General Practice Legal Questions

You can usually order a birth certificate online - just make sure you are going to the actual government's vital records website, not some website that will do it for you and charge you. It does have a cost, but less if you go straight to the vital records department's website in your county.  ... Read Answer

There are several options available to help you recover the loan you extended to your family members. One option is to file a lawsuit and seek a judgment, which can then be enforced to secure repayment. I recommend consulting with an attorney experienced in debt collection to guide you through this process.... Read Answer

Yes, you may have a case against the store for negligence and a case against the Dog owner for strict liability. If your daughter is under the age of 18, any settlement would have to be placed into a child's annuity to be disbursed upon her reaching the age of 18. Reach out to one of us to discuss possible contingency fee, which means you pay nothing unless you win the case.    ... Read Answer

OK, so what was the name of the casino? This is important because if it was on tribal reservation property, then those casinos have immunity from personal injury lawsuits. However, if it was a private casino, for example like Harrah's or MGM, then you may pursue a claim. Also what were the extent of your injuries? ... Read Answer

a very interesting hypothetical: the person who stole the number is guilty of a crime; if you left it on the desk intending to let them get it, you would be complicit (very hard to prove unless they film you in the bar bragging about it) you might be found liable for negligence if the SSN is abused SSNs and PII (Personally Identifying Information) are a huge problem for every business: you want this data kept as secure as possible. best of luck... Read Answer

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 Answer

It certainly sounds like you are the victim of some form of fraud. Both the moving company whose truck and movers did the actual move as well as the website that sold you their services can be found liable. While the actual movers might claim they had no knowledge of the bait and switch done against you, the website and the mover refused to proceed until they had you on the hook. Trying to sue online sites can be difficult especially because getting service of process can be a challenge. But the actual moving company can be found; let them file their own claim against the website. You might want to hire legal counsel for this. Feel free to leave truthful reviews of the service you received from both companies. Best of luck to you.  ... Read Answer

There are a lot of factors at play here. The first question I would have is why exactly do you have power of attorney for your mother and what are the limits of it? Do you have it in writing or is it informal? Second, is your brother living in the house (or even partially owns the house), staying short term, or is he just an intrusive visitor? Third, it sounds like your mother wants to have continued contact with him. Is that true or is more exploitative than that? Fourth, how is your mother's health? How old is she and is she capable of taking care of herself or making her own decisions? There's a lot of nuance here.  Really unless your mother also wants him barred from the house or your mother is somehow incapable and not able to make her own decisions then you likely cannot do anything about it regardless of how frustrating he may be. If your mother is in agreement and wants him to not come back then the police can be called to instruct him to not come back. If she is incapable and being exploited by him then he may be able to be prosecuted for Exploitation of the Elderly of Disabled (provided she is over 65 or disabled). If you think she is being financially exploited by him you should think about contacting the police so they can look into it. Orders of protection can also be taken out if he is violent and there are forms for this you can get at the clerk's office in most counties for you to fill out if you think that is appropriate. But most situations would require your mother either being onboard with banning him from the house or would require her to be incapable of making her own decisions. ... Read Answer

Yes. If son died with a small estate, in most states you don't have to file a probate. You simply fill out a small estate affidavit and that will entitle the family member to cash his check. It's unclear where he died as you refer to both Texas and Virginia in your post. The state where he died will be the state affidavit that you need. Below is the Virginia state affidavit.  https://www.pwcva.gov/assets/documents/circuit/12874.pdf  ... Read Answer