New Hampshire Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

I cannot say exactly how long but typically you need to wait 1 year from the date of conviction for a misdemeanor to apply for an expungement for that conviction.  Contact an attorney licensed to practice in New Hampshire for more specifics.   Simon W. Johnson swj@swjlawoffice.com Law Office of Simon W. Johnson Martindale, Avvo, Justia, LawGuru LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Serving Cleveland and Ohio, 44124 ... Read More

Your primary concern will be the deficiency, the difference between what you owe on the mortgage and what the bank gets for the house.  Look at the paperwork and see if the bank is releasing you, or if you will be liable for any money after the deed in lieu of foreclosure is completed.... Read More

Instead of contacting the prosecutor directly, I encourage you to retain a criminal defense attorney in the county where your son is charged.  An experienced attorney can evaluate the case and advise your son as to whether he has a viable defense to the charges, such as a challenge to the legality of the initial traffic stop, the subsequent request and consent to search, and the search itself.  An experienced attorney will also  be familiar with the charging policies in your jurisdiction, and can advise you as to the likelihood of having the charges dropped, deferred  for dismissal at a later time, or reduced to a non-drug offense to avoid a conviction that will cause a loss of student aid. New Hampshire has the third-highest penalties in the nation for possession of just under one ounce of marijuana.  While the New Hampshire House passed a decriminalization bill this year, it was rejected by the state Senate. Possession of any amount of marijuana (or drug paraphernalia ) remains a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. For those under age 21, it can also result in suspension of their driver’s license.  Transporting a controlled substance (driving a vehicle knowing that it contains a controlled substance ) is a misdemeanor and results in the suspension of one’s driver’s license for between 60 days and 2 years. .Assuming the prosecutor will not dismiss, defer or reduce the charge to a non-drug offense, , your son may want to delay the case until January and take the case to trial.  In July, the  Governor of New Hampshire signed a jury nullification bill into law. The law, which goes into effect January 1, gives the defendant the right to argue jury nullification to the jury.  Essentially, jury nullification allows a jury to refuse to convict, even if the state has proven all the elements of the crime, if it finds the law objectionable or  inappropriately applied, or if it believes a guilty verdict would not be a fair result in the case.  A New Hampshire jury might well decide the punishment for your son  is disproportionate to the crime and unfair, particularly since other states in the region, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,New York, and Rhode Island have decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. (Vermont has not, and Rhode Island’s law goes into effect April 1, 2013. )Even a conviction for misdemeanor transporting or possessing marijuana can have serious consequences.  It results in a criminal record which can affect future employment and eligibility for professional licenses and public benefits, including financial aid  for college students. Despite your best intentions, I believe you can be of greater help to your son by assisting him in retaining experienced counsel than by attempting to contact the prosecutor directly. Jeralyn Merritt, Ask a Lawyer Panelist Since 1998.  ... Read More

First let me say that I'm very sorry for your loss.  My mother died a few years ago, and I was the executor of her estate, which was difficult even though I'm a lawyer. I'm not sure what you mean about being the trustee of your mother's trust, since you do not provide any other information about the trust.  However, unless this trust is the mortgage holder, it should not matter. If the mortgage has already been distributed, either to the trust you mention or to some other beneficiary of your mother's estate,  the owner of the mortgage can commence a lawsuit against the mortgagors.  If the trust is the owner of the mortgage, you, as trustee, can commence this lawsuit on behalf of the trust.  However, if your mom was the mortgagee and her assets have not yet been distributed, the representative of her estate would have to commence a lawsuit against the mortgagors.  If you or someone else have been confirmed by the court as the executor or administrator (depending on whether she left a will or not) of your mother's estate, that executor/administrator can start a lawsuit on the estate's behalf.  If not, a representative of the estate will first have to be appointed by the Court.  The laws on how you go about doing this vary from state to state, but it will likely require a separate legal proceeding.  You should consult your local court that deals with wills and estates to find out what you need to do.  ... Read More

CAN the case end up being reduced or dropped? Sure. Is that likely, just because you want it? Your attorney will raise all appropriate defenses with whatever witnesses, evidence and sympathies are available for legal arguments, for evidence suppression or other motions, or for trial. He will will try to get a dismissal, charge reduction, diversion, program, or other decent outcome through motions, plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate.... Read More

A trademark isn't something you do; it's something you have. A trademark arises from use. Services may be the subject of a trademark (which is called a "service mark"). If you are calling yourselves by this name, you already have a service mark. You can take steps to protect that mark by enforcing it against infringers and by registering it. Registering a mark is something that trademark attorneys do after searching for and determining the availability of the mark. The cost to register a trademark is generally around $300 in filing fees plus the cost of the attorney's time, which might be another $500 to $1,000.  ... Read More

He will likely be required to bring his paycheck and tax return to court.  If he has worked in the past, he will be assessed his prior incomes.  Parents of children are not simply allowed to quit working to avoid support.  Unless, he has a verifiable reason for not working, the court will "pretend" that he is and give him an income if they can't verify it.  But, if you know where he works, the support officer should be able to check on it.  And you can always call someone there as a witness to verify his employment if they don't.... Read More

Many businesses use a check verification service. The purpose of the service is to make sure that your account is valid and is owned by the same person as the one presenting the driver's license. Your bank account information is not private once you hand your personal check to someone, nor is your driver's license information once you provide it. If you did not wish this information to be available to the service provider, you did not have to provide it -- you could, as you note, have paid in cash.... Read More

Harrass you?  I'm not sure I understand your question.  If you are not making payments necessary for your Chapter 13 plan, then reminders or admonitions from your lawyer do not constitute harassment, they constitute him/her doing their job.   Actually, that's more than their job.   Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr  ... Read More

If he entered the US unlawfully, he is not eligible to legalize his status within the US. He would have to go back to his home country to consular process but as soon as he leaves the US, he will trigger an automatic 10 year bar to reentry, which can only be waived by a showing of extreme hardship to a US citizen spouse, which is fairly difficult to do in most cases.... Read More

The first thing you should do is retain a good probate lawyer.  I will assume from your message that your Mom has died and that the boyfriend did not have his name on the deed -- and that your Mom did not leave him in the will any right to retain possession.  I cannot imagine what rights the lawyer might be trying to protect --- except the possibility that he will argue that some kind of common law marriage was in place at your Mom's death.  Your lawyer can provide better guesswork as to how likely that might be, and can probably shed light on other possibilities.  I recommend that you NOT go to the yellow pages to find a lawyer unless that is the only means at your disposal.  Ask your friends, family, neighbors, pastor -- anyone you can think of -- for recommendations for selecting a good probate lawyer -- not just any lawyer.  Many lawyers do not have a probate practice and know little about it.   ... Read More