My uncle is in a bit of a mess. His wife threw him out of the house, and he’s living in a hotel. The main problem for him is she kept both cars (both in her name). She gave him one of the cars several years ago, and the understanding was, well, that’s your car, honey. Due to his poor credit, I guess. Anyway, here’s the rub: the car isn’t paid off. He says he’s having huge problems getting to work, and I believe him (he never could handle money very well, from what I hear).
Help! Before he asks me to move in with us, does he have any recourse? At this point if he has to get an attorney, it’ll probably wipe him out. I told him I had a friend or two I could ask about his predicament. He says he wants to keep making the payments as he claims to always have done, and be able to work. Sounds to me like they keep their money separate, but that’s just a guess on my part. Is there any precedent, if that’s the right word, for, I don’t know, somehow him maintaining possession of what was given to him? As long as the bank keeps getting their money, what do they care? Unfortunately, he never got receipts, just gave her the payments. Who thinks about getting a receipt from their spouse?
I’m thinking she can’t give away what isn’t yet fully hers, and he’s fucked. Meaning, so are we, because I couldn’t turn him away, but we really don’t want him on our couch. I’m almost certain he has no one else near here to turn to without leaving the state and losing his job. My wife would probably go ballistic if I made him a sizable loan. Yes, I’m scared of her. :o But seriously, we keep our money in tidy bundles jointly, so I can see her point.
No one here will be able to give you valid legal advice. Anyone who tries is not giving valid advice, and is breaking a Board rule regarding providing specific professional advice, which we discourage because of the fact that advice given on the basis of what limited facts are available here is usually worthless (worth exactly what you paid for! ) and there are rules about who can provide legal advice which preclude anyone not licensed to do so in your jurisdiction from providing it.
Now, someone may be able to offer some pointers, but the bottom line is, if he really needs legal advice, I’d recommend he go to his local bar’s hot line. Often , they have someone who can provide pro bono help for people who can’t afford to obtain an attorney.
I must need to work on my skills (or lack thereof) of forming my thoughts. I’m not looking for any binding advice, mainly my question was is what she’s doing to him legal? Kind of a “manner in which he was accustomed to living” (think I heard that somewhere) kind of thing. Can she just snatch his keys and leave him walking at her whim? I’m guessing it’s a question for for the lawyers to slug out, and a judge to decide. I hope that’s more clear, and thanks for your reply.
Really? My understanding is that folks are prohibited from practicing law without a license which is more than just offering legal advice. Heck if offering legal advice were prohibited then my step mother would have been in prison a long time ago. I agree that this is a question that will be hard to answer within the boards rules though. But as long as the answers are limited to general principles of family law I think it can be done.
The thing is, the OP is not just asking for information on general principles of family law. The request is for legal information to apply to a specific set of facts. That’s what turns it into a request for legal advice, and which means that lawyers will not respond to the inquiry. The only advice a lawyer can give is what DSYoungEsq already said: the uncle should contact his local bar association for help. They may be able to direct him to a lawyer who will give him pro bono advice, or a clinic for low-income people.
Please, let’s not get nitpicky about precise wording. You know as well as I do that the type of advice this person seeks is specific to the case in question, which is precisely the sort of thing that gets you into trouble if you start tossing it around in jurisdictions you aren’t licensed in. I’m not going to get into an in depth discussion of what is and is not practicing law without a license, and the original poster should not be encouraged to think that any opinion of value can be had here.
) and there are rules about who can provide legal advice which preclude anyone not licensed to do so in your jurisdiction from providing it.