Ask DrewDevil your legal questions

[DrewDevil]

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If you declare bankruptcy what happens to your 401k?

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I don't know much about bankruptcy, but in general, your creditors are made to back off while you offer a reorganization plan to pay them off at a discount. My hunch is that the bk court would resist forcing you to disgorge your retirement funds, given the high taxes and penalties, but I honestly don't know.

[DrewDevil]

I am going to have a ton of real work to do today, but keep posting your questions and I'll get to them when I can.

Edit: other lawyers, feel free to chime in if you know the answers better than I do.

[No_Foolin'?]

Drew,

Please forgive any naivete or wanton ignorance that follows, but I'm curious about these:

(1) If I'm thinking about committing a crime, can I walk into a lawyer's office and discuss the potential legal ramifications with him, and he would be "glad" to help me?

(2) Along this same line, how do you handle dealing with clients who do things you find to be morally reprehensible, if in fact you have/do have to? Is this quite common and simply part of any lawyers job?

(3) Along this same line, has your view of human beings changed since becoming a lawyer and hearing of all the crazy things people do?

(4) Also, can people "shop" for lawyers, as in visit with a few for a free initial consultation, in order to find one that he thinks he can work best with?

(5) If I had a legal issue concerning, say, internet law, how important would you say it is to find a lawyer that "specializes" in internet law?

(6) Do you know of lawyers who "gossip" about their clients around the office, or is this completely unheard of?

Thanks!!

[Lonhro]

If I belt the living daylights out of OP because he is the biggest wanker on OOT, will my defence of "he is a douche" stand up in my local court? If not, then I need a new lawyer, because he told me this is true (the douche part, not whether or not it will hold up)

[snewland22]

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Is owner's title insurance really worth the cost?

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Yes, absolutely. Also, it is standard for the seller to pay the premium, which makes it free to you, the buyer!

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Actually, I'm not sure how standard that is. In Georgia, its standard for the Buyer to pay the premium for the owner's policy (and the lender's policy, of course).

[Slow Play Ray]

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Is owner's title insurance really worth the cost?

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Yes, absolutely. Also, it is standard for the seller to pay the premium, which makes it free to you, the buyer!

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Actually, I'm not sure how standard that is. In Georgia, its standard for the Buyer to pay the premium for the owner's policy (and the lender's policy, of course).

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I talked with my real estate agent/sister and she said that's not standard practice in Massachusetts.

Anyway, we elected to get it (well actually the woman did, I was willing to play the odds).

[Oski]

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If I belt the living daylights out of OP because he is the biggest wanker on OOT, will my defence of "he is a douche" stand up in my local court? If not, then I need a new lawyer, because he told me this is true (the douche part, not whether or not it will hold up)

[/ QUOTE ]

I know its not a serious question, but here is a serious answer: No. In fact, your "defense" might make things worse depending on which jurisdiction this happens.

For example, in California we have Civil Code 51.7 called the "Ralph Act." This is essentially a freedom from violence/intimidation statute which operates to protect from hate crimes.

To state a Ralph Act claim, the violence or intimidation by threat of violence must have been committed "because of" one or more of the claimant's protected characteristics. The statute identifies those protected characteristics as "race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or position in a labor dispute, or because another person perceives [the plaintiff] to have one or more of those characteristics." The key element of this cause of action is that the use of violence or threats of violence must have motivated in part by animus towards one of the victim’s perceived protected characteristics. It has been held that the enumerated characteristics are “illustrative rather than restrictive” and such protected characteristics “represent traits, conditions, decisions, or choices fundamental to a person's identity, beliefs, and self-definition." Koebke v. Bernardo Heights Country Club, (2005) 36 Cal. 4th 824, 842-43.

The statute authorizes a private action for actual damages, punitive damages, a civil penalty of $25,000, and attorneys' fees, for each violation.

So, because the statute is loosesly written, being a "douche" may qualify as a protected characteristic and in addition to being criminally liable, you may open yourself to additional liability in the thousands of dollars.

[Grasshopp3r]

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What legal consequences could there be if I posted pictures of an ex-gf in a forum or somewhere on the Internet and she stumbled upon them? Some pictures were sent to me via e-mail by her and some are taken myself with my cell phone, if that matters.

I'm sure I know what everyone else's reply is going to be, but I'm interested in DrewDevil's reply. I always thought I could get in trouble for doing something like this, but maybe I'm an idiot?

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The law here is pretty murky and there will probably be some lawsuits about this in the future, but right now, generally speaking...

If you took the pictures, you own the copyright to them, so you can probably post them anywhere you want.

If she took the pics and sent them to you... eh, not sure. As long as you're not trying to use them to profit, you're probably still okay.

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Bad, bad advice. The correct advice is to post them here so that we can collective opine on her. Shame on you.

[DwightSchrute]

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If you declare bankruptcy what happens to your 401k?

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I don't know much about bankruptcy, but in general, your creditors are made to back off while you offer a reorganization plan to pay them off at a discount. My hunch is that the bk court would resist forcing you to disgorge your retirement funds, given the high taxes and penalties, but I honestly don't know.

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I believe that's under chapter 11 (or 13 I forget). Under chapter 7 you don't have to pay anything back. But if you have a house with large enough equity they can put your house up for sale. Then if they sell it they have to give YOU the first $7500. Then the rest goes to your creditors.

As far as 401k's go I believe if you have one and you're fully vested they can take some of it from you.

Keep in mind I'm not a lawyer but I have known people who have gone bankrupt. This is also in Tn so I don't know how much of it varies by state, if any.

[Oski]

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What legal consequences could there be if I posted pictures of an ex-gf in a forum or somewhere on the Internet and she stumbled upon them? Some pictures were sent to me via e-mail by her and some are taken myself with my cell phone, if that matters.

I'm sure I know what everyone else's reply is going to be, but I'm interested in DrewDevil's reply. I always thought I could get in trouble for doing something like this, but maybe I'm an idiot?

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The law here is pretty murky and there will probably be some lawsuits about this in the future, but right now, generally speaking...

If you took the pictures, you own the copyright to them, so you can probably post them anywhere you want.

If she took the pics and sent them to you... eh, not sure. As long as you're not trying to use them to profit, you're probably still okay.

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I would argue that the pictures you took and then posted would probably constitute an invasion of privacy. The ex gf probably consented to you taking the pictures which were done in a private setting (I assume). At that point, you and her have a tacit agreement that the two of you share in the privacy of the photos. She would have to give express consent for you to be authorized to publicize the photos to a forum beyond the two of you.

So, technically, without her consent to publicize, you own the photo, but you do not own the rights to do whatever you want with them.