Washington Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

If your mother had any more than that and the clothes on her back, you probably will haveto probate her estate and open an estate account.  If she had no more than that and the clothes on her back, you can let the check go to unclaimed property and, in a few years, prove to the state comptroller that you are her heir and her only heir.... Read More

Neither of your should be "overseeing" changes to your grandmother's Will.  It is her Will and her decision.  If you think that your aunt is currently violating her fiduciary duty (her duty to put your grandmother's best interests first), contact a local elder law attorney.  Keep in mind that your grandmother may well want to leave things to someone who is caring for her in her last days -- and that you are not.... Read More

If your mother has not appointed agents under a Medical Power of Attorney and a Durable Power of Attorney, she may need to be placed under guardianship.   It does not appear that Washington State has resurrected laws of filial responsibility, making children responsible for their parents' care.  You may wish to contact a local elder lawyer.  You can find one using the Find a Lawyer function on the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org)... Read More

Unless you are a named current beneficiary, you are not entitled to either information or an accounting.  If you are, state law may entitle you to an accounting but no more.  Please be aware that most revocable living trusts do not pass to any children or other named beneficiaries until both spouses have died. ... Read More

The question is – when did he make the misrepresentation that he was a US citizen? If the one and only time that he did it was at the age of 16, he could possibly claim that he did not have the maturity and judgment to appreciate the nature and consequence of his actions at the time that he made the false claim. However, if he continuously claimed for employment purposes over the years on other I-9 applications for work that he was a citizen, then that would be more troubling. The penalty for knowingly and willingly making a false claim to citizenship on or after September 30, 1996, is a permanent non-waivable bar to this country. Misrepresentations on citizenship prior to that date can be waived if the applicant is able to prove that extreme hardship would fall onto a US citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent if the waiver was not approved. I also note that prior to April 3, 2009, the I-9 employment verification form asked whether the applicant was a citizen or national of the US on one line instead of asking on separate lines for citizen and national. In the case in which an individual used the old form check marking the box for "citizen or national' and is able to rationally explain the difference between a US citizen and a non-US citizen national when he or she says that national and not citizen was meant, a charge of false claim to citizenship charge might be defeated. 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 you are marrying a U. S. citizen, any gap in status will generally be disregarded at the time of your interview for the green card. If you are marrying a lawful permanent resident and adjusting status by filing form I-485, you must be in valid status at the time of filing form I-485. In addition, you cannot violate your status even after filing the I-485 by taking on unauthorized employment. That being said, a gap in schooling after marrying and filing the I-485 application would have no effect upon your ability to adjust status. In your situation, if you are holding F-1 status for both your associates degree and your bachelors degree programs, you would not be violating status by having a gap of a couple of weeks as the law provides for gaps of time between 2 levels of schooling. Even if you were not choosing to advance to a bachelors degree program, you would still be in legal status as an F-1 student for 60 days after completing studies during the grace period for you to change or extend status or depart the United States. 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

I am not aware of any federal law that would prevent you from opening up your own practice under the circumstances that you describe. However, most professionals are regulated by the individual states in which they practice. I suggest that you check out any applicable regulations of whichever state you are planning to practice in to determine whether it has restrictions on your ability to open up a practice with the EAD. 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

Being under DACA means that you are allowed to stay, but without legislation providing a path to the green card, there is not much that can be done at present. For purposes of your question, I will assume that you are at least 18 years of age. As you came in legally with your mother, you could possibly adjust status to permanent residence if you marry with a U. S. citizen in a bona fide marriage. If you marry with a permanent resident who is a long way from citizenship or is ineligible or cannot pass the naturalization test, you could possibly take advantage of the I-601A program to obtain a waiver of the 10 year bar for staying in the U. S. for one year or more. The waiver application would be based upon your spouse suffering extreme hardship if you had to leave the U. S. If the I-601A application is approved, you could then return to Mexico for an immigrant visa appointment at the American consulate. Assuming that you are approved at the time of interview, you could return to the U. S. under residence status almost immediately. If the above is not an option, you can wait with all other members of the DACA class until your DACA situation is solved politically.  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 best strategy is to apply for her fiancé K visa. It takes roughly 1 year to process it, and when she enters the US she has to marry you within 90 days. After that she can adjust status to obtain her green card. Counsel anywhere in the US can represent you. Keep in mind that you must have physically met your Fiance 2 years before beginning the application process. ... Read More

You can only give what your have, wherever you are.  In a community property state, you only have 50% of the community property.  In Washington, as here in Texas, your husband probably has a right to live in the house for life.  Your daughter will only get the 50% you gift her after he is gone.  Meanwhile, they get to argue about who pays for non-maintenance repairs (which one may think are necessary and the other does not) and property taxes (for which he may get a lower rate and even a deferrment while she will not).... Read More

You are under no legal obligation to provide any of that information or documentation.  However, doing so does not create any obligations to you.  Your boyfriend is required by the bankruptcy court to disclose the amounts you contribute towards the household expenses.  This should NOT require disclosure of your income or require you to sign any documents.  This may be some specific requirement they have in Washington of which I'm not aware.    It's not going to hurt you to provide the documents, but I do not think your boyfriend is required to provide all that. Make sure he's using a qualified and experienced bankruptcy attorney in his case.    ... Read More

 In the eyes of Immigration, you are employed even if you are just self-employed, and your wife should mark  the application "yes", and just say self-employed, or put down the name of the company at  your home address. 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 the situation that you describe for your friend, gender bias and mistreatment/abuse might not be enough for asylum status at this time for a person from Bangladesh. There might be another result for a person claiming such from a country like Saudi Arabia from which there are widespread reports in major newspapers of government officials being complicit in abducting women who try to escape the country and subjecting them to punishment upon return. Your friend should perhaps try to obtain the green card through other means, e.g. employment, marriage.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 difficulty in your fiancé's case is that by coming to the US illegally after being deported, he has incurred the permanent bar under which a waiver is only available after 10 years and only with the permission of U.S.C.I.S.  He would likely only be able to gain relief if he was able to prove that the deportation was unlawful. This is unfortunately the state of the law these days.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