What kind of lawyer do I need for something related to fire hazard at a house?

  You want an experienced real estate lawyer, like me. If the fire department has determined that the condition of your property is a fire hazard, then you need to clean it up. A lawsuit will be much more expensive than paying someone to do the clean up. Even if you win, you cannot recover reimbursement for your attorney fees. On the other hand, the city can start assessing fines as high as $1000 per say, plus the costs of its inspectors going out to view the property and perform the paperwork to impose the fines. You and I would have to prove to the judge that the fire marshal had abused his discretion. The fire marshall has almost unlimited discretion to decide what conditions are fire hazards serious enough to require enforcement action. You would need photos that show your property is safe and the opinion of an expert witness. The expert would cost at least $5000.00, and even then, in a battle between the opinion of the fire marshall and the opinion of your expert, the fire marshall wins, unless the abuse of discretion is really obvious. Your neighbors' situation is irrelevant. In order to avoid fines, let the fire marshall know that you are hiring someone to clean it up and starting to ask contractors for bids to do the work. If you don't tell them something, they will start proceedings against you, probably civil proceedings for fines, but criminal action is theoretically possible. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack