced by "her daughter" rather than "my sister or step-sister." Your mother may need to hire a lawyer to pursue a lawsuit against the daughter to recover the dog, which is deemed personal property in Florida, if she can't be convinced to return the animal voluntarily. ... Read More

There is no general "help with pain and suffering" as a result of having a disease or surgical intervention. That is simply part of the process and package of such unfortunate situations. You can check with local legal aid for finaincial and emotional support groups and resources that might be available. If there is some concern about medical malpractice having occurred - you will need to have this reviewed by an attorney ASAP as there are very short statutes of limitation on such cases. ... Read More

No - there is no case here based on the facts p[rovided nor "racism" based solely on the melanin content of the parties. In the future, its ALWAY a good idea to return to the person you prepaid for the items to show them what you got. There are many people people that pre-pay for such items and then rather than 10 bags take 12. Equally - there should have been no need to "get a manager" or review cameras, as all that would have been necessary was to produce the receipt he was provided when he pre-paid for the items. ... Read More

Presumably so and you should treat it as such unless you are willing to spend more money and legal fees attempting to address any action that might arise should you ignore it. Otherwise you can hire a criminal defense lawyer to intervene and try to have the ticket "thrown out" but again it will likely cost more than the ticket. ... Read More

This depends on the actual reasons for denial. Many times the denials are legitimate exclusions to the policy. Others, based on garbage excuses trying to screw the home owner by not paying as agreed. You will need to retain a lawyer to pursue this, typicallyat your own expense due to some recent law changes. ... Read More

There should be no expectation that the case "goes smoothly" because of the situation you created. You did not have a lawyer address the tenancy nor have a lease so there is no reason to expect that doing more without a lawyer is likely to get a better result. You need to retain a landlord lawyer immediately or risk this going off the rails further and becoming an even bigger problem. ... Read More

Dear Anonymous: It really depends on the terms of your personal injury settlement. Did your spouse sign off on the settlement?  If a lawsuit was filed, was it filed in the name of both your spouse and you?  Did the settlement reference a "loss of consortium?" If the settlement statement was signed by both of you and your spouse was a party to the lawsuit, then most likely the proceeds would be considered marital property.  How much of the settlement is marital is another issue because, for example, if you had gone to trial a jury might have awarded you a certain amount for injuries, loss of income, etc., while awarding your spouse for the loss of your "services" "companionship, etc." Also, even if you were the only party who settled the case, if you comingled any of the settlement proceeds with other funds (i.e.  had the settlement money in a separate account, and then added any money to it) then you may have tainted the entire account and converted it to a marital asset. Bottom line:  absent a settlement that says: this is yours and this is your spouse's, and then you keep the funds totally separated, whether the car purchased with the settlement funds is non-marital is not a clear answer. A possible solution would be to have a postnuptial that expressly states the settlement proceeds or anything you do with them will remain non-marital.  However, a postnuptial requires full financial disclosure, should be done by an experienced family law attorney, and will cost to have it drafted. If you are planning to divorce, then I'd just hold off on the car purchase for now. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of CIndy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Miami- Dade: 954-316-3496 Boca Raton: 561-962-2785 www.vovalaw.com... Read More

Judgement debtors cannot "cancel" a writ of garnishment. If there is a legitimate exemption, that needs to be timely filed and then there is usually a hearing for the court to determine if the exemption is valid. If it is the writ is disolved  - if not the court will determine the amount taken from each paycheck or the amount taken from bank accounts etc. ... Read More

Generally since your mother is currently her primary custodial caregiver and take responsibility for your sister the applicant is considered an authorized designated representative. She is in the States legally, is an LPR so there should not be an issue of representation.  Ensure attach document that establishes familial relationship between your sister and your mother as well as proof your mother is the primary custodial caregiver. I will strongly recommend you seek representation from an attorney  who can assist in reviewing and assemblying your application for you as he/she will assist you with confidence and all adequate pieces of evidence plus more.... Read More

Immigration looks at the name you put in your form, the name on the beneficiary's passport, the name on your marriage certificate and even provide areas within the I-130 form to provide "other" names used by the beneficiary. It is going to be up to the immigration officer to decide if the middle name matters. If there are discrepancies in names, they may ask for more information.... Read More