If I get house arrest with work release, does PO come to my job?

Q: I work in the medical field with patients coming in for their appointments. I want to keep my job, but I’m sure my boss will not want my PO officer to come by and check on me. Is there any way this can be avoided so I can keep my job? (Braddock, PA)

A: It is possible. It depends on how intrusive your probation is. With non-reporting probation, the defendant usually visits his probation officer at the beginning and never hears from him or her again except for a phone call. Reporting probation and more intrusive probation usually goes along with sentences for more serious crimes and those with more extensive criminal records. If you have a long criminal history and are on probation for a felony, a visit to your home would not be unusual and a visit to your job would be a bit unusual but not out of the question. The easiest way to find out would be to ask your lawyer or the court at sentencing.

How do I turn myself in on a PA warrant?

Q: I want to turn myself on a warrant for failure to appear in to PA for a drug paraphernalia charge from 2015. I’m scared I will go to jail. I also live in Buffalo, NY, and I don’t drive. That is the reason I don’t go back for my court date. Now three years later the warrant is showing up and I just want to take care of it but I’m not sure what to do. (Buffalo, NY)

A: If you have the resources to hire an attorney, an attorney can handle most of it and take you before a criminal motions judge to set your bond. You may want to call the County court administration and see if there is a way to do this without waiting in jail. Allegheny County has a set up where someone in your situation can turn themselves into Pretrial Services, who process them and take them before a judge for a bond to be set without going to jail. You will likely be better off with a lawyer who practices in the county in PA in which the warrant is.

Do the police still need a warrant in PA? for DUI blood testing?

Q: My son was pulled over for traffic stop. Then the police cited him for DUI. They took him to the hospital to do a blood test which he consented to. They also tested his blood for other drugs which he didn’t know at the time. He was clean of all drugs just the alcohol came back as he was over the limit. Do they still need a warrant for this under the new US Supreme Court law of the 4th Amendment and the state of PA to draw a blood test? (Meadville, PA)

A: Yes, after Birchfield v. North Dakota which ruled that police need a warrant to obtain blood, the PA Department of Transportation changed its O’Connell warning form. As the law currently stands post-Birchfiled, police need consent from a DUI suspect. If not, they must get a warrant. Given the fact that PA has such a strict penalty for refusing to consent to chemical testing (one-year license suspension) most driver’s consent to blood or breath testing. I know I would.

Is a party’s signature needed to remove her from a deed?

Q: My 93-year-old mom was coerced in Feb 2017 by my sister to sign a quit claim deed adding her to her home. Although done in a lawyer’s office, he nor a notary witnesses the signatures. No money or consideration made either. (Bethel Park, PA)

A: If your mother was competent to sign the deed, and the deed is legally correct, the transfer is valid. If the deed is valid and your sister is on the deed as a grantee, she must sign any new deed. The exception to this is if you can get her off the deed by court order as a result of successfully challenging the deed which is difficult to do. In PA deeds must be witnessed and notarized to be accepted for recording.

I recently received Criminal Complaint with several inconsistencies.

Q: I was pulled over and received a police criminal complaint in the mail. I did everything by the book when I was pulled over. They have my name wrong multiple times, the year of my vehicle and there are inconsistencies with the time of the incident. Also, they have that I had told them that I do not have proof of insurance, but I do and when I told him it would take me a minute to find it. They told me not to worry about it and in the report, they have that I did not have it whatsoever, but that is not part of the charges, so it may be irrelevant. (Monroeville, PA)

A: Mistakes and typos in legal documents, believe it or not, are not unusual. However, I would note these inconsistencies and tell them to your lawyer. Proof of insurance is not really an issue if you were not charged but bring proof of insurance to the hearing in case it is mentioned.

Can I be charged two times for the same misdemeanor?

Q: I had a detainer for my probation. I got arrested. I paid my fines and they let me out. My probation officer told me that the case was closed. I got stopped by police and they arrested me for a warrant but it’s the same docket number. It is the same case. I told the police that and they told me to tell it to the judge. What should I do? (Beechview, Pgh., PA)

A: I am not sure what happened to you and would need to look at the docket and paperwork before reaching any conclusions. However, you can be arrested twice for the same offense but never prosecuted and convicted of the same offense. Mistakes happen and sometimes people are picked up on warrants that have been cleared or quashed. However, if charges are filed on an incident which you have already been adjudicated on (found guilty or dismissed by a court, after a hearing) that constitutes double jeopardy under PA Rule of Criminal Procedure 109 and 110.

Can my mom sell the house if dad’s name is still on it, but they divorced?

Q: My parents bought the house in 1977 and divorced about 10 years ago. Mom’s name was never removed from deed and dad passed away 4 months ago with no will. I am the only child and am ok with my mom selling the house. The deed doesn’t state anything about survivorship or tenants in common. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: If there is no written divorce settlement agreement that address how the house is to be distributed, upon the divorce decree, it changes from husband and wife tenants by the entirety’s property, to tenants in common property. As tenants in common, they each own a divisible equal share. This means your father’s share passed into his estate and will be inherited by the heirs he named in his will or if he had no will by his intestate heirs. If he did not remarry, then his intestate share of the house would pass to his child or children in equal shares. Your mother can only sell her 50% share. If you and your siblings if you have any, wish to sell you can sell if you wish. If you do inherit one half, you need to pay inheritance tax and should speak with a lawyer. I would check your mother’s records and if not check their divorce file with the Allegheny County Department of Court Records.

Can a person acting as POA remove a beneficiary from policies?

Q: My sister will NOT talk to me and behind my back put my mom in a nursing home. My sister went got POA health and financial from my mom. Now she wants me to pay half of all debts. My mom told me she put me and my sister as beneficiaries on her life insurance policies. Now that my sister is POA can she remove me as beneficiaries from those polices and not tell me? (Jefferson Hills, PA)

A: Under the new enactments to the Power of Attorney statute, effective January 1, 2015, an Agent can only change beneficiaries on a life insurance policy if specifically granted that power in the “Powers” section of the Power of Attorney document. Under the prior Power of Attorney Act, effective in the year 2000, an Agent may be able to do this if there is similar language giving such authority. Your question depends on when the document was signed and how it was drafted. You should get a copy and consult with a lawyer.

Can home be titled “with a right to survivorship” if in unequal shares?

Q: My boyfriend and I are buying a home together. We wish to own the home in unequal shares, since most of the money being used for the purchase belongs to him. Is there a way to title the property so that if he passes away, his share of the home will go to me and vice versa? His share is 70% and mine 30%. We are buying the home outright with cash, but since we have children together he wants to be sure that if one of us dies, the deceased shares will pass on to the other person on the deed. The attorney we spoke with said this “can’t be done”, that we would instead have to create Wills and leave each other our respective shares in the property, and that the titled would have to be held as “tenants in common”. (Mt. Lebanon, PA)

A: No, joint tenants cannot hold uneven shares. The idea with joint tenancy is the when one tenant passes, the survivor owns the whole share. Tenants-in-common can own uneven shares because when one dies, his or her share passes into his or her estate. Your options are to be tenants in common on the deed or have wills drafted that address the disposition of the property.

If we have children can we be considered common law married in PA?

Q: We own a home together and have been on each other’s health and life insurance policies. His friends and coworkers believe we are married, as I wear a ring and he refers to me in public “as his wife”. We never got married because I was married previously and had to pay my loser ex-husband spousal support, as he made less money than I. I didn’t want to get stuck in the same boat again. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: Common law marriage was abolished on January 2, 2005 in PA. However, if you were in such a domestic relationship before this date, you can establish a common law marriage in court, depending on the facts. You would have the burden of proof and it is very difficult to do. You may want to propose to him and get it over with.