North Carolina Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Hi Herbert, sorry to hear you're having problems with the VA.  VA disability is all we do at Veterans Law Group.  Please feel free to reach out to us via our website www.veteranslaw.com or phone 888-811-0523.  On our website you can fill out a request for a consultation.  ... Read More

Anyone can "demand" anything they want.  An unconditional gift is irrevocable (except in unusual circumstances not present here).  The problem is that, with title never having been transferred, your friend may have a tough time convincing the court that his brother gave him an unconditional gift if the brother claims something different.... Read More

If you have physically met your fiancé within the last two years, then you can sponsor her for her K visa. It takes roughly a year from the time that you apply until the time that she gets her interview at the Consulate to get her K visa. Once she enters the United States, you have 90 days to get married, and then after that she can adjust her status to get her green card.... Read More

If you had authority to close the business under the business's operating agreement, the success of any suit for damages based on your closing it depends on the language of the lease.  If a suit is successful, the business, not you, should pay. If you did not have authority to close the business under the business's operating agreement, you should get it once the court admits your mother's estate to probate and appoints you administrator. Hire a probate lawyer who practices in the county in which your mother lived and died to apply to be appointed and advise you on whether and when any claim should be paid.  ... Read More

Merely being diagnosed with dementia does not mean that someone does not have a lucid moment in which they can make a Will.  As you know, dementia is progressive. After someone has died, it is difficult to determine whether they were, on a certain date, so advanced in their dementia that they no longer had legal capacity to make a Will.  This is true even for someone under guardianship. Similarly, undue influence is difficult to prove. If you would like to contest the Will (which you should have done in 2019 if ever), please discuss the matter with a lawyer who practices fiduciary litigation in the county in which your father died.    ... Read More

Anyone can sue, but I think your suit would be dismissed against the manager personally.  The resident company which you can sue, presumably owes you a contractual duty to take care of the noise and smoking problems, but the manager personally does not.  Any duty he owes is to his employer, the resident company.  Before you decide to sue, you may want to complain to the resident company that its manager is not handling his/her duties.... Read More

I do not believe your wife needs to cancel the H-4 interview if you were in the US on June 24, 2020, even though the Department of State has not been entirely clear as to who is subject to the presidential proclamation of 6/22/20 affecting nonimmigrants. The Department did say, however, in June that where the principal is in the US, derivative dependents could apply for a national interest exception. Then in July, the Department posted guidance clarifying that derivative dependents who are not otherwise independently exempted from the restrictions are automatically exempted where the principal applicant is not subject. One of the examples provided for a principal not being subject was one who was in the US on the proclamation’s effective date, June 24, 2020. Good luck to your wife if you were here on that date. If not, the consulate could theoretically still issue the visa as the ban is against entry and not visa issuance. 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

In your situation, to work legally in the US with your petitioner, you either need H-1B status or employment authorization through an EAD. As you note, an EAD may take 150-180 days. Therefore, if your previous employer wishes you to work immediately, it would have to file for an H-1B transfer. 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

If he has the money to pay, of course you can get your money.  You would sue him for breach of contract.  If the contract provided for interest, you can get that as well from the date of the loan; if not, you can get interest at whatever the state statutory rate is from the date of default, i.e. March 31.  You're going to have to prove tha tyou loaned the money, however, which may be difficult without a writing.... Read More

You do not get to decide.  If your brother is mentally incompetent to manage his own finances, he almost certainly lacks legal capacity to appoint an agent under a Durable Power of Attorney.   If so, he needs to be placed under a guardianship by a court.  Ask the facility where he resides to ask a physician to complete the necessary medical evaluation and form (sometimes called a Physician's Certificate of Medical Examination) and hire an attorney to help you file an Application for Guardianship.  If your local probate court does not have a list, your state bar will.... Read More

You can pass the life insurance outside your Will by designated a beneficiary on the policy. A Will must not only be notarized but also witnessed and signed with certain required language and formalities.  Not only is this more likely to be done properly by a lawyer but a lawyer can advise you how to successfully exclude someone from inheriting and about other provisions you would be wise to have in your Will to protect your spouse and minor children.... Read More

While there may be a way to get out of the Separation Agreement, there is a very real chance that you are stuck with the deal that you voluntarily agreed to sign.  The Separation Agreement ("SA") is a contract between you and your ex, and like most contracts, you can't simply just say "oops, my bad, I want to get out of it."   If the proper steps were followed in the drafting and execution of the SA, you may not be able to get out of it and may have to comply with whatever the terms set forth.  You are going to have to schedule a consultation with a local family law attorney, but be prepared for them to tell you that there is little they can do.... Read More

I'm not even going to get into legal advice right now, but first wanted to say how sorry I am that you are going through this loss.  It sounds truely awful and I encourage you to seek counselors and other professionals through this process. Legally speaking, you can't get power of attorney over someone who is brain dead.  No simpler way to say it.  You also might not be in a great spot in regards to the 9 year old child.  As the grandparent, your claim to this child is likely going to be defeated by any claim of the father.  You will want to speak with a local family law attorney regarding a possible avenue to challenge the father for custody, but again, grandparents don't typically have a lot of rights in this type of situation.... Read More

Many state DMVs have a form which is used to transfer title if there is no probate of the estate.  Note that you must contact the lienholder, which lent money based on your son's credit rating, not yours, and, if the lienholder does not repossess the car or demand full payment, continue to pay the loan.... Read More

The short answer is of course you do.  There is nothing more important than your child and you want to make sure you aren't facing an uphill battle in court.  Hard to expect the attorneys on this site to say anything else.  If nothing else, you should at least consult with an attorney to get the basics, and then perhaps you and the mother of your child can work something out based on the guidance you've received.  Custody is going to be an issue until this child turns 18, so you are going to have to learn to work with each other a little bit.... Read More