r/legaladvice Mar 15 '25

Mod Post Read before commenting: Off-topic and anecdotal comments are not allowed and subject you to a permanent ban

172 Upvotes

Greetings from the mods!

We've had a flood of off-topic comments recently. We're posting this to remind everyone that off-topic and anecdotal comments are not allowed. An off-topic comment may subject you to a permanent ban.

The Rule:

Commenting Rule 1: Comments should contain a legal answer or a strongly related non-legal answer. If it is not legal advice, do not post. Period. You will be banned.

What is "off-topic?"

Any response that doesn't answer the question by reference to legal information or principles. A joke, a wisecrack, a comment about OP's formatting (use the report button instead) are all off-topic. Off-topic also includes expressions of sympathy, opinions on the law, and comments that berate the OP or anyone else.

Incidentally, simply adding "get a lawyer" to an off-topic comment does not make it on-topic. And "get a lawyer" on its own, without further information or help, is considered unhelpful and may be removed on that basis.

If you want to discuss a post, then wait until it hits /r/bestoflegaladvice or ask a question about the subject of the post in /r/legaladviceofftopic. The main subreddit and a comment thread are never a place to have a philosophical discussion about the law or the post. It is a place to answer the questions asked.

What is an "anecdote?"

For our purposes, anecdotes are stories about something that happened to you (or someone you know or heard about) who may have had something that might be similar that happen to them.

These comments are not helpful. They do not include current legal information that is relevant to the OP, and therefore, they are off-topic. If you know the answer to the question (based on current law and relevant jurisdiction) then just answer the question without the story.

Another type of anecdote is "I don't know the law in the jurisdiction you actually asked about, but in some other state, the law is..." That is just not helpful. Laws are different in different places. These types of answers are off-topic.

Referring an OP to a thread on a different subreddit, or to somewhere else on the Internet because it might include a similar situation, is anecdotal advice and not allowed.

These are not the only types of anecdotes, but they are probably the most common ones. Again, if you are not referencing legal information or principles, your comment is probably not allowed.

Violations subject the user to an immediate and permanent ban

Not that we need to justify enforcing our rules, but this is a busy subreddit and the mods have a lot to do. If a user shows up here, doesn't read the rules, and posts a single off-topic comment, the user may be immediately and permanently banned.

This policy is not intended to be punitive, although we know it may seem to be. There are a lot of you and not many of us, and banning users that do not follow the rules, even once, is in the best interests of the subreddit. Violating the rules almost always means the user didn't bother to read them, and we simply don't have time to deal with such users.

Tl;dr: Unless you have a legal answer, do not reply to any post in this subreddit. You may be permanently banned, even for a first offense.


r/legaladvice Apr 08 '26

Subreddit Rules

59 Upvotes

We've learned that some people just flat out can't see our subreddit rules, so I'm posting them here in a pinned post so we can link them when necessary and so they're super easy to find.

Rules for r/legaladvice Rules that visitors must follow to participate. May be used as reasons to report or ban.

1. All responses must offer an answer to the legal question posed by the OP. We enforce this with bans.

Anecdotes are not permitted. Neither is advice that encourages someone to break the law. Nor is "get a lawyer" a sufficient response.

There's a pinned post at the top of the subreddit specifically addressing this rule. We will absolutely ban you for commenting without answering the legal question

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We will permanently and irrevocably ban you for this.

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To expand on this, we additionally do not allow anyone but the immediately involved parties to ask custody related questions. Not friends, not significant others, not grandparents. Reddit is free.

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r/legaladvice 5h ago

Car dealership sold me a car, had me sign paperwork for the wrong vehicle, and now wants me to pay $10,000 more. What are my options?

168 Upvotes

Location: Minnesota
I’m curious if anyone knows what my options are or has been in a similar situation. I bought a car this past weekend after shopping for MONTHS. The vehicle I was looking at was listed around $29,000. I asked the salesman if they would take $25,000 for it. He told me he cant negotiate the price and went to get the manager. The manager came back and told us they could do $22,000. I was obviously really excited about that price and agreed to buy the vehicle.

We signed the paperwork, which was only one document, I paid for the car in full, no financing, and we left the dealership with the car. Once we got home my husband noticed the paperwork we had been given was actually for a different vehicle. It was the same make, model, and color, but a different year and, of course a different VIN.
On Monday, the dealership called us because they had noticed the mistake as well. They are now saying that if we want to keep the vehicle we actually drove home, we need to pay $10,000.

I understand that a mistake was made somewhere in the paperwork, and I probably should have more carefully read what I was signing. But it’s frustrating that the $22,000 price wasn’t something I came up with, their manager offered that price after I had offered $25,000, and that is the price that made me to agree to buy the car in the first place.

So can the dealership make me pay $10,000 more after the fact? Since I signed for the other vehicle does that make this transaction totally invalid? Do I even have a leg to stand on to ask that the dealership honor the price I paid? ($22,000) should I get a lawyer before I give them any more money or just bring the car back?

I’m not trying to get something for nothing, but going from being told the car would cost $22,000 to suddenly being told I owe another $10,000 after everything was signed and paid for is really big difference. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!


r/legaladvice 6h ago

Landlord wants almost daily showings before I move out and says I may owe him rent if I refuse

150 Upvotes

location: California

My lease ends September 30 and I already gave proper notice that I'm moving out.

My landlord started looking for the next tenant a few weeks ago. I have no issue with allowing showings and I've already let several prospective tenants come through.

The problem is the frequency.

Last week he requested showings on four different days, mostly for one person at a time. Some were during my workday and a couple were only communicated about 24 hours beforehand.

I work from home several days a week, so having someone come through the apartment almost every afternoon is becoming disruptive.

I told him I'd be happy to offer two set windows each week, around 60-90 minutes each, and he could schedule multiple prospective tenants during those times.

He rejected that and said I don't get to restrict his ability to show the unit as long as he gives proper notice.

He also said that if I make it difficult to find a replacement tenant and the apartment sits vacant after October 1, he may hold me responsible for the lost rent caused by my refusing showings.

I'm not refusing access entirely. I'm trying to make the showings predictable and group them instead of having strangers coming through four or five days a week.

How much access am I legally required to provide for prospective tenants in California?

If I'm regularly offering reasonable blocks of time for showings, can my landlord still insist on separate showings almost every day and later claim damages if I decline some of them?


r/legaladvice 3h ago

Small Claims Procedure Small claims defendant refused summons

84 Upvotes

Location: Illinois

Suing for property damage. They told us, either stop talking to them or take them to court.

Submitted a small claims case, they were served (by Sheriff/server) last week but one of the defendants refused the paperwork on behalf of both of them.

What do I do next?


r/legaladvice 22h ago

My dad sold jewelry my mom specifically left to me in her will and says I have no right to the money

1.6k Upvotes

Location: Michigan

My mom passed away earlier this year. Her will specifically says that her jewelry collection goes to me. This includes a few pieces that belonged to my grandmother and one fairly expensive diamond ring.

My dad still had access to everything while the estate was being sorted out. This weekend I asked when I could pick the jewelry up and he casually told me he already sold most of it.

Apparently he sold the expensive pieces to a jeweler and gave some of the others to his sister. He refuses to tell me exactly how much he got for them. His argument is that because they were married, the jewelry was technically his too and the will doesnt change that.

I have a copy of the will and the jewelry is specifically mentioned in it. I also have old photos showing most of the pieces. I know I actually need to speak with an attorney, but I have no clue what kind of attorney this would even be.

Can he legally sell property that was specifically left to me before probate is finished? If the jewelry is already gone, would I be able to pursue him for its value?


r/legaladvice 20h ago

Other Civil Matters Can anything be done legally to stop neighbors from luring away my barn cats?

715 Upvotes

Location: Kentucky

I have a farm and keep barn cats to manage the pests. Last year, my neighbor started feeding one of them, now others are starting to follow. I pay for all their care and keep them on a diet of a particular dry food at open access. The neighbors feed them table scraps and make them lazy.

I have asked them to stop, but they refused. I know when people normally talk about barn cats, they're all feral, mine are part of the family and I miss them dearly. After all, it's not everyday you find a cat that enjoys going horseback riding. My animals are all I've got, any advice would be appreciated.

Edit: If you are just here to gripe about outdoor cats, you're barking up the wrong tree. I do not agree with domestic pets being allowed outside except for working animals. Barn cats are just as important as LSGDs, both of which have jobs for functional farms. I actively participate in TNR to lower feral populations.


r/legaladvice 11h ago

Real Estate law A property I rented almost 2 decades ago has me listed as the owner

121 Upvotes

Location: Florida
New account because I forgot my login on my other and I never really used it anyway.
Like the title says, I rented a stand alone house for about 5 years between 2008-2013, and have since moved across the country. This was in Florida, I’m now in California. I’ve started getting calls more and more frequently in the past 6 months asking if I want repairs, am looking to refinance, and all sorts of other things related to ownership of the property. The latest caller said I was listed as the owner and/or owner of the insurance on the house. I only ever rented, and have no idea how my information was picked up to be used in this way, but it’s starting to worry me that it might affect my credit score or ability to purchase a house in the future. At the very least, I’d like the calls to stop. Who do I even report this to? How would I be listed as the owner 15 years after I moved? Should I even worry? TYIA for your help, I’m just getting so tired of these calls and don’t know what, if anything, I should do.


r/legaladvice 15h ago

Drug Possession Found out through an employer background check the FBI has a case listed as 'pending'

270 Upvotes

Location: Alaska

The title makes this sound much worse than it is. Back in 2018 I was serving in the military, someone in my unit got busted for doing a bunch of dumb stuff related to drug use and possession. While they were interrogating him, they of course gave him the old "tell us everything you know and we'll go easy on you" deal. He tells the authorities "I saw xyz (me) around some people doing coke in a bar once". We barely had a relationship and the dude was looking to take the heat off of himself.

This started a whole investigation on me, I was interrogated over the course of 48 hours, granted qualified immunity and threatened with jail time and a court martial. I was never caught in possession, never failed a drug test and ultimately avoided any court martial or conviction. The lack of any real evidence caused this issue to be handled administratively through the military, I received an Honorable discharge and went about my life.

Fast forward to a few month ago, I applied for a job and they did a finger print background check which goes through FBI data bases, of course I was told by HR to disclose any past legal issues I had. When the report came back I was honestly shocked to learn that the report came back with the following information

"CHARGE 1-3599 - DANGEROUS DRUGS

CHARGE - ARTICLE 112A UCMJ WRONGFUL USE AND OR POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE

PENDING"

Given that this was nearly a decade ago, I would like this to reflect that the case has been closed without conviction, and best case get this information sealed. I work for City/State governments as a blue collar worker and would rather not deal with explaining this to HR every time I need to get a federal background check. I am also worried that this might affect me if I travel to any countries in the near future.

I have contacted a few attorneys in Alaska but I feel like they hear the words "drugs, military, FBI" and don't want to touch this with a 10 foot pole. What are my options here? How do I explain this in a better way to an attorney? Can I get these records updated to at least reflect that this case is not 'pending' and can I possibly get this sealed for the above reasons? I maintain my innocence, was never convicted or even tried in a court of law and believe this will have an adverse affect on future job prospects. I feel like if I was still under some sort of investigation I would know by now.

Also, when reaching out to attorneys to get this resolved, can anyone here give me a ball park estimate of what it would cost to fix something like this? Am I looking at $500? $3,000? More?

Thanks everyone for your time.


r/legaladvice 7h ago

[TX] Got fired after FMLA leave even though my doctor cleared me with zero restrictions

53 Upvotes

Location: Dallas, TX

So a little backstory — I worked IT for a mid-size fintech company (200+ employees) for about 2 years. Last year I had to go on FMLA leave for a serious mental health thing, ended up needing inpatient/psychiatric care for a while.

When I was ready to come back, I sent HR a note from the clinical psychologist who'd been treating me, saying I was cleared with no restrictions, good to return. HR comes back and says it's "not enough." Never told me what would actually be enough, never offered to work anything out, nothing. Just fired me on June 15, 2025 instead of putting me back to work.

I've got a huge email/text thread with HR through this whole back-and-forth, so it's all documented. I also filed for unemployment after, and TWC's investigation notes literally say I was let go for a "verifiable illness," not misconduct — I got approved for benefits.

Here's the thing though, at the time I just... didn't fight it. I was still deep in recovery, had no idea what rights I actually had, and honestly just trying to survive was enough without adding a legal battle on top. Looking back I probably should've done something sooner, but that's where I'm at now.

It's been way past 300 days at this point (over a year), so what I'm trying to figure out is:

Do I have any options left at this point given how much time has passed? Is this the kind of thing where the clock has just run out, or is there still something worth pursuing?

I've got everything saved — the doctor's note, the whole HR email/text thread, and the TWC determination letter. Any advice appreciated, feel like I let this sit way too long and want to know if it's actually too late.


r/legaladvice 5h ago

Other Civil Matters I was served summons for someone else

28 Upvotes

The guy ranged my ring doorbell and I went outside an open the door, he said "are you Luis" I responded yes and he "Here you are served" but the summons are for a different Luis. This is in California. He didnt ask for a last name just a 1st name. Location: California


r/legaladvice 1d ago

Wills Trusts and Estates Father sold property that I inherited from my mother

775 Upvotes

Location: California, San Francisco Bay Area.

My mother and father divorced in 2008. My mother died in 2013. I lived with my father from 2008 to 2022, when I turned 18 and moved out. I have not had contact with my father since my move out in 2022. I tried to reach out in June of 2025 to rekindle our relationship, but he was not interested.

In December of 2025, my mother's brother, whom I had not spoken to since 2008, informed me that I had inherited a property from my mother, and my father had sold the property as custodian. He never informed me of this when I turned 18. For reference, I had been paying all of my own expenses, including phone bill, car insurance, college, etc, since 2020.

I did some digging in the public records and found more things out. My grandfather died in 2008, and my uncle opened an estate case for the properties that he had in the same year. That case was settled in the county's court in 2014, but my mother died in 2013, leaving the property directly to my brother and I, per the Order of Distribution.

In the Recorder's Office of the county the property was sold in, I have both deeds of the property being passed to my brother, myself, and my father as Custodian in 2014, and the property being sold to a third party in 2015, with my father still listed as Custodian.

I believe this is a potential breach of fiduciary duty case. I have been attempting to find lawyers who might be willing to work on contingency, but it has been incredibly challenging. I have a file of all of the documents, including a timeline, and am attempting to figure out next steps. My father has a lot of assets, and just inherited a large property from his mother, who passed a few months ago.

I am fairly confident that I have a strong case and would be able to collect if the case went to trial. But I have been unable to find a lawyer so far. I am currently homeless, a full-time student, and working multiple jobs. I do not have money for a retainer.

I did message my father inquiring about the property, but he did not get back to me. We broke no contact at my grandmother's funeral a few months ago, with no mention of the property.

I could take him to small claims court, but the property sold for more than $10,000 in 2015. What are my next steps here?

UPDATE:

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I was able to find a lawyer who was willing to take on the case on a contingency basis. I feel very lucky. The property was sold for well below the market value rate in 2015. There was no house on the property. My lawyer and I are looking into collecting interest on the inheritance, as well as collecting at the market rate of the property.

To clarify, a custodian has very clear duties according to the state of California. A custodian cannot use assets obtained from selling property for the general well-being or survival of the minor.

Thank you again!


r/legaladvice 5h ago

Real Estate law Who owns the dirt?

23 Upvotes

Quite as silly as the title implies but I am genuinely asking.

Location: Florida, United States

I live in a new build community. The community is about 3/4 built. My neighbor had a pool built. Naturally, the earth was excavated to make room for the pool. The dirt was piled into a mound outside their property line designated by a fence. The land that this dirt was moved to is owned by a developer who has not yet developed into a pad for the home builder to build a house onto it.

The dirt will have to be moved before the home building company is able to build the house and continue to sell homes to finish the community.

I am interested in this pile of dirt that will be a nuisance to the home builder and developer ( 2 separate companies). I think it can reasonably be claimed that this pile of dirt is abandoned by the original home owner and instead of piling it out in the front of the house as garbage, that they set it aside. Since this is no longer on their property, can I claim it as a discarded item similiar to dumpster diving? I would love to use it for my own landscaping purposes. My wife thinks I should ask the homeowners who built the pool.

Photos on the below imgur link to help visualize it.

https://imgur.com/gallery/R3nKbxF


r/legaladvice 1d ago

People stealing fiber optic cables are costing me thousands of dollars and I’m getting warnings at work. Is there anyone I can sue for this?

554 Upvotes

So for the past year and a half, someone has been stealing the internet cables, which causes the internet to go out for my entire area.

Location: Kentucky, USA.

They usually hit between 12 AM and 5 AM, and Kinetic will not get the internet fixed until somewhere between 7 PM and 12 AM.

My fiance and I both work from home. Every time this happens, we either don’t earn any money or we have to sacrifice our valuable sick time or vacation time (which is equal to losing money). So basically, we are losing out on TWO incomes, and we have less vacation time to use for an ACTUAL vacation.

On top of this, my job works on an attendance point system. We start out with 20 points and every time we have an unexpected absence or tardy, we lose points. My last two absences have not been excused because kinetic keeps sending me the wrong outage time. It basically looks like I’m lying about the outage times. Therefore, I have went under 10 points and have received a written warning at work about my attendance. WHEN THIS ISNT EVEN MY FAULT.

Is there anyone I can sue for this because I have lost THOUSANDS of dollars due to this shit.

Kinetic? The person responsible, if they’re ever caught??

I am sick of this shit. Losing money and having MY livelihood threatened due to some little thug.

Edit: I don’t have an exact number of how many times this has happened, but I’m sure I could get the information from kinetic. I know it has happened AT LEAST over 20 times, most likely more.

Edit 2: I don’t get cellular service at my house so that is not an option. Going to a cafe or library is not a solution because I work on a government contract with classified information. I’m only allowed to work at my home address. I can only be wired in through Ethernet, no WiFi.

I’ve never heard of starlink but I’ll look into it and see if it’s offered in my area.

The people coming at me like this is my fault are weird af. You’d be upset too if you either had to lose out on money or spend more money to be able to work. The fault is on the person stealing the cables and on the police and kinetic for doing nothing to stop this.

Edit 3: So it seems my option is to gather evidence and sue the perpetrator(s) if they are caught. Thanks for everyone who reached out with ACTUAL legal advice. To all the weirdos, I suggest you find something in your life that makes you happy other than leaving rude and snarky comments on Reddit. Reddit karma will never fix your ugly personality.

Edit 4: starlink is not secure enough for my job.


r/legaladvice 21h ago

Criminal Law Received a witness subpoena to a murder case despite not having any connection or relation to it

300 Upvotes

LOCATION: MA.

My former employer (I left this place of employment in December 2020) forwarded me a letter from the Norfolk County DA, addressed to me with my maiden name, but the mailing address for this lists the current business address (where I never had personal mail sent) and not any address I ever had for my residence, mail, or otherwise.

The case I'm summoned to present a witness statement for, is a murder case that took place in a city I never lived in or worked in that took place in late 2022, involving people I've never met or heard of, and occurred when I was living on the other end of the state. I moved officially in late 2021. My address was updated by then, as well.

I am perplexed as to why I was on a witness list for something I have zero relation to, and why it was mailed to a place I hadn't worked at for six years. I have always kept my address current at the registry of motor vehicles as well as the usps. I was married in late 2023, changed my name in early 2024, yet my former name is on the subpoena as well.

I left a voicemail with the witness advocate listed on the letter asking for more information as I'm supposed to drive an hour to the courthouse next Tuesday to provide a testimony about something I have no clue about. Is this normal???

UPDATE:

Alright everyone, the witness advocate (working for the defense) called me back, she's apparently been slammed with court all day but I was able to figure out why I'm being summoned. Turns out I don't have to be there on the 8th, that's the date the trial starts, and they may not even need me depending on the circumstances - - but I'm one of fifty other people they're calling in for one reason or another over the course of three weeks.

My connection: back in 2016 I was employed at at a facility where we did background checks/fingerprinted folks for cori/sori if they were employed or volunteering at a place (schools, daycares, etc) that involved minors. It was part of the Adam Walsh law, so I fingerprinted a person in 2016 who is being indicted for murder. My maiden name is on the fingerprint card, so they asked me to come in and verify that I was the person on the card. It's apparently that simple.

It's still frightening knowing I am apparently a connection ten years later to something that's this important. Thank you everyone for your support and assistance on this.

More to come later?


r/legaladvice 2h ago

Other Civil Matters Can my mom force a sale of my brother’s house or win a lawsuit against him?

9 Upvotes

Location: New Jersey

I’ll try to keep this very brief but am happy to fill in with as much context as needed, just ask.

In 2021 my mom lent my brother about 50% of what his townhome cost so that he could buy it in cash. It was a verbal agreement with no deadline for paying her back, just “someday.” The money was sent from her account to his and the home purchase was made entirely from his bank account.

Fast forward to now, our mom made several very bad financial decisions and is broke except for her social security. She got evicted from her last apartment, and my brother agreed to take her in on a temporary basis. Their initial verbal agreement was 2 months and it has now been four months. He wants her out by March 2027 which will be 1 year since she moved in and is thinking about pursuing eviction if she doesn’t agree to leave.

Our mom has a history of being an absolute snake with lawyers when it comes to finances. My brother is concerned that if he makes any move to force her out of the house, she will come after him legally for the money she lent him. If she does, is there a good chance that she will be able to either force a sale or sue my brother to recoup the money?

EDIT- My brother has corrected me, our mom fronted the full amount of the townhome and he has since paid back more than 50%.

EDIT 2- My mom has personal notes outlining the loan but there is nothing official. AFAIK there is no correspondence regarding it, it was all discussed in person. When my brother paid her back, he added the money to a joint checking account that was made during his late teen years and she withdrew it from there.


r/legaladvice 2h ago

Wills Trusts and Estates Senior friend made me joint account owner with ROS, passed away, hesitant to do anything with the account due to one of his children

10 Upvotes

General advice of course:

Location: Indiana United States

Was made a joint account owner with ROS of a close senior friend about a year ago. We've been close for around 8 years where I've done almost everything for him, daily, for the last 4 years other than the last year he was in a nursing home. I've journaled our visits throughout the last couple years regarding how he is doing and his health since I help him with meds, doc appts, grocery, bills, etc. For bills and payments, I never used the account for any of my needs or payments. I set up his bills on autopay to directly come out of his account so that I wouldn't have to be involved as much. For groceries and other random expenses, I'd just pay them with my money, document, and reimburse myself the cost from the joint account, typically at the end of the month.

We met around 4 months after his wife passed away and he has had no one to help him (he is limited to a motorized scooter). He had an estranged child (blocked his number, haven't talked in over 10 years) and would often go back and fourth, most times saying he is not leaving them anything at all to sometimes leaving them between $500-1000. There was never a will left. So I assume they will be inheriting the house (it's considered not safe to go back to and one of the reasons he had to be moved into a nursing home, no other cars or assets).

Originally, we both assumed he would go to the rehabilitation nursing home, get better over a few months, then come back home as this happened a few times in the past. While overall health was fairly stable (80s, a few chronic conditions, immobile), the nursing home eventually considered him not a safe discharge and that I'd be liable and responsible if I took him home and organized in-home nursing for him. In the meantime, while I was helping arrange his house for him to come home, I had to remove his bed to change it to a medical, reclining bed and mattress. He's told me throughout the years about where he keeps his money and was transparent with me about it and that I was the only one who knew. However, I had no clue how much he had, given the way he lived and never wanted to spend any money, which now kinda makes sense how he'd rarely spend throughout his life and only saved. There was around 50k in the joint account when he added me.

So we talked about depositing the money into the account since no one was going to be at the house, possibly selling it, and payments were starting for the nursing home since he was not on Medicaid. I contacted the bank ahead of time to let them know the situation and then I deposited it (over 500k). We remained close until he passed away around 8 months later in the nursing home. There remained no contact with any family just me and another friend from church we had in common that would visit from time to time until he passed away around a month ago.

I understand joint owner with ROS that the money is legally mine and that he wanted the left over amount to go to me. However, I feel timid in using any of it at all since I'm not sure if one day down the road during probate or that I could be sued by the child somehow? When they are Executor can they look into our joint account and if they see the money and pursue it?

Looking for a worse case scenario or how I could of protected myself or still can? Should I have spent and deposited money in and used it more so it wasn't considered a convenient account to just help him? How long do I wait to even do anything with the account?


r/legaladvice 1h ago

Custody Divorce and Family How to get away from husband safely

Upvotes

Location: Colorado, US

Okay, here’s the situation. I’m a small business owner and work full time outside of that. My husband has been unemployed since he left the military and it’s causing immense strain on myself and our family. I know this was stupid, but I let him have his name on my LLC, the mortgage and his vehicles are in my name because his credit is very poor. He has cheated on me more times than I can count, once immediately after our wedding, and has given me multiple STI’s. He hits our animals and berates me when he talks to me. He lies to me so much that I feel like I have no idea what’s real anymore. I want to know:
- Is there a way to keep the house in a divorce if I put the two people (lifelong friend and cousin) who would move in to help on the mortgage as well?
-How can I prove to a judge that he’s been bleeding me dry and refusing to get a job?
-Are there any lawyers that are reputable that anyone could recommend for a free consultation?

I love him, but he isn’t the man I married anymore. Honestly, he hasn’t been in years. I’m sure he has some mental health problems, and I’ve given him every resource I can, but I have to accept that I can’t make him get help mentally or otherwise.

Edit to add: We don’t have kids. When I said our family, I meant that both sets of in-laws are sick of having to lend us money.


r/legaladvice 1d ago

Airline destroyed my wheelchair…

316 Upvotes

Location: NJ

Now sure if this post is allowed cause I’m still in Portugal.

My wife and I booked a flight from Newark to Lisbon. Before the flight, tried to rent a motorized wheelchair cause I know the horror stories of flying with your own. When I couldn’t find a rental, wife gave the ok to purchase my own. Made all the arrangements with the airline, rode it to the plane door, removed vulnerable parts, tied it so it won’t open, showed airline staff how to carry it, denied in-cabin storage cause it’s motorized and they hand carried it to the cargo compartment.

Chair wasn’t ready at the door as promised when we landed (you exit off the runaway) and they told me they have it at the terminal. 2 hours pass and they give me the chair severely damaged. I’m upset, file all the necessary paperwork with the airline and airport and refused to leave without a wheelchair. Gave me a manual which was useless and told me they need to do a thorough evaluation of the incident which takes 14-21 days. Is there anything I can do legally to expedite this? Vacation is already ruined and it’s looking like it’s going to affect my daily life after.


r/legaladvice 3h ago

GA lottery app took my money without consent, upped my amount and transferred it, somewhere?

4 Upvotes

Location: Georgia

Last year I played $100 on the Ga Lottery app, went to bed and woke up to my bank account drained. I have the Bank of America and they usually catch this type of transaction and fraud will call me. As soon as I saw this I called fraud and filed the dispute.

I was approved the refund and then a month later they took it back, saying the GA lottery requested the money back saying I didn't provide proof. (I was never contacted by them, or told to send anything in) GA Lottery said I did the transactions. At the time I would have done this I was definitely asleep, no other apps or phone usage was happening at this time. Also the amount taken was 1900, if you have played you know you can only do 500 a day, so how was it even able to be more than the amount allowed? I talked to GA lottery and they told me it was upped right before it happened. How? I never called, a simple log would show this. So I ask where the money went, it is not in the app, the app didn't tell me where it went, they should be able to tell me if it was spent on drawings, games etc. GA Lottery REFUSED to tell me, they just said it was transferred. Transferred to where? Another account. How would I even do that????

Thus, I have filed over and over again for this to be resolved. I would like to note that though I have done the lottery for years (until this happened) I have NEVER done anything like this, I usually stay under 30, a few times 100, and never anything that crazy. I was recovering from surgery, out of work for over a month, and thought "I didn't die, might as well see if that is lucky enough to win." It wasn't and I had my savings for bills stolen, which led to my account being over drafted after they took the money back, and I lost my house. I would NEVER would chance losing everything over less than a 1% chance of winning. I want logs from the GA Lottery, I want proof! You cant tell me they cant see the location or the IP address or something from these transactions or where my amount is being changed. What are my options?


r/legaladvice 4h ago

Employment Law Employee or Subcontractor?

5 Upvotes

I work as a 1099 subcontractor but the company I subcontract from treats us as employees. They schedule all our work, pay rates are determined by them, they send out emails referring to us contractors as “employees” etc.
I got hurt on the job and may need knee surgery. In this case any chance this company could be on the hook for injury related expenses? Everything I read says law determines that we are in fact considered employees the way they run their business.
All thoughts welcome.
Location: Florida


r/legaladvice 3h ago

Ex left the state in a car that is in my name and have been paying on then went MIA

4 Upvotes

My ex and i were together for 4 years and stupidly i had a car for him in my name we ultimately broke up he had been paying on the car the entire time everything was fine til the last 8 months he lost his job then started to do payday lones and just because a bum while leaving me with a car payment. when i finally went to get the car and take it back with a tow truck come to find out he had moved out of state. the vehicle is in my name i have it insured on my insurance and i believe he also has it insured under his own name. i know where the vehicle is but it is 500+ mile from me so just picking up and going to get the vehicle myself is not an option and not paying for the vehicle will ruin my credit. which i do not want to do. is there anything i can do legally? or am i just SOL never again will i be this stupid

Location: Michigan but vehicle is currently in Georgia


r/legaladvice 1h ago

CA towing collection agency demanding $1.2k for a car sold 8 months prior—do I pay or fight this?

Upvotes

Hey everyone, looking for advice on a California towing deficiency collection issue.
Background:
Dec 9, 2024: I traded in my 2008 Honda Accord to a dealership (Downey Hyundai) and signed a REG 262 form transferring possession. The DMV transfer date on record shows December 9, 2024. 
Aug 10, 2025: The vehicle was towed—about 8 months after I sold it. 
Jul 2026: DMV logs/updates the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (NRL) in their system. 
Original Debt: $2,580. 
Current Situation:
I filed a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) disputing the debt using my signed REG 262 trade-in document. The collection agency (Lien Enforcement, Inc.) responded through the BBB citing California Vehicle Code § 5602 and Civil Code § 3068.2(d). They claim that because the system record updated in July 2026, I remain legally responsible as the registered owner on file at the time of the tow. 
They are now offering a 50% settlement ($1,282.50) to close the account if paid within 10 days. 
However, I spoke directly with the California DMV, and they informed me that the record transfer date is December 9, 2024, so I am not responsible for any liability after that date. The DMV confirmed that the July 2026 date was simply an internal system update.
My Questions:
1. Since the DMV record transfer date shows Dec 9, 2024, and the DMV confirmed my liability ended then, does Lien Enforcement, Inc. have any legal standing to collect this? 
2. Should I push back against the settlement offer with the BBB using this information, or demand they go after Downey Hyundai? 
3. Has anyone dealt with a collection agency ignoring a valid transfer date and REG 262 like this? 
Location: los angeles


r/legaladvice 17m ago

Landlord Tenant Housing Do I have a civil court case for a company keeping my deposit? Location: Florida

Upvotes

Location: Florida

Hey guys. It’s been over 30 days and will soon be over 60 days since I moved out of my previous apartment. A new management company took over and they’ve been a nightmare. I looked at their google reviews and it’s all people saying they’ve had the same experience.

  1. They confirmed they’re not taking any money off my deposit and they missed the allotted time to say so.
  2. They cancelled checks and frequently send faulty checks as well as checks to the wrong address.
  3. I have documented all of this well through emails.

Is it possible to take this to civil court to get my money? Would legal fees be more than it’s worth to get this money back? Is there any chance I would win at all? Any advice at all helps. Thank you.