Massachusetts Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

It will depend upon the exact charges for which your fiancé was convicted and the sentence imposed. Your fiancé may be required to show additional equities to or seek a waiver to secure a visa. Your fiancé could be ineligible for a visa. I would encourage you to obtain copies of his criminal record and have it reviewed by an experienced immigration attorney. You can read more about the family immigration process at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read More

Your question is difficult to answer without more information.  Generally, you may not be able to file for divorce in MA unless you lived there for more than one year unless your wife agrees to file jointly with you. If your wife has never lived in MA but you have lived there for more than one year then you will be able terminate the marriage but MA may not have the ability to make orders regarding the division of property unless your consents to the cae proceeding MA.  Best wishes.... Read More

You may represent yourself in a divorce case but in many cases it may be in your best interest to retain a lawyer to assist you.  There are traps for unwary which a non lawyer will not likely know.  You may be better to discuss your case with several different lawyers to see if one is a good fit for your needs. Best wishes.... Read More

You may become a citizen through naturalization. You may seek naturalization after being a lawful ermabebt resident for five years (three years if married to a United States citizen). Your son would need to first come to the United States as lawful permanent resident before he could become a citizen. You can read more about naturalization at http://myattorneyusa.com/citizenship-and-naturalization.... Read More

An elderly homeowner who has no money can go to the town or city where he lives and file for an elderly abatement or deferral of real estate taxes. In the case of deferral, a lien would be placed on the home and the real estate taxes would not have to be paid until the home is sold. Another option available to an elderly homeowner who wants to stay at home but is cash-poor would be a reverse mortgage. The homeowner could receive a lump sum to make repairs and also receive monthly payments. The home would not have to be sold to make repayment until after the homeowner dies or leaves the home for a lengthy period of time.... Read More

Hello. If your friend were to marry an US citizen then she can adjust her status to an immigrant visa. If not then it is too late to request reinstatement of her F-1 status and if caught by ICE she may be placed in removal proceedings. There may be other options available for her but I would need to speak with her. My firm has clients throughout the United States.  I would be happy to assist you with your immigration matter. Please call for a free initial consultation, we offer payment plans. 915-219-4070 Samuel J. Zermeno, Esq. sjzermeno@zermenolaw.com www.zermenolaw.com... Read More

Hello. Your friend may be eligible for a visa as a battered spouse or as a victim of violence. Please have your friend contact me so that I may better determine the course of action for him to take. My firm has clients throughout the United States.  I would be happy to assist him with his immigration matter. Please call for a free initial consultation, we offer payment plans. 915-219-4070 Samuel J. Zermeno, Esq.... Read More

I don't understand your heading "even though there was no contract."  From what you've written in the body of your email, you had a contract with your friend to buy 50% of her business.  You did your part by paying the purchase price, but she has breached the contract by cutting you out of the business.  There are some types of agreements which must be in writing to be enforceable, but most oral contracts are enforceable (the difficulty is in proviing them, but if you can prove that you had an oral agreement, it will generally be enforced).  Therefore you can sue her to specifically enforce the contract, or to recover the damages you suffered due to her breach.  Even if this is type of agreement is required to be in writing in Massachusetts (I am not admitted to practice in Mass.), you should (assuming that the court believes your version of the facts) still be able to recover the money you laid out.... Read More

When somebody dies without a will, inheritance from that person is determined by state laws of intestacy. Your father's cousin had heirs at law, and they are determined by the law of the state where the cousin lived, so you may be someone who would be inheriting from the cousin. The heir finder may have found the cousin's name at a website such as missingmoney.com, then researched the cousin's family tree. You may want to check that website and the state treasurer's offices in all states where the cousin lived to see if there are unclaimed funds listed there. They all would probably provide you with guidance on what the process would be to collect the funds.... Read More

Not all wills need to be probated. Probate of a will is essentially the last resort. If all assets were arranged by the decedent to go directly to the heirs (such as through joint accounts and beneficiary designations), then the will does not need to be probated. If there are assets that need to go through probate, then whether or not there is somebody who wants to contest the will, it needs to be probated. If there are probate assets, then no matter who is inheriting the assets, they need to be dealt with. The Probate Court has to put somebody in charge of the estate to collect the assets, pay debts, and make distributions of the remaining assets to the heirs.... Read More

These are very difficult issues and cause a lot of hardship to your children and you.  There is not enough facts to provide a specific answer but you may try to file something in your divorce case.  If your ex is bringing the children to see your sister in law then you may ask the court to prevent your ex from doing so.  These orders are difficult to get but depending on the facts of the case, it may be possible.  Best wishes.... Read More

I have dealt with this many times before. Your ex is not allowed to make medical decisions without your agreement, unless the divorce decrees allows for it.  If the divorce decree does not allow it, then you should contact the doctor and notify him/her that you have joint legal custody and these decisions should not be made without.  You also discuss with the doctor why the medication is needed.  You may also file a motion for contempt against your ex for violating legal custody.  You should consider taking your daughter for a second opinion with your notice to your ex and see if the prior diagnosis and course of treatment are valid.  The court will want to know if there is a valid medical reason for the psych medication.  Best wishes.... Read More

Put simply, if someone created a facebook account under an assumed identity and "just used it to repeatedly view someone else's public content," they could not be charged with stalking in Massachusetts because stalking requires that the person's conduct seriously alarms or annoys the other person and would cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress, and if they only used it to view public photographs, neither of those two things could be true.  Stalking also includes a requirement for a threat directed at that person which is missing from your hypothetical.... Read More

Where the accident occurred determines which state law applies. It makes sense for the attorney handling your claim to be barred there so they have experience with those laws. In addition, one must be typically be barred in that state to be able to litigate a matter in that state's court (with some exceptions).... Read More

Your question implies that he was previously deported. Whether he would be able to return after deportation will depend upon why he was deported, family ties to the United States, and prior immigration history. The best way to start is to take a copy of his immigration file to an experienced immigration attorney for review. ... Read More

Your father could apply for you under the F-3 category which has a backlog date of approximately 11 years (could get better in future). At the end of the process, the law in effect at that time will dictate whether you are able to adjust status in the US without leaving. I note that even if adjustment is not possible, the I-601A provisional waiver is set to expand to many categories in spring 2016 under which a person like you could have the I-130 petition approved, at some point file an I-601A provisional waiver based on extreme hardship to your father and receive the adjudication while waiting here in the States, and if approved, go through consular processing in which you would generally receive a normal immigrant visa interview at the American consulate/embassy in your home country.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