Iowa Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Normally, we would say that this should not be a problem except that it has not been determined whether the Laken Riley Act which imposes mandatory detention on noncitizens for theft offenses is retroactive. Note that it only applies to individuals who entered the US illegally or through fraud or misrepresentation. If you entered legally through a visa or parole, the Act clearly does not apply to the petty larceny. If your mode of entry places you within the class of individuals who may be susceptible to the Act, it is our opinion as well as that of most attorneys that the Act is not retroactive. We note as you note, however, that these are restrictive times as per your recounting the story of the woman from Ireland and improbable things are happening under this Administration. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

You may have a claim against the school based on a lack of supervision theory especially if the boy had a history of this violent type of behavior. If it’s a public school, you’ll likely need to file an administrative tort claim before initiating a lawsuit. If you’re unable to find a lawyer, feel free to reach out to one of us, we’ll do our best to help you find one.... Read More

Yes, your child has a claim against the city owned park. Hopefully you took pictures to prove the case. Consult with counsel in your state to represent you. Any settlement recovery would be placed into a structured annuity to be paid to your child when she reaches the age of 18. Act quickly because time limits for filing a claim against the government are very short. If you need help finding counsel in your state,  one of us on this platform could assist you with that. Good luck.   ... Read More

These are applications on two separate tracks – F-1 STEM OPT and H-4. They have different rules, and there should not be an issue if your H-4 approval arrives after your current OPT expires. As H-4 rules are not the same as OPT rules, the 90 days rule for employment does not apply. Please note, however, that an individual cannot hold two nonimmigrant statuses in the US, so be aware that after obtaining one benefit, a subsequent approval of the second benefit will generally supersede the first approval. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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're a US Citizen, you can sponsor your husband for a green card, if and only if he entered the US legally. It doesn't matter if has overstayed for 23 years. You can still sponsor him. There are many forms and many documents that need to be submitted. Consider working with an attorney. Some of us charge a very affordable flat fee for representation for the life of the case. Counsel in any state can represent you. ... Read More

Your incident at Walmart would not make you inadmissible to the United States. That being said, student visas are given in the discretion of American consular officers. A reasonable officer in the absence of other unfavorable factors should give you another visa, but such is not guaranteed as the immigration laws give consular officers much discretion in this area. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

It would seem to me that the check from the insurance company would be made out to all three of you.  If they cashed that check by forging your signature you have a good case for fraud. Check with the insurance company.  If the checkk was made out to you as well, contact the police.... Read More

You need to contact the lawyer who represented you. A bench warrant has been issued......if you show up in court tomorrow, the judge could put you in jail with an additional charge stemming from the failure to appear. You want your lawyer to pave the way for your surrender. Every courthouse is different, as is every DA and judge. It is also important to know the facts of the underlying case. Did you get a sweetheart deal that the DA may want to revoke? What is your record? Prior BW?... Read More

Thank you for contacting us and we are so sorry you have suffered with multiple hernias and hernia surgeries. There are product liability lawsuits against some of the manufacturers of the hernia mesh products that may or may have not been implanted during your hernia mesh surgeries. You will need your medical records from the surgeries to reveal whether or not you have the recalled hernia mesh products implanted and whether or not they have been removed and were causing your injuries. ... Read More

I'm not 100% sure I understand you, because restitution is something that would be ordered in a criminal case, not civil, at least where I practice, but perhaps the terminology in IA is different.  If what you are saying is that your boyfriend had a civil judgment against him for $22,000 20 plus years ago, interest keeps running on the uncollected part of that judgment until it is satisfied (again, Iowa may be different, but I doubt it).  In New York, the rate is 9% annually, which is a big number.  After 20 years the judgment would have almost tripled.  Plus there can be costs incurred in collection efforts, some of which can be added to the judgment, such as marshal's fees.... Read More

An estate is probated in the county in which the person died.  In most states, a beneficiary is not entitled to even ask for an accounting until over a year after the court appoints an executor.  This gives the executor time to file the final income tax return, assemble the assets and pay at least some of the creditors.  If a sufficient amount of time has passed, your Iowa probate attorney can demand an accounting.... Read More

Executors are routinely advised to lock things up to preserve the estate even before the court appoints them. Your cousin could only have opened the safety deposit box if she was a named signatory/co-owner and had a key.  That your mother was the other signatory/co-owner does not give her heirs or beneficiaries any right to view or inventory the contents of the safe deposit box. The executor's attorney has no duty to speak to any beneficiary.  ... Read More

Every case is reviewed on a case by case basis. Yes you can try and with a good lawyer, you may be successful, but the USCIS will scrutinize the past two marriages and this present fiance petition much more closely than the other cases were. As far as I know, there is no rule against a third or fourth fiance visa case because this would violate your constitutional right to marry the person you want to marry. But again, you should retain counsel to process the case. One thing you can do now is to start saving all your chat communication history to a social media app like wechat or whatssapp b/c I guarantee you the government will request selected chat histories of you and your fiance. ... Read More

The attorney has no obligation to speak to you:  you are a beneficiary, not the executor. Once a Will has been submitted for probate (proving that it is the Will of the person who died), it becomes a public document.  If the court's file is not available online, you can ask the county probate clerk.  You can also check your state's timelines.  In most, enough time has passed that a beneficiary can request an accounting.  If it is not produced (usually within 30 days), the beneficiary can ask the court to replace the executor.... Read More

If there is no Will and the decedent had children who were not the children of the surviving spouse, those children also inherit.  This is different from the situation under a Will, in which you can leave things to anyone you want.  As an heir, your husband can hire a probate lawyer who practices in the county in which your mother died to file an application to determine heirship and administer the estate.... Read More

Unless you can prove that your mother lacked legal capacity to execute a Will or that your sister exercised undue influence over her, you are stuck.  In the circumstances which you describe, this could be very difficult.  Please also note that the cost of a Will contest could easily exceed what you would receive even if you won.... Read More

First, no one needs a beneficiary's Social Security number in order to make a distribution. Second, if the son is the executor, the son, not the lawyer, is responsible for making the distribution. Third, most states require a formal notice to a beneficiary, enclosing a copy of the Will and of the Order admitting it to probate. Fourth, none of this should ever, ever, ever be occurring over social media.... Read More