Former employer had police take my I Pad

Q: Former Employer has taken my I Pad which I bought from them on 9/11/2013 and I have the Bill of Sale signed and dated. What do I need to do? I quit working for them Nov. 2013. It was a week later that Police came to my house saying that I stole the I Pad and they wanted in back. I showed the police the Bill of Sale and they said to hold on to it. I held on to it and now police are asking for me to give them my pass code for my I Pad. They said that my Former Employers is trying to have charges brought on me for stealing. I feel like that they are trying to get back at me from reporting them to CPS for child safety reason because their child was my former client and the child highly unstable and broke my leg due to his outburst when I was working for them.

A: I would need to review all of the facts but it sounds like the police may have illegally taken your I Pad and are now trying to illegally search it. Do not give them the code. Do not talk to the police. Contact a lawyer immediately. He or she can file a motion with the court to return property right away and get your I Pad back. It will put pressure on your company and police to either file charges or return your I-Pad. If the police want to search the computer, they likely need a search warrant. They need to make up their mind and let you get on with your life.

Will the DA know of my prior DUI?

Q: Preliminary hearing papers state I am charged with a first offense DUI. Will they know about my past DUI at the hearing? I had a DUI 7 years ago in another state. The court papers state that I am being charged for a first offense DUI. Is this what they normally put on the paper work regardless of the offense count? How likely is it that my past DUI will be discovered by the DA?

(McMurray, PA)

A:  Normally, the DA in your county will find it. However, although it is rare, I have had it happen where the DA was not aware of a prior. You have no obligation to inform the DA of your prior unless they would file for discovery and thereby formerly ask you, which is unlikely. Assuming they find it, you have not made 10 years since the prior conviction and therefore your new DUI will be considered a second DUI.

 

Do I have to pay mom’s money back to a nursing home?

Q:  My mom paid off my car and then went into the nursing home. The deal was, a few years later would I have to pay that amount to the nursing home. My mom is getting very forgetful if she gave me money to pay off some bills I have. If I have to have in home help or have her go to a nursing home. Would that penalize her, or would I have to come up with that money? I am on her checking account and I have durable power of attorney. Thank you.

A: I am a little confused and don’t have all the facts that I need. You really need to ask an elder law attorney who can look at the entire situation. Generally, transfers of a person’s money to others, without consideration (no payment in exchange) within 5 years of Medicaid eligibility, can cause that person to be ineligible for Medicaid in the amount of the transfers. It is not the nursing home that is the problem, it is if and when your mother needs to apply for Medicaid. It sounds like you and your mother could really benefit from legal advice, but the attorney has to know the entire situation.

Brother forged deceased mom’s check

Q: Can I press forgery charges on behalf of my late mother? My mother died recently and we have discovered that a sibling signed my mother’s name to several checks that were drawn on my mother’s credit card. I went to the bank to which these checks were written (to pay a mortgage) and the bank told me that only my mother could press charges.

A: Yes, you would have to open an estate on behalf of your mother. The estate could then sue or prosecute the sibling as the legal party of interest. If there are sufficient assets there are other options to prosecuting. The estate attorney can advise you.

 

 

Friend arrested for DUI in the driveway

Q: My friend is going through the process of his second DUI. He is not convicted yet. He was sighted again this past Sunday for a possible dui and possession of a controlled substance. What happened was he was drunk at a friend’s house, his phone died so he went to charge it in his truck. This was a private driveway. The cop approached told him to get out of his vehicle (private property) proceeded to search him without consent. Mind you this is the same arresting officer from the second DUI, and he hate my friend.

A: Hire an attorney and fight the case. If the vehicle is still in the driveway, without the engine running and he was not attempting to drive, you may have a defense. These cases are tricky and can turn on the smallest details. However, it sounds like he may have operability defense, a defense of the vehicle not being on a public street and perhaps even probable cause.

Is neighbor responsible for sliding hillside?

Q: Who’s responsible for property damage when a hillside is collapsing? The neighbors behind us moved in two years ago and when they did I asked them to please remove the giant slabs of concrete that were sitting on top of the hill on the edge of the property. Our yard sits probably 10 feet below theirs. Well the slabs have slid down the hill side as I knew they would, collapsing the hillside into my wooden privacy fence causing damage. Who is legally responsible to stabilize the hill and fixing my fence, us or them?

A:  I would have to research the duty of a landowner to prevent a condition on his property that damages neighboring property to give you a proper answer. The last time I looked at this was in 2008 and I did find case law on this issue. My recollection is that such a duty does exist, if certain conditions are met. If you engage a lawyer, it will cost you. Your first step should be to contact the city or borough code enforcement officer and see if he or she can help. This might be a code violation of some sort and perhaps the neighbor could be cited, which would or should case him to remedy the condition.

Should I report injury settlement to Medicaid?

Q: Should I refrain from filling out my Medicaid recertification form? First let me say that Medicaid does not have any liens on my settlement in any way. I am due to have the recertification form filled out and returned in less than two weeks. However I recently received a personal injury settlement for less than $20,000 but more than $10,000 which I am not sure by may put me over the PA asset or resource threshold. One legal advisor informed me that I could let it lapse and try to find a Medicare Advantage program to replace Medicaid. I never have liked to inform anyone of what’s in my bank account; but then, who does? So should I not fill out the form which means automatic cancellation or fill it out and let them deny my Medicaid because of my suddenly inflated financial resources from the P.I. settlement?

A: There is not enough information to give you a reliable and through answer. Why would anybody want to risk losing Medicaid funding is my first question. If you handle this improperly you could risk violating the law and lose Medicaid benefits.  I would consult with a lawyer versed in Medicaid rules and regulations before doing anything.

For purposes of Medicaid, what assets are exempt?

Q: I am widowed and getting up there in age. I want to make sure I can protect myself. I own a home, a car, some certificate of deposits and a bank account.

A: This is a very complicated issue and you should sit down with an elder law attorney to review your entire situation-assets, income, insurance, health, everything. Very generally what is exempt are one automobile of any value, prepaid burial expenses, special needs trusts and $2,000 in liquid assets. Some assets are conditionally exempt, for example, the principal residence, while residing in it and some income producing property.

 

Is this considered stalking?

Q: I worked at a company last year and had a brief flirting exchange (flirting only – we did not have sex) with one of the company’s salesmen. He resided in California but came to our headquarters in the mid-west only every couple of months. He told me he was divorced. I came to find out that he was not divorced and that his wife had seen some of our flirting texts on his phone. I then called it off. Over the last nine months, his wife has called my friends, family, and co-workers (sometimes in the middle of the night) telling them that I am a whore and home wrecker. I left the company and am now unemployed, but will be starting a new job soon. My fear is that once she finds out about my new job at a new company, she will begin harassing my new employer in an attempt to get me fired. She is very careful, however, to only use restricted phone numbers or throw away cell phone numbers when making these calls. Is what she is doing illegal? What can I do to protect myself here?

A: Her conduct may be harassment or stalking and subject her to criminal prosecution. You could consult with the local police or the DA. Keep all of the calls and records from the past as well as a journal of all of her unsolicited contact. The DA or police may advise you on how to activate a service with your phone company to trace calls. If that is not possible, the DA, or even your own attorney, through subpoena or court order, can obtain the phone records. Having the phone records will likely be essential to your case if charges are filed as most of the communications seems to be via telecommunications. The last time I was involved with this issue, I was defending someone in criminal court. The alleged victim’s phone calls to my client were essential to our defense. The cell phone company would not honor a subpoena from PA and I had to obtain a court order from the judge. The records were produced by the cell phone company.

Financial Power of Attorney issue. Did the law change?

Q: Long story short, my father has been in and out of a hospital for the last 2 years with complications arising from a benign tumor. Because of his medical setbacks, and in trying to conserve his money, I was able to find POA papers for PA online in order to handle his financial matters. We signed them in front of a notary, and I thought that was the end of it. However, when providing a copy of the POA to the bank to gain access to his accounts, I was informed that the form that we filled out was an old form, and since PA changed their POA laws at the beginning of 2015, was no longer valid. I would need to have a new 1st and last page signed by him and I that include the new 2015 legalese, and resubmit. The issue now, however, is that he has taken a somewhat turn for the worse, and is suffering from delirium. Because of this, I can’t have him sign anything knowing he doesn’t understand or comprehend what he is signing. Do I have any recourse to getting this rectified in his current condition without having to go through the courts to request guardianship/conservatorship privileges?

A: There is an inherit danger with pulling legal documents off the internet. PA House Bill 1429 was signed by the governor on July 2014 and made sweeping pages to Title 20 Sections 5601 through 5620, the law which governs Powers of Attorney in PA. The changes were effective on January 1, 2015. The changes not only affected the Notice requirements, but the Acknowledgement language and much more. I am sorry to say that if your father is not competent to sign a new POA, and the bank will not accept your current POA, you are out of luck. Your only option will be to seek a guardianship over your father. You should see an attorney immediately to review your options, which will likely be to file for guardianship. Unless of course, if your father rebounds, his signature can be taken, or, if he would unfortunately die, then the need for either would not be necessary.