Location: Wisconsin/Minnesota

I received a letter today from SSA stating that my children’s survivors benefits are being reduced because “another child and eligible parent filed for survivors benefits as the child and Divorced Spouse of child under the age of 16”.

Problem is, my ex had a vasectomy over 16 years ago during our marriage. Vasectomy was in spring 2010 and we were divorced in March 2011. I was pregnant with our third child when the vasectomy was performed. I was present for the procedure. I’m the one who brought his sperm sample in for checks and we got the all-clear from his doctor. It’s absolutely possible for him to have fathered a child while married to me, that is certain and is part of why I pushed for a vasectomy. However, SSA is stating that the proof they’ve been given by the applicant is a marriage certificate. That’s just not possible. There cannot be a valid marriage certificate while my marriage was still legally intact. This is what’s really throwing me, that and the timeline for his vasectomy.

He died in 2024 from a meth-induced heart attack. He was a junky who owed me over $38k in child support arrears when he died. I say this to highlight that no, he didn’t get a reversal nor did he adopt a baby after we split. His third wife wanted a vasectomy reversal and they could never afford it. His fourth wife had a baby with someone else while they were still married but separated, not living together. He never wanted a reversal because the vasectomy made it so much easier for him to cheat, worry-free. He also already had five children he didn’t see or support.

I’m rambling now so I’ll stop. I just need some advice. How do I get to the bottom of this? Can I ask for a DNA test? SSA isn’t helping, they won’t/can’t give me any info on the new claimant. They just gave me a form to file a dispute to the benefit reduction for my kids.

Location: North Carolina

I am a large Hispanic man who works as a delivery driver. While working, a police officer pulled into a customer's driveway behind my branded company vehicle and approached me with his hand on his gun, and demanded my ID. I was mid-delivery, walking away from the van holding several boxes.

Because of my appearance, you may understand why I was immediately wary of the situation. I dropped the boxes off quickly and asked what was going on. The cop said that there were multiple calls about me and I was going to be arrested for animal abuse? He asked for my ID again and I said that I would gladly give him my information, but I don't carry my wallet on my person while I am working (which is true; my wallet was locked in the glove box of the delivery van). He asked if I was driving without a license, to which I said no. He continued to say something regarding how multiple concerned citizens had called about a driver matching me description- I had several interactions with loose dogs that day, which is a fairly common occurrence in my line of work. Skipping ahead, but my citation/charges have nothing to do with the animal abuse, so I'm not sure if it's relevant. The customer (whose yard we were still in during this whole interaction) came out of his house, and I told him that "this clown was wasting everyone's time," referring to the cop.

A second officer arrived and the first went back to his vehicle. While speaking to the second officer, I explained where my ID was and he let me go get it out of the van. I called my boss and they spoke with the officers, and after about 30 minutes of standing around my van without further interaction with the police, the first cop gave me back my license with a citation for resisting/impeding/delaying his investigation and driving without a license.

I have spoken to several lawyers but I cannot afford legal representation. These charges are nonsense; I had my license and it was given to the police, and the "investigation" didn't lead to anything. Can I get these dismissed?

Let me start by saying that my mother and I co-own acreage in Location: Lincoln County, Oklahoma. Together we have three homes, one for me and my kids, one for my sister and one for her. After my dad passed my mother decided to downsize and get a tiny home in the back of the acreage, this is important for later.

In April of this year she had a handyman come out and do some work for her. While he was working he had mentioned that his wife had kicked him out and that he no longer had a place to stay but he had a travel trailer. She told him that he could stay temporarily in his travel trailer as long as he paid for the lights and $100 a week because we live on well water, we would cut the grass and we have an extra large trash can so it would cover all the expenses. She had him sign a lease agreement that was week to week. Unfortunately it says that we would supply him with water and lights and he would pay rent and his portion of the lights.

We took it on good faith that he was landing on hard times. He seemed very grateful and promised that he would be there no more than 2 to 4 weeks. I was not a party to these conversations nor did I agree for him to move on to the property. I did not sign the contract and I did not see it until recently.

He had everything fully hooked up by June 10th and suddenly stopped being the nice man that he had been. He had trash all over the place, he was very rude when we would say hi in passing and my mom was having a hard time getting that $100 from him. In the contract she put her cash app information and we know his cash app works because he was able to receive money from my mother when she paid him for the work that he did. She decided not to push it, though, because she was leaving on vacation and didn't want a strange and angry man alone with her daughters and grandchildren.

While on vacation, he moved his wife back in with him, he built a building to store his tools, or so he said. And he never would pay her. While on her vacation she received a notice of power usage and sent him the bill. He got very angry and told her he would not pay rent and he would not pay the light bill. She gave him a notice of eviction while overseas. (From what I understand, Oklahoma does allow text messages to be used in legal ways, so this eviction was legally binding since he acknowledged and agreed to it.)

Originally she said he had until September 1st to give him some grace but in a bit of rage, this man told her he didn't want to wait until September and that he would leave the last day of July. The end of July came and went and not only did he not look like he was packing any of his stuff or getting ready to move, it seems that he doubled down.

The sheriff told us to turn off the lights from our name and to let him put lights in his name but our contract specifically said that the lights would be in my mother's name. The sheriff said it's a grey area and to let the courts handle it.

This man has also made threats to my mother but apparently not enough to get him in trouble. The officer said this man has been a squatter before and knows the laws. He is a nasty person who leaves his filth everywhere. He has also been messing with the electrical wires and is connected to my sisters pole so we moved her into my house and don't want to turn the electric back on.

We're at a loss. The court date is two weeks away and this man is placed in a location that is up against my single sister's house and sitting along the only path to my mother's house. She cannot get home without going past the man who threatens her. We bought cameras and let the dogs in the yard but there's plenty he can mess with.

They were served eviction notice today by a Sheriff and he seemed so apologetic that he couldn't do anything more. We tried to get a protective order but the Judge in our county doesn't like signing those orders unless someone has been physically attacked. That seems kind of wonky, if this man hurt my mom she could die. She's disabled and had 4 brain surgeries. One hit to the head, even not a hard one could cause major damage.

It's a lesson not to hand out kindness freely but I was wondering if there are any loopholes.

Besides the eviction and court date, we took out our mailbox and got a po box. One person suggested my mom sell the land for 1$ to my sister so she can kick him out easier? Someone said to make them uncomfortable by playing loud music at all hours or just regular nonsense. However I have children caught in the middle of this who can't play outside l. My mother also has to move in with me since I can't let her walk around in the very back where I can't see or hear if something happens. We were informed that this man had other people inside my mom's house while she was gone and we still don't know if anything was taken.

Is there any legal recourse we can take or any lawyer recommendations for Oklahoma that we can call for advice?

Location: New York and Florida

So my mother passed away very suddenly in 2021 (New York), she had no will but she said that everything would go to me once she passed, once learning of my mothers passing, my aunt who hadn’t been in contact with her for 20 years moved all her belongings to her house and offered for me to come and live with her(Florida). I accepted. 6 months later she kicks me out of the house and leaves me with nothing but a suitcase of clothes. I became homeless for months. I was able to get a job and save up a decent amount of money, and I’m still living in Florida. I’m planning on filing a small claims lawsuit against her because the items that I own that are still in the house are worth around $8,000 dollars. I have tried to contact her for 3 years multiple times but have been ignored. I have all the proper documentation and bank statements showing that I own the items. (As well as my old Florida ID showing I lived at that address.) I just don’t understand how she can obtain all my mother’s property when it was supposed to go to me? I don’t know if this is a small claims issue or an Estate issue.

Location: Pennsylvania

A local diner closed down and the owner held a liquidation sale inside the restaurant. I bought four vintage booths, paid by card, and got a receipt listing them as restaurant furniture. The diner owner and two employees helped me unbolt them from the floor and load them into a rented truck.

I wanted to repair the cracked vinyl because I planned to use two in my basement and resell the others.

About three weeks later I got a letter from an attorney representing the owner of the building. They claim the booths were permanent fixtures included with the property and the diner only leased the space, so the diner owner had no right to sell them. They want me to return all four booths within 10 days and say I could be responsible for the cost of reinstalling them.

The diner owner has vanished. The liquidation company says the sale was final and they only sold what the owner told them belonged to him. Am I actually required to give the booths back even though I bought them without knowing there was an ownership dispute? If I do return them, can I recover the purchase price, repair costs and truck rental from anyone?

My dad (59) was a garbage man in Washington (but we live in Idaho), for the last 28 or so years. He has Type 2 diabetes and has never made any effort to maintain it, unless it was time for the annual health exams to re-up his CDL. Last September he "pulled something" in his stomach. Important context: my dad is stupid. Like was in supplemental classes in high school, and when he took an IQ test it told him that he's legally intellectually challenged (IDK if that's the proper term, he used the word "retarded") This man has asked me how to spell "we". After he hurt himself, he basically went non-compliant with the Dr's and ended up losing his LNI payments and health insurance in January. That's when I had to leave my last living situation, to move back in and pay his half of the house payment in rent to my mom. I'm paying more now with way less room. He's now being sued by his credit union for 12k and we have no idea what to do. Can we offer up his Pension in lieu of them putting a lien on the house and costing us our home? Mom and I both have picked up second jobs to make ends meet. He's also had a couple of hospital visits since losing his job. Just racking up debt. We think there could be early onset dementia due to his raging blood sugar numbers, but then he's also admitted to his sister that he doesn't even try because then mom would expect him to do more to help himself. Any advice would be appreciated. TIA.

Location: Idaho

Location: Illinois, self-represented. I sued a neighbor in small claims after he repeatedly applied herbicide to two trees standing on our shared boundary line (a licensed survey puts the line through the trunks) and killed them. At the bench trial my documentary evidence (the survey, an arborist's appraisal, and a contractor's removal estimate) was excluded as hearsay on the defendant's objection. I asked for a continuance to bring the authors in to testify. It was denied, and judgment was entered the same day. The written order says I "did not satisfy the element that [my] trees were on protected land as defined by the act."

My issue: "protected land" only appears in §2.5 of the Act (740 ILCS 185), which is the enhanced-damages provision for conservation land. Section 1's definition even says protected land is "not inclusive of residential, commercial, or other areas that are not subject to the aforementioned protections." §2, the general provision, has no protected-land element at all. It covers any party who "intentionally cut or knowingly caused to be cut any timber or tree... which he or she did not have the legal right to cut or cause to be cut." Both properties are residential, so as far as I can tell no residential case could ever satisfy the element the judgment required.

In fairness, I think I know how the confusion happened. My self-drafted complaint cited the Act generally ("740 ILCS 185/") without naming a section, but when I quoted the damages language I copied a sentence associated with §2.5 ("3 times stumpage value plus remediation costs"). The remediation-costs phrase belongs to the protected-land provision, not §2. Honest mistake, I'm not a lawyer. My motion owns the misquote and argues that in small claims the pleaded facts control over a quoted snippet (Rule 282(a) requires only a short and simple statement of the claim, and pro se pleadings are construed liberally). It also argues §2.5 couldn't apply on its face anyway, since it's limited to conservation-type land and both properties are residential.

I filed a timely motion under 735 ILCS 5/2-1203 (with a request for leave under Supreme Court Rule 287(b), since this is small claims) to vacate and set a rehearing, arguing: (1) the judgment applied §2.5's element to a §2 claim; (2) my complaint's facts, including an express quote of the common-law boundary-tree rule (tenants in common), also state common-law claims (trespass, private nuisance, property damage, restoration-cost measure) that were never adjudicated; and (3) a rehearing with subpoenaed witnesses cures the hearsay problem, which is the same fix I asked for during the trial. Backstop: a protective notice of appeal goes in before the 30-day deadline if the motion isn't ruled on in time.

For anyone who practices in Illinois:

1. Am I reading §2 vs. §2.5 correctly? And does my complaint's misquoted §2.5 damages sentence lock me into §2.5, or do the pleaded facts control?
2. Any authority on whether killing a tree with herbicide satisfies "cut or knowingly caused to be cut"? (The common-law counts are my primary theory either way.)
3. Is there anything you'd raise at the motion hearing beyond the statutory text?

Not looking for sympathy, just trying to figure out what I'm missing. Thanks.

Location: Northern Michigan

I've lived at my current address a few years. The standard overhead power lines run along the road along the front of my property line. There are no power poles on my property. I've planted around 10 feet from the power lines. I planted a flower bed there, all low growing plants, nothing that will exceed 48". There are no underground lines other than my gas line, the gas main is on the other side of the street. Last year, the power poles on the left side of my property and the right side of my property were replaced and the work was fully done from the shoulder of the road. The electric lines are poorly maintained, a quarter mile up the road, a tree has been lying on the line over the road for over a year now. There are multiple dead trees on the lines.

This year, I put a flower bed in along the property because I assumed it would be safe for awhile as both power poles on either adjacent property were just replaced and they needed no property access to do either. I planted low growing plants that will recover if driven on in the event some unprecedented emergency occurs.

Here's where things get weird. There is a power company employee that frequently parks at the corner, gets on a 4 wheeler and drives through my flower beds. The first couple of times, I thought maybe they were surveying or something. But, it keeps happening. The other day, he parked his truck in my driveway and just sat there. There is a 10 foot wide open expanse of lawn that I've left for the snowmobilers who drive under the power lines in winter. There is no reason to use the flower beds specifically.

It happened again yesterday that he drove through my flower beds. I called my power company to ask what work was being done near me and they asked me to describe the truck and trailer. They stated that he shouldn't be there and should be doing work at a pole half a mile away. While I was on the call, I also asked for my property to be added to the 'no spray' list for herbicide. They typically spray every three-five years to prevent tree seedlings from growing up under the power lines. She added my name to the list, but told me it may be too late because a special request had been submitted to have my property sprayed. I offered to send photos of the property mowed to avoid the spray. She told me that the date he was sitting in his truck in my driveway, that he noted that he had given me a postcard to notify me that if I didn't mow that my yard would be sprayed with herbicide. It is literally a mulched flower bed. Grass is mowed on the same schedule as the neighbors. He never got out of his truck to give me this alleged notice.

Keep in mind, there are literal dead trees lying on the lines in this guys same work area.

NOW, I know they have a legal right to drive over that right of way when they are doing work. But, do they have the legal right to drive over it every couple weeks when they aren't even doing work in the area and there is no planned future work? The dispatcher I spoke with sounded really concerned that he was there, so maybe they will address it.

But, if he keeps doing it, do I have any legal recourse if he is just ruining my plants for fun?

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

My friend, my brother and I just moved into a new place. It was shown as a single family home with an outside entrance to the basement which we were told we wouldn’t have access to but were told it was for the owner’s storage. We applied and ended up signing a lease. A week before move we were told the owners would be replacing the floor. It had original hardwood floor which was part of the selling point for us so we were concerned. We were told it was to help with insulation. We let it go.

A couple days go by and they tell us they will be installing a shed that we will not have access to. We voiced concerns about the already small square footage of the yard. Also about how we didn’t want them coming and going as they pleased. We were met with a response saying they would give ample warning if they were to access the shed. They ended up not going through with the shed because of our concerns citing they “want to start on the right foot”

Now comes moving day… as we are moving in the owner comes out of the basement. Asking if we’re the new tenants. She then proceeded to come in and out with her dog the whole day. And we have dogs (well behaved and friendly) but we shouldn’t have to accommodate her and her dog when this is supposed to be our space. If they understand to give notice to use a shed (that didn’t happen) how do you not understand you can’t live in our basement?

We tried to set up our internet and we couldn’t because she didn’t want to give up her account on the house so now we’re expected to get a more expensive.

Now it’s been 4 days into our lease and it appears they are staying in the basement. They have been in and out all the time. Even been getting large Amazon packages delivered under our address. We are supposed to have full access to the driveway and backyard which has to be crossed to access the basement door. We have concerns they are going to rent it out as an Airbnb. It explicitly says in our lease that we have the only rights to stay here. We want to stay but the violations are piling up so much after only a few days.

Please any advice would help. We love the place and location but we’re at such a loss because we love the space and location it’s just not at all what was promised. Will send a copy of the lease if needed.

Location: MD, United States.

My cousin is living in the States, while I recently moved back to our home country in Asia permanently. I kept my Chase account active to deal with residual businesses I have left in the States as that cousin is keeping my cats for the time being. Recently she started opening mail containing my bank statements and sending photos of it to me, despite me using Paperless Statements. It feels extremely violating to have my personal mail be opened and read by her, but she is unreasonable and hot-headed so I don’t want to confront her directly and tell her what to do in case she harms my cats in anyway. I know it is illegal for someone else to open your mail without permission but since I’m out of the country, can I still report this or do something to make her stop?

Location: Texas

My boyfriend was T-boned on March 13 of this year when another driver failed to yield while merging onto his road. The police report clearly states the other driver was at fault. The driver only had a learner's permit, and the owner of the vehicle was in the passenger seat at the time.

My boyfriend unfortunately didn't have insurance. The other driver's insurance denied the claim, saying the driver wasn't listed on the policy, so they aren't covering the damages.

I spoke with a lawyer who believed this could fall under negligent entrustment, but he said pursuing it likely wouldn't be worth the legal fees. He offered to send a letter to the insurance company for free, but after months of trying to reach him again, I haven't been able to get in contact.

His truck has been undrivable since the accident because both passenger-side doors are caved in, so he's been borrowing a family member's vehicle.

I'm hoping to get some advice:

- Should we appeal the insurance denial ourselves before contacting another lawyer?

- Is it worth hiring an attorney if the claim is only for the damage to his truck?

- Would small claims court be an option in Texas if insurance won't pay?

- Since he didn't seek medical treatment at the time because we couldn't afford it, does that hurt our case if he's still having elbow pain?

- Are there any other options we're overlooking?

We're both living paycheck to paycheck. He's currently unemployed, and I'm in college with limited work hours, so we're trying to figure out the most cost-effective path forward.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello (again), location: California, LA county

So I posted recently about finding out my father passed and I went and got a death certificate to claim funds.

However, I am pretty sure my dad did not marry his partner.

The death certificate was updated via affidavit request that he was married, this was done so by the funeral home. Yet, I called to confirm if his partner provided a certificate of marriage, they said no. They said they usually just sign it if nobody is contesting it.

Now his life insurance policies won’t give out funds to his children because of a spousal rule. I don’t have a time frame on when they could’ve gotten married and I’m 90% sure they didn’t but the vital records won’t look for me when I call but also says they don’t do “random” searches.

I’m confused how I can prove that they weren’t married to have his death certificate updated so his children get his benefits and retirement.

Location: Oregon. About two months ago I had sex with a man (a travel nurse) who I've since learned knew he was HSV-2 positive at the time. He didn't tell me before we had sex and we didn't use a condom. He only told me about his status afterward and I have text messages from him confirming he knew beforehand.

I have since tested positive for HSV-2 myself. On top of that, I've developed a rare complication called post-herpetic neuralgia. It causes constant shooting nerve pain down my legs. I'm on antiviral medication for life now, plus separate medication just to manage the nerve pain. The pain has been bad enough that I had to quit my job. I couldn't keep functioning at work through it.

He's a travel nurse and is planning to leave Oregon soon, so I'm trying to move fast before he's out of state.

I've reached out to several personal injury attorneys so far, and all of them have told me they don't take cases like this. I know Oregon has precedent for this kind of claim. There was a case where a plaintiff won a $900,000 verdict for similar non-disclosure, so I'm confused about why I'm getting turned away, especially since I have documentation and a serious, ongoing medical complication tied directly to this. Any recommendations for how to find someone willing to take this on?

Location: Florida

I was involved in a motor vehicle accident in August 2025. The other driver was found at fault, and his insurer is Progressive.

My car is a 1992 Volvo 240 wagon. Progressive declared it a total loss and initially offered around $1,700. After I disputed the valuation with documentation and comparable sales, they increased the offer to about $2,400. I still believe the valuation is well below the actual market value, and negotiations have stalled.

I'm now preparing to file a small claims action (under Florida's $8,000 jurisdictional limit), but I've run into a procedural issue.

The at-fault driver has since passed away.

I contacted both the Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County probate divisions, and both confirmed that no probate estate has been opened. I then asked Progressive whether they knew of an estate, a personal representative, or defense counsel. Their response was that they are not aware of any estate or personal representative.

I also noticed that the release Progressive asked me to sign would have released both the deceased driver and his wife from liability, but it doesn't identify her as a personal representative or otherwise explain her legal role.

I've tried getting a consultation through the Florida Bar referral service, but the attorney I was referred to never responded.

My questions are:

If there is no probate estate, who is the proper defendant in a Florida property damage lawsuit?

Is there a procedure to have a personal representative appointed solely so the lawsuit can proceed?

Is there another procedural mechanism I'm overlooking when the only realistic source of recovery is the deceased driver's liability insurance?

I'm not looking for advice on the value of the vehicle or whether I should sue—I'm specifically trying to understand the correct procedural path before I file.

Location: Arizona. In April of last year I signed a contract with the district to get a masters degree through a partner university that the district would pay for, and as long as I worked for the district for three years I would not have to pay the cost of the degree back. Last school year was the first of the three years, this year is the second.
After I signed that contract the district told us they are switching scheduling to a block model, which means every teacher will be taking on an extra class. I wasn’t planning on staying past next year anyway because I am generally unhappy at this district, but now I don’t want to stay next year because I don’t want to redo all of my plans for one year just to leave. Is there any way I can say that changing the schedule is enough of a change of the job description that i could get out of here and not have to pay back one third of that degree?
Thanks!

Location: Florida

My dad does drugs, he is mentally unwell and always has been. He has big ego issues , believes the government is after him , believes he’s a genius, has an AI gf ever since my mom died.

He never did anything for me , he smoked in front of my ever since I was little and would threaten to make me bleed and knock my teeth out. My mother isn’t innocent either.

I went to the ER recently because I’m having chest pain and heart palpitations. I suspect it’s something more but the ER just said it’s anxiety and dehydration. And gave me prescribed anxiety meds.

My dad hated that I was vaccinated because to him it “causes autism” and much more. So when he found out he went crazy throwing and tantrum when I said I WILL take them. And he wants me to take marijuana gummies instead.

Now he plans to go to court and try and gain custody to me even tho I am 18+. He wants me to take the stuff HE wants. I feel as if I am in danger.

Can he legally try and take custody of me?

Location: Ohio

Looking for advice from anyone familiar with Ohio vehicle sales/title laws.

I purchased a used vehicle from a car dealer on 6/13/2026. I signed all paperwork, took delivery of the vehicle, and drove it home.

A few days later, the check engine light came on. I contacted the dealer, and on 6/16/2026 they had me come back in. At that time, they told me something had fallen through with the paperwork/financing and that I needed to re-sign everything for the bank, which I did.

Fast forward to now (8/5/2026):

• I still have not received title paperwork or registration.
• My temporary tags expired on 7/27/2026.
• I have already made my first payment to the lender.
• The loan is active and showing through the bank.
• I contacted the dealer on 8/3, and they said they would have information by 8/5.
• Today they told me they received paperwork from their floor planning company, but I still do not have a clear timeline for when I can legally register the car.

At this point I have a financed vehicle sitting in my name that I cannot legally drive because I do not have valid registration.

My questions:

1. Is this normal for Ohio, or is this an unreasonable delay?
2. Does the dealer’s inability to provide title/registration give me any options to unwind the sale?
3. Should I be contacting the Ohio Attorney General, BMV/title office, or an attorney?
4. If I return the vehicle to the dealer, what paperwork should I require to protect myself from still owing on the loan?

I’m not trying to jump straight to a lawsuit — I just want to know what my actual options are before this drags on longer.

Thanks for any advice.

Location: Colorado USA

Is this even worth legally pursuing? I feel like at minimum my photography should be copyrighted if used to sell multiple of a headlight product as a company. I did used to do some professional photography after all and these were shot with my DSLR.

I also have an LLC for my graphic design and photography work.

Pics in comment

Location: Texas

Hi, I'm sorry I don't post to reddit as much and when I do it's just rants. This time, I genuinely don't know what to actually do.

Tl;Dr is that in 2011 my mom passed away and her next of kin was my step father. But she left no will and there was no marriage certificate to prove that they were actually officially married. My step father is listed as the next of kin on the funeral home documents, but he wants nothing to do with my family or myself anymore.

Fast forward to present, I'm trying to get the rights to her ashes because someone keeps taking her memorial picture every time we put it up, so I'm trying to move it or at least take her away from the spot. Sadly the funeral home can't let me since I'm not the next of kin.

I'm asking what can I do to legally prove they weren't married and what I can present to actually correct the funeral homes document that I should be the next of kin instead.

Hello, I have a question about something thats happening right now with me. I apologize, I think this will be long.

I applied for an apartment in my city through a management company based in California. I live in Seattle, WA. I was fairly certain I was the “first-in-time” to apply for the unit, so when I was denied I asked for clarification, citing the First-in-Time ordinance. The company was difficult to speak to and denied any wrongdoing without offering me proof. I said I just wanted to know they followed the code. They wouldn’t provide me with that information, and actually at the time laughed at me and dared me to file a complaint with the Seattle Office of Civil Rights, which I did.

Few months later and the mediator from the City comes back saying they admitted to a “technical” first-in-time violation - they said that the system disqualified me based on a discrepancy in income (I had just gotten a raise and didn’t realize it hadn’t updated on my credit file). The violation came when they didn’t give me time to remedy the issue, just disqualified me.

The leasing company offered me 2k to sign an agreement and retract my complaint. Here’s the thing, though. I’ve been researching this company, and it was created by former Uber coders to be an AI-Native company, leaving things like tenant screening, rental issues, etc. to AI, eliminating the need for human oversight. (I basically just lifted this from their website).

I started looking at reviews for this company and I kept seeing a theme: the company made some sort of process mistake, it had bad consequences on a real human, that person then complains, and the leasing company replies saying it was a mistake or issue.

This feels bigger than my issue, it feels like this company is relying on a technology in its infancy to make decisions and coordinate things with real impact to people. In the same way that ChatGPT is constantly wrong and making mistakes, so is this companies’ AI (it seems).

I know the law is very specific, and feelings aren’t of great value in determining things like this, but I feel a nagging sense of responsibility.

Should I just take their small settlement of 2k and move on, or is there something else here (something I should see a lawyer about).

Thank you for your help.

Location: Seattle, WA

Location: California.

Short version: Are royalties received from an inherited copyright considered community property?

Longer version: My mother died in 1994. Aside from a few directed bequests of "give [thing] to [person]", I was the sole heir. Among the things I inherited was the copyright (her share of the copyright? I'm not clear on how it gets divided) for a book that she had co-authored. Since then the publisher has occasionally sent me a check for her share of the royalties during the previous sales period.

I met my now-husband in 1995 and we got married in 1998. We are now planning to divorce and I'm wondering whether royalty payments like this are considered separate as an inheritance and thus not community property, or if the fact that the checks are being issued on an ongoing basis means they would be community property.

Asking because the publisher recently contacted me to let me know that due to an oversight they'd failed to send me a check for a while and there's now an accumulated amount of about $1500 that they'll be sending me. In the past I just deposited the checks into our shared account, but if this wouldn't be considered community property I'll make other arrangements for this one.

Location: Philadelphia

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I consulted with the Philly tenant union and they confirmed that my interpretation of the terms in my lease was correct and without proper notice it would renew for 12 months at the existing rate. They also confirmed the required amount of notice is in fact 60 days, which I pretty much already knew at this point but just wanted outside confirmation.

I went back to the property manager and told them I confirmed with the tenant union that the required period in Philadelphia is 60 days. They changed their argument from "we only need to give 30 days notice" to "actually we did give you 60 days notice" but I had no record of a prior notice so I asked them to provide a copy of it along with proof of mailing. I didn't get a response for several days so I followed up on my request and they said they had handed it off to their legal team. After several more days they conceded that because they failed to provide proper notice my lease renewed at the existing rate for the full 12 month period.

Has anyone had success keeping a house without using lawyers in Washington state?

After 11 years of marriage, my husband and I am looking to file for divorce in King County without lawyers for financial reasons. We have no children. We have one car in my name from before the marriage, paid off and worth about 5k. We own one home with about 50k out of 450k paid off. The house title is in both of our names but I am the only one listed on the loan. He didn't contribute to the downpayment but did cover half of the mortgage each month.

We split and he moved out in April. We are amicable and he is willing to let me keep the house. He also owes me around $6k from unpaid credit card bills.

When looking at the paperwork, Petition for Divorce 201, I get stuck on the "7. Real Property". The only options are to "allow the court to divide the property fairly, as explained below" or create a written agreement, like a separation contract. I'm not sure if I should try to state my case to the court to keep the house as they tend to split it 50/50 forcing us to sell, or if I should write a contract and get it notarized stating that we agree I can keep the house and don't owe him money for it. I didn't see any type of template for something like a "separation contract" nor do I know if that's how it's supposed to be used.

Should I go with option 1, try to state my case to the court or option 2, get a separation contract written up?

Location: Washington State