South Dakota Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

You can only get rights in a work protected by copyright if you have a written agreement from the person who created the work. It could be transferred as an assignment or as a "work made for hire." However, a "work made for hire" only applies to very specific types of work listed in the Copyright Act which are a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material for a test, or as an atlas. If you don't have a written agreement, you probably do not own the copyright in the graphic although you may have a license to use it, which does NOT require a written agreement.... Read Answer

More information is required to answer this question on chapter 7 Bankruptcy or chapter 13 bankruptcy. What type of bankruptcy are you filing; chapter 7 bankruptcy or chapter 13 bankruptcy? Is chapter 7 bankruptcy if you get your mortgage payments up to date you may keep the property. As for the liens chapter 7 bankruptcy does not discharge these liens. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can only discharged debts, a lien attaches the debt to collateral such as property and will remain attached to the property even after you file chapter 7 bankruptcy. In chapter 13 bankruptcy, once you have completed making all payments on your repayment plan, the liens should be able to be removed from your property. It is important to remember in either chapter 7 bankruptcy or chapter 8 bankruptcy, neither will remove debts attached to a piece of property to an instrument such as a mortgage or lien, I'm a lot us that get has been repaid. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where I practice. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.   Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO & ASSOCIATES, LLCAttorneys At Law www.massachusettslawyeronline.com 126 Shove Street Unit 202 Fall River, MA 02724 Office: 888-269-0688Cell: 508-801-6747FAX: 877-475-8147 Twitter Facebook  ... Read Answer

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you have the right to dispute the debt within 30 days of the original written communication (i.e. first collection letter). You must dispute this IN WRITING and the collection agency cannot continue its collection efforts without first verifying the debt to you.... Read Answer

This question is far too complex to answer in this type of forum.  You need to have a consultation with a bankruptcy attorney in your area who can get all the necessary information and analyze all the relevant factors.  Depending on how things are with your wife, you may need to be represented by separate attorneys, so you may each want to get consultations separately.  Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

As a general matter, when services are rendered to you at your request, and there has been no advance discussion of price, you are liable for the reasonable and customary charges for those services. Chances are that, before you were seen, you signed an agreement to be responsible for these charges, even though their dollar amount was not spelled out.... Read Answer

Yes.  As long as you did not reaffirm the debt owed to your mobile home's secured creditor, or refinance after your bankruptcy case was filed, then you have no further obligation on that debt and they are limited to recovery from their collateral (i.e., your mobile home).   Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr ... Read Answer

As a general matter, an employer has a right to express its opinion about its current or former employees to a prospective employer who calls for a reference check. Opinion is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment. If the employer makes a factual statement that is false and harmful, it may be actionable -- but not a statement of opinion.... Read Answer

If the item is rightfully yours your roommate can not give it away in order to settle his own debts. Under property laws, it is your personal property. You are still entitled to ownership as long as you did not abandon the item (leave it with your roommate making it clear you were not coming back for it) or give it away to cover your debts. It does not sound like either of these actions occurred. If this is the case you would be entitled to replevin which is the legal remedy for a person to recover goods that have been unlawfully taken from their possession. This is a speedy process of regaining possession of an item if peaceful self-help (asking for it back) has not worked. A writ of replevin is generally filed by the court and served by a law enforcement officer. The requesting party may be required to post an indemnity bond. All service and bond requirements are generally state specific therefore I would contact a local attorney or speak to a local court clerk in order to initiate the process.... Read Answer

Unfortunately sometimes a restraining order is the best solution to such a problem. It can be a very major step and completely change the dynamics of a family structure so it needs to be thoroughly considered. It is difficult for anyone to enforce rules, laws or common curiosity against anyone without more of a black and white line which is what a restraining order creates. If one were dealing with a neighbor or a stranger they would request a civil harassment order but when dealing with a family member or someone which they have a "domestic relationship" with one must file for a domestic violence restraining order. A domestic violence restraining order can merely keep the harassing person from having any contact with the harassed. Your wife would have to be open to filing for the restraining order as well as stopping contact with your stepson. The filing procedures differ from state to state and the time lines differ slightly. Your best option would be to contact local counsel if this is the next step you plan to pursue.... Read Answer

If you break a protective order, you can be found in contempt of court.  If you are found in contempt of court, you could be asked to spend some time in local government housing where you may meet some interesting new friends.  Instead of jail, the court could order a number of other remedies.  None are good.... Read Answer

I will assume your age is 62 although not stated in the question.  One must be careful with "advice" given from someone at the Social Security Administration.  Most workers at SSA are competent, helpful and always mean well.  However, with the telecenters, consistency in answers isn't always possible, or accurate, and some of the newer workers, if in person, may not know of all of the intricacies of the rules. It is unclear to me why you didn't apply for disability with SSA regarding the June 1997 finding referenced in your question, unless you simply didn't meet SSA's definition, or you were able to work in some capacity.   If you apply for disability now (age 62), you will have an offset if granted Social Security Disability benefits unless your benefits are exempt from offset. See the information from SSA's website  "How Workers' Compensation And Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits." There is an excellent tip about the situation of one on disability approaching retirement which was first given to me and others at a seminar about 20 years ago by Peter Young.  The advice can be found at Rib Dib Election  ... Read Answer

The police may keep property seized from you at the time of your arrest for use as evidence against you in your criminal case. When the case is over, your property, except for contraband or fruits of the crime, should be returned to you. If the property consists of personal items with no evidentiary value, such as a wedding ring, you might consider having your lawyer make a request for it to be returned earlier. If the items consist of a personal address book, financial papers or currency, your lawyer may be able to make an agreement with the prosecutor that if they return the property now, and the Judge later rules the items are admissible against you at your trial, he or she won't object to the introduction of photocopies instead of the originals. The prosecutor may or may not accept this offer. If the police or prosecutor refuses to return your property after the case is over, your lawyer can file a motion with the court seeking an order requiring them to do so. ... Read Answer