Maryland Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

You have some complex property issues involved and you should not enter into any agreement witjout fully understanding your rights.  You also may be entitled to more than your spouse is willing to admit in regards to the business property.  You should contact an attorney to discuss your options. ... Read More

If you have proof that you have made several efforts to get in touch with him, then you should have nothing to worry about.  This will prevent him from being able to lie to the court and say that you denied him visitation.  If he is alive but continues to stay out of the picture for another six months or so, then you may have grounds to modify custody. Whether this would be worth the effort depends on the frequency of his visitation rights under the current child custody order.  For instance, if his visitation is not on a set schedule, but rather simply from time to time as you both may agree, then it would make no sense to go back to court because he already has the minimum.  If, on the other hand, he is entitle to every other weekend plus a day or two during the week, then you would be within your rights to claim that his absence is a material change in circumstances justifying even less visitation.  Along these lines, if he is out of the picture due to a drug addiction, or something else that could potentially pose a threat to your child if the father were to exercise visitation rights, then you may want to seek to modify the visitation so that it is supervised. In sum, if he does not already have the minimum (reasonable visitation from time to time as agreed), or if he has done something that would raise a red flag as to your child's health, safety and well-being, then you may want to discuss the matter further with a Maryland Child Custody Lawyer.... Read More

I believe that you would find it difficult to have your father come to the U. S. Insofar as the I-130 petition is concerned, U.S.C.I.S. would approve it as long as the relationship can be proved, but he would have to appear for an interview before the American consulate or embassy. The first question would be whether he understands any of the assertions that he is making on the immigrant visa application. Without being able to understand whether he falls under any of the bars such as for crime or terrorism, it would be difficult for a consular officer to pass him on the application. The second question is whether he would be inadmissible because of his condition. The condition is not a ground of inadmissibility, but there is a problem with the financials. Unless you have very high financial resources or a financial cosponsor with such under which you could assure the U. S. government that he would not become a public charge, the visa application would fail on that account. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

Possession of stolen property is a crime in the State of Maryland. The maximum possible sentence depends on the value of the item(s) allegedly taken. In this instance, knowledge as to whether or not you knew or had reason to know the property was stolen is the best defense avenue to explore.... Read More

Assuming that ICE already has a valid passport or transportation document for your family member's home country, the delay could be attributable to inattention or lack of communication in ICE or waiting until ICE can have a full plane. ICE handles deportations through ICE Air Operations and unless the deportee is of special interest, people fly on airplanes like the Boeing 737 with a maximum of 135 detainees. Each flight includes security personnel and a nurse. ICE was criticized in a DHS Inspector General report earlier for flying detainees on flights that were not full. I assume he should be traveling soon. His legal representative can check with ICE on an expected time of departure.  Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in email.  However, if you have recorded the Durable Power of Attorney in the county deed records (needed for it to be effective with regard to real estate in that county), it is no longer private anyway.... Read More

To do so, you would have to break the adoption with your adopted parents. To US immigration, you cannot claim to be the child of two sets of parents. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

Your wife could perhaps take on another course of study in another subject. She could also register for continuing education courses such as offered by an institution such as Kaplan. Another short-term option is applying for a change of status to B-2 visitor, but such could only be requested for 6 months, and she would have to make a further application to extend all the way to February. As you are a U. S. citizen, have you thought about the possibility of sponsoring her directly for permanent residence? If so, you and she could file a concurrent I-130 Petition for Alien Relative and I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status with U.S.C.I.S. at any time, and she would be allowed to stay in the U. S. during the pendency of the application. If she needs to travel, she would apply for an I-131 Application for Travel Document and for work privileges form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

An individual who falls within the immediate relative class (spouse, parent, or child under the age of 21 and unmarried) of a U. S. citizen is still able to adjust status even if overstaying his or her present visa status. When a concurrent I-130/I-485 application is submitted for such an individual who does not have other inadmissible factors, that person falls within a state of grace in which he or she is not technically legal, but in which DHS will generally take no action against the individual until the case is completed. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

It sounds like you have a good case.   A lawyer would have to evaluate the records and consult with experts to determine if your PCP and OBGYN breached the standard of care, and if they did whether a timely diagnosis would have changed the outcome.   I would recomend that you reach out to highly rated lawyers on this site.  Look for lawyers with an AV rating.  The first consultation is always free, and you only pay an attoney's fee if you win. ... Read More

Assuming that you committed a CIMT in 1994, you should be able to apply for a waiver at the time of interview as the offense occurred more than 15 years ago as long as your admission to the U. S. would not be contrary to the national welfare, safety, or security of the United States, and you have been rehabilitated. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (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

The order doesn't matter as long as the person can be identified.  In other words, unless you are claiming (a) that you were speaking aobut another person not the person who is suing you; or (b) that nobody would have realized that you were speaking about the person suing you because you used the name in a different order, it doesn't matter.  The good news is that truth is an absolute defense to any defamation claim.  Moreover, if your statements were given in the context of a lawsuit, I believe (assuming that Maryland law is like New York's in this regard) that they would be privileged.... Read More