cocounselor23

Clavus: In the future, I would do a few things differently-for example, collecting the sales tax in advance in an escrow account and/or adding a provision in the sales contract that says if you have to bring suit agaisnt other company, venue and jurisdiction in VA and you get to collect your attorney's fees for having to bring suit...but what good is hindsight, right?? lol. Anyway, VA probably has what's called a "long-arm" jurisdiction statute that may allow you to file suit in VA, even if it is a CA company. Long-arm jurisdiction allows you to bring in an out of state defendant if there are "minimum contacts" with the forum state (VA). A lot of this will have to do with whether they contacted you, where the contract was signed, how the shipping was arranged, payment, etc. Unfortunately, I doubt you will be able to file mulitple small claims actions because that would defeat the idea behind small claims. You are supposed to bring all claims together...but if the claims arise at different times (i.e., they were supposed to pay $5k each quarter) you could bring a claim each time they breach. I am not sure what the courts are like in VA, but this will probably either have to be brought in County or District Court in VA. You would hire a process server to serve them in CA. If they get an attorney, he may challenge the jurisdiction question and you could spend a lot of $$$ fighting that issue alone. You can always bring the lawsuit where the Defendant is domiciled, so if it was me, I would hire a CA attorney to file in CA. If the agreement is solid on them paying sales tax, there would be no need for a trial and you would probably just get a declaratory judgment against them. Once you have the judgment, you can levy the other company's assets and do all kinds of fun things. Of course, maybe they will just pay??? Let me know.

clavus

Thanks. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

__________________
Ass, gas or grass. Nobody rides for free.

thefictionweliv

Hi I'm 20 right now, I haven't started college yet as I joined the military because my financial situation kinda got messed up and I needed a more steady income. I plan on having a bachelor's degree when I get out and have been thinking about becoming a lawyer for a long time.
I was wondering I guess what a typical day as an attorney is like?

Also is it more advisable to take Pre-Law in college? I've heard Classics, LA, or Psychology are also majors which can be considered for law school and would cover some of my side interests more effectively.

The first 2-3 years of being an attorney involve 70-80 hour work weeks, so I've read, what is this mostly consisting of(research for frim attorneys?) I guess what are the first few years like?

I could prolly think of a few more questions but don't want to load it up two much. Most of what I know is just from reading career descriptions and such but never really asked someone in the field directly.

cocounselor23

There are so many differrent areas of law and a lot of what you end up doing will be dependent upon the area in which you practice. Unfortunately, I have just been called home by the wife (lol) and will not be back until Monday the 18th, but I will definitely respond then. I just wanted you to know that I got your posting.

asaris

As far as I can tell, Political Science and Philosophy are common pre-law majors. I'm biased towards philosophy, being a philosophy student and all. Chemisty and some other sciences can be (very) helpful if you want to go into intellectual property law. I'm looking forward to seeing cocounselor's answer myself, since I'll be starting law school in the fall. Assuming someone lets me in...

__________________
"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."

"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

:::OshnSoul:::

I am a licensed retailer of incense & oils and my main cashflow comes through on eBay. Just today some other company reported me to eBay claiming that I had commited a copyright infringement, causing my auctions to be removed. part of my name (mystic) is in their slogan (it's not really a slogan, but they just use the word "mystical" in a trademark description of what they sell- but nowhere do i see that they sell incense or oils. Only a "lovepotion" which I have nothing remotely close to that. This company never contacted me, just went straight to eBay Vero to file a report. Apparently they don't have to be specific to Vero what infringement it is.
I emailed the company asking what it is, they just told me to read over their page more thoroughly then email them again, but claiming that it is out of their hands. I hope you can help me with this- if you need more details, just ask. Thanks.

raeanna74

This is hopefully a quick question to answer. We recently bought a house and closed on September 17th, 2004. Just 3 weeks later I received a letter of assessment from the City thta said that we owed $189.00 for sidewalk, curb, and gutter repairs. The resolution to make the repairs was made on March 9th, 2004. We also just recieved letter of disconnection from the water and sewer department of the City. It stated that there is a bill delinquent in the amount of $34.00 and that services will be disconnected on November 1st. The City had filled out and sent a letter of assessment at the request of the Title Company. The letter stated that by September 17th, 2004 that there were no current assessments, no future assessments, and no water bills due. I have brought this to the attention of the Title company that we've received these bills. They believe that they can take care of the water bill but the sidewalk repair is a different story. Apparently the Title company called the City and was turned away saying that the City wasn't responsible and that it was a simple mistake. Shouldn't the City be held responsible for this? I paid for the letter of assessment to avoid this kind of hassle. According to the Realtor, the seller of the property will not take care of anything since they're apparently under investigation - Fanny Mae. I plan to approach someone from the city about this matter and I am willing to go from supervisor to superior if there is any hope of dealing with this. I realize that we benefit from the sidewalk repairs but the other residents in town had 7 months notice before their bill came due, I paid $15 to avoid having to pay this, and had no warning before we were given only 1 month to pay the bill in full. I don't feel that it's fair that we be responsible for this bill. Who should I speak to? Is there anything I can say or do that will help me? Should I go as far as to get a lawyer to write the city a letter?? I would almost be willing to pay a lawyer the $198 to make the City fess up to their error in hopes they will be more careful in the future and not cause other's this kind of mess.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

cocounselor23

Sorry for the delay:

Poli Sci is one of the most common pre-law majors. In undergrad, I was an environmental science major and then they also had some pre-law courses, which I took, but were not anything at all like law school. So, I don't necessarily think pre-law classes in undergrad help, but each college may be different. Try talking to the professors of the pre-law classes and see how they teach the class. Honestly, if you have a decent GPA in Poli Sci, English, LA or probably just about anything fairly mainstream, it probably will not make much difference. In fact, I would bet a majority of law school applicants are Poli Sci majors, so why not set yourself apart and study what you like. To me, Poli Sci was boring!!! By the way, a lot of wight is places on the LSAT test, so you may want to start looking at that test when you are a junior and I highly recommend taking a prep course.

I work for a mid-sized law firm and I usually work 60-65 hours a week. Some of the larger firms would require more, but I am doing ok here. Most firms have billable hour requirements, anywhere from 1750 to 2200 per year, which means you have to bill that much time each year, no matter how much you actually work. In a 12 hour day, with all the distractions and everything, you are lucky to bill 8-9 hours. So, if you want to (or have to) bill 2000 hours a year, you will probably need to work about 60-65 hours a week. In bigger firms, when you start out, you are usually just working on individual research projects for different attorneys and there is not as much client contact, at first. For me, I started handling my own cases right away, There was some initial supervision, but it did not last long.

There is a lot of law to know, so my best advise to you is to get into a practice where you can concentrate on 2-3 very specific areas. I made the mistake of trying to do it all and now I have to know everything from trusts and estates to family law to personal injury. If I had to do it all over again, i would have picked one or two areas and just mastered those. You won't know what area you want to practice in until you are finished with law school (most likely).

Hope that helps.

cocounselor23

Unfortunately, EBAY can do pretty much whatever it wants, but it hardly sounds like you committed any trademark infringement. I am sure EBAY has a dispute resolution procedure and I can help you explain why it was not a trademark infringement if you need, but I will need more info.

cocounselor23

Trust me, it will cost more than it is worth fighting. I am not sure about this assessment letter...can you tell me more about what that was? The biggest problem is that the city probably has some kind of immunity anyway. You might have a case, though, but I bet the city will make your life hell in the meantime and probably even file a lien on your property. Maybe there is a kind hearted attorney in your area that will help pro bono?

asaris

More on the topic of law school:

Cocounselor, where did you go to law school? And what were your experiences like there? I'm trying to make the final decision about where to apply, and I'm finding it quite difficult.

__________________
"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."

"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

cocounselor23

I went to University of Denver College of Law. For me, the choice was pretty simple. I am originally from CA. My wife's family had moved to Colorado, we were going to have our second child, and my wife wanted to be close to her mother, so she told me we were moving to CO...simple as that...lol! Anyway, I applied to the only 2 law schools out here, University of Denver and CU. I was put on the wait list at CU and Denver accepted me and also offered a 50% scholarship. The choice was really made for me. I did a lot of research, though, before my mind was made up for me, and I bought some books that ranked law schools and gave bar passing rates and all of that. I would definitely recommend that you either go to a first or second tier law shool. I also highly recommend that you go to a law school in the area where you want to practice. It seems to me that a lot of the law firms here in Denver liked the fact that I was a Denver graduate. I think it just makes it easier to get a job. Good Luck.

JohnnyCarson

This is a quick (I hope) question regarding employment discrimination.

What does it take to show that a company did not hire you due to your age (over 45) and is there a recourse against a former employer that may be giving a false review of your employment with them?

Despite over 20 years of experience, I cannot get hired and truthfully think it is coming down to my age and/or the possibility that soeone is giving out false information about me.

Wulf_Hunter

Great thread, thanks for assisting us.

I need some advice.

Looks like I have, or could become another vicitim of ID theft. I recently just got a letter from Wells Fargo. Seems as though they had 4 computers or servers stolen from their offices. Those servers have my address, SSN, and account info on it.

The kicker is that on the opening of the letter, they state to take Educational Financial Services (EFS) security very seriously (if they did do ya think, I'd be talking about this?). I checked Wells Fargos website, and it looks as though there are 3 other times computers were stolen with with confidental info.

Anyways. Besides taking the usual route of the ID theft grind (checking credit reports, police reports.) Is there such an attorney that could deal with a situation like this?

cocounselor23

Wulf:

One thing you should do first is notify the credit bureaus of the possible identity theft. Here is a link to the FTC on identity theft:

http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

You may need to contact one of these referral firms in order to find an attorney. http://www.criminaldefense.com/white...ed5b5bb2db05e7

If you tell me what state you are in, I can probably find someone in your area.

ANother option I was thinking about: I am wondering if you could apply to IRS for new social security number. I have not looked into this in detail, but maybe it's a possibility. Here is their website: http://www.irs.gov

You may try entering a search for "identity theft" or "new social security number"

Lastly, I wonder if you have a cause of action against Wells Fargo, since this is not an isolated event...

Good Luck

Wulf_Hunter

Co- Thanks for your reply. I live in Michigan.

Since you stated that;

"Lastly, I wonder if you have a cause of action against Wells Fargo, since this is not an isolated event..."

There maybe a chance of action on my part? I know of 2 other people beside's myself(and I'm sure there's alot more then us)that have been affected by this. I'm not one to go out a look for a lawsuit against a company. But this really is inexcusable, on their part. I could care less if I get money from them.

Also I should've added in my first reply they're offering 1 year of free credit monitoring .

Thank you again for your help Co

dy156

As an attorney, the prospect of giving legal advice on a message board raises big red warning flags for me. I heard a heated dabate once on the propriety of those radio call in shows featuring attorney, and figure this is pretty much the same thing. It's not just about avoiding malpractice, but what if you're giving advice to the person on the other side of the case as you're on?
This is by NO means real live legal advice, or a substitute for it, much less given for any reason other than just to see myself type. Just so you'll know, there is NO ATTORNEY CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ME AND ANYONE ELSE READING THIS!!!
(THE SAME GOES FOR ANYONE READING COCOUNSELOR'S POSTS TOO)


That having been said...

Even without knowing more about your case, I can say that in most states, a former employer who gives a reference to a potential future employer is extended a qualified privilege for those communications to someone that has an equal interest in the employment of the former employee. Basically, ex-boss can tell interviewer that you did a bad job. You can't really do anything about it unless ex-boss knew what he was saying was wrong, or he said that you stole from the company when you did not, or other non-job-related information about you that was false. Still, out of an abundance of caution, most employers now just give out information about when you worked there and if you are eligible for rehire or not. Defamation, libel and slander are state law claims, and vary from state to state, though.

Generally, an age discrimination case is federal law (The ADEA). Sorry to be so negative, but you also have a steep uphill battle to climb on a failure to hire age discrimination claim, unless you know of a policy or practice of the company that did not hire you. Even then, these cases are rarely won. After a fairly complicated "burden shifting analysis" the employer can come up with almost any reason that they made the decision they did, and it is rare for the court to decide that their reason is just pretext for discriminating against you because you are older. Unless the difference in qualifications between you and whoever was hired instead of you are "so great as to reach up off the page and slap the court in the face" the federal courts are unlikely to second guess an employer's decision.

Perhaps more importantly, filing suit when you are job seeking is a bad idea, generally. Word is likely to spread that you are a litigious person, and like it or not, it's going to give any other potential employers another (hard to prove, yet still real) excuse not to hire you.

Wish I had better news for you. I'm usually not this negative. My dad, laid off in the tech industry, spent two years trying to find a job, then gave up and went back to school for something completely different.

gonadman

Thanks for the time you spend answering these questions. I have a general question regarding workers comp.

Here in PA, an injured employee must see the posted worker comp health care provider for 90 days after an accident before they can see thier personal physician unless they are discharged first.

I'm a health care provider and a patient came to me after a work accident. He had seen the worker comp physician a couple times and was basically told nothing was wrong and was discharged(in writing)

I evaluated him and after finding multiple untreated injuries, including a fractured hip and herniated disc, treated him extensively until he was able to work again.

Problem is the insurer refused to pay any of the sizeable medical bills he incurred with me, claiming I am not the worker comp physician. The patients attorney assures me he is working toward a settlement but several years has passed and it is obvious that paying my bills are last on his list of priorities.

I'm wondering what the best recourse at this time is. I'm thinking about filing a civil suit against the insurance company, as the total bill is below the limits set in that type of case, but I know that even if I prevail, there is no avenue to enforce the judgement. I also worry that a statute of limitations exists as this case is now about 4 yrs old.

I would appreciate any advice you can give in this situation

__________________
For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel, looking, looking, ...breathlessly.
-Carlos Castaneda

raeanna74

Well I've got an update for ya. I confronted the City Engineer about the special assessment letter and later the bill. It seems I must have made some sort of impression because I've received a notice that the issue is to be discussed at the next Public Works meeting held this Wednesday. My Dad spoke with his lawyer and it seems that the city cannot hold us responsible for the bill because we were not notified prior to the work being done or allowed to object to the work. I plan to make copies of all my papers including the receipt showing that we paid $15 for the special assessment letter. I'm not sure what, if anything I will be able to say at the meeting but I intend to present my side of the story as clearly as possible if I get a chance.

I'm not sure what I can accomplish but according to my Dad's lawyer it would be worth the money to fight this should it come to that. Apparently the cost wouldn't be that great (for him anyway) since I have all the papers necessary to protect us.

As the story sits. The city sent a Special Assessment letter requested by the Title company and paid for by us. The letter states that "No Special assessments are anticipated at this time." Meaning that no work has been done by the city in such a location as for the property owner of our address to be responsible for any bills yet to come. The resolution to complete the work on our property was made March 9th, 2004. The Speciall Assessment letter was written and signed (by 3 officials) September 3rd, 2004 and we closed on the property on September 15th, 2004. The bill from the city for work completed prior to our closing on the property was sent to us on September 28th, 2004. It's obvious from the dates listed that the city knew of the work and future billing 6 month's prior to our notification. I'm not getting my hopes up that I can get the debt completely cleared but I am hoping to push the city to at least give us 6 month's to pay, the 10% discount promised if paid prior to 7 month's after the resolution was first decided, and the $15 returned. I will insist that since we paid $15 for the Special Assessment letter that the city has two choices - 1. Stand by their letter and remove the fees, or 2. Return the money I paid for a piece of paper they lied on and give us the 10% discount and 7 months wherein to pay the charges. I may not say it in such terms and I plan to ask for the first to begin with but should it seem as though they cannot back down I will offer the second choice as an option. I have a feeling that in that case they will probably cooperate.

I hope this makes sense.

Is there anything I may be forgetting or anything else that I can do to make my position any stronger??

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

LewisCouch

After my son moved out of an apartment he had rented in Portland, OR, the owners sent him a bill for repairs that were exorbitant. Subsequently, he notified them via letter that he disputed owing any money. The apartment owners turned it over to a collection agency, who attempted to collect on this disputed bill. They apparently reported the collection action to Equifax and their ilk.

It has been over three years now, and no small claims action has been filed. My questions are in regard to his credit report.

Is there a way to remove this negative entry, even though he has essentially been denied his day in court? My understanding is that they can only report this negative action if they also report that it is under dispute. Is there a way to determine if they have complied with this requirement? Additionally, it would be good to know what the statute of limitations is for this type of litigation.

Thanks very much for your assistance, it is greatly appreciated.

__________________
"The gift of liberty is like that of a horse, handsome, strong, and high-spirited. In some it arouses a wish to ride; in many others, on the contrary, it increases the desire to walk."

-- Massimo d'Azeglio

Master_Shake

In Oregon, an action arising under a rental agreement shall be commenced within one year.

(ORS 12.125 Action arising under rental agreement. An action arising under a rental agreement or ORS chapter 90 shall be commenced within one year.)

Go through the process of contesting the claim with Equifax. They will put it under review and contact the owners for verification, which they will probably be unable to provide, and the matter should end.

__________________
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You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

LewisCouch

Thanks very much for your prompt reply.

__________________
"The gift of liberty is like that of a horse, handsome, strong, and high-spirited. In some it arouses a wish to ride; in many others, on the contrary, it increases the desire to walk."

-- Massimo d'Azeglio

pattycakes

I live in pennsylvania so you probably wont know specifics, but my cousin got a dui 1 or 2 months ago, and he still hasent lost his license yet. Immediately after the dui he enrolled in aa meetings ( not ordered by court or anything ) and he hasnent had anything to drink since. but in your state is there a work permit or anything that can be done to shorten the length of the suspension? (which he hasnt even recieved yet)

(he was trying to start his car but the positive bat connection was loose, and he got the truck started but had to leave the hood up and move it to where it was flat because his e brake was broken) no accident involved or anything.)

Master_Shake

In Pennsylvania, he has to be convicted of the DUI before he'll lose his license. The length of license suspension depends on his BAC (blood alcohol content) level. If this is his first offense he can enter ARD (accelerated rehabilitative disposition) and significantly shorten his suspension, or he may apply for an OLL (Occupational Limited License) after part of the suspension to allow him to drive to work.

If he refused a BAC test he will face at least another year license suspension on top of the suspension for conviction.

Need to know:
BAC level
Any Prior Offenses
What county in Pennsylvania is he in?

Additionally, send him to a lawyer now! There are significant constitutional challenges to the new DUI (really DAI, driving after imbibing) law that may prevent the Commonwealth from convicting him at all.

__________________
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You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

pattycakes

he did not refuse a bac.
it was a .2 ( yeah i know tahts high, but he has since given up drinking )
and it was in northhampton county

no priors

khuct

A=domain email user
TAP=An association
B=TAP domain administrator

A is one of many people that has an e-mail account under the TAP domain. B went into A's mailbox and dug up an old e-mail that A sent to someone else, and sent a mass e-mail out using A's e-mail address. Furthermore, for the past few months. TAP believes that B has created numerous e-mail account under Yahoo and other big-namers to spread rumors about A. What crime/tort could B be charged with and how does A go about getting information (such as time a certain e-mail was sent and what IP address it was sent from) on the e-mail accounts he believes to be fake. Also, if A lost the case, is A responsible for both the court and lawyer fee?

Thanks in advance for your help. I really appreciate it

Master_Shake

Where are these people located?

Generally: Defamation (of which libel and slander are methods) is the offense of detracting from another's reputation, or of injuring his character, fame or reputation by false and malicious statements.

In this case, even if you could prove that B defamed A, you would have to prove damages to recover any money. Although it's possible A might be awarded punitive damages if B's actions were especially harmful, it is unlikely. Damages from defamation usually must have a concrete financial base - for example, due to B's lies A was denied a job or lost a contract. Absent such damages A will not be able to recover anything from B.

Some form of invasion of privacy might be possible for B going into A's mailbox (assuming B had no authority to do so), and some kind of fraud charge might be leveled against B for creating the false email addresses, but both of these are unlikely.

A probably wouldn't be responsible for B's court and lawyer fees unless the court determined that A's case was frivolous and without any basis.

For future reference, everyone please post jurisdiction when asking legal questions. (Country, state, county...)

__________________
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You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

creole king

Hey counselor. Keep up the good pro bono work. Pretty sound advice.

Reanna74. Don't be shy about calling your Mayor or City Council for help.

Texas, esq

khuct

o sorry....these people reside in Washington....Seattle, WA to be exact

edit:

If B lost the case, then would be pay for A's lawyer and court fee?

Master_Shake

Probably not. To qualify for attorney's fees the opposing party usually has to engage in some kind of really objectionable activity, or to act in a way without any legal basis.

__________________
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You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

dksuddeth

What, or where to find, are the limits of the federal government in the course of an embezzlement investigation? One would think that the FBI can't just seize assets from a person and never return them, right?

__________________
"no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything. You cannot conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him."

Master_Shake

I wouldn't be so sure. The RICO laws allow the Fed to seize any assets that were part of a criminal enterprise and never return them.

If it really is just an investigation you are entitled to have the assets returned to you as the Feds finish with their process. You're probably going to need a lawyer to petition to get the assets back, and it could take a long time.

Get receipts for everything they seize, and try to keep track of what they do with things. They are also known for losing assets.

What assets are you talking about, automobiles, houses, property, documents? Are the documents being seized from the person under investigation, or is that person a third party to the investigation?

Of course, if this is in anyway related to a terrorism investigation, all bets are off.

__________________
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You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

hawker rider

Well, my problem is very complicated, but I really could use some advise.

I've been married for 5 years, 2 children 3 and 1 years old. I'm not a U.S. citizen, but my wife is, and we live in Arkansas. We decided on me looking for a better job. Well I got an offer over in Europe, my native country and we both decided on taking it. I would move for about 6 months before the rest would move over. Well, as soon as I started the job (and signed a $50.000/5 year training bond) my wife voiced her opinion that she really didn't want to move anymore. Things have turned very sour since. I live in Europe now, committed and she lives with the children in Arkansas, with her mother.

She has been mentioning the Divorce word more and more often lately, and I've never really thought in that direction. But now she wants a legal split, have me sign away my paternal rights over to her. And she wants full and sole custody. But tells me that I could come visit anytime I want to, and that she'll send pictures often etc. etc.

Well, I am actually starting to believe that I might not have any rights anymore, with her talking like that, and me not being a citizen living in Europe. I might be able to keep the job and live in the U.S. soon enough, but need to get my feet grounded first before I wil be able to.

Is there any jurispedence on sortlike cases? Do I actually have rights where my children are concerned? I know I will need a good lawyer, but haven't been able to get anywhere using the internet yellow pages either.....


Thank you very much for your time, and sorry about the lengthy post.....

xniper

I have a question pertaining to Audio surveillance of employees. I work for a university in the public safety department. This department has installed cameras that are known to have audio capability and the installers (whom I know personally) has unofficially told mme that the audio is being recorded in the directors of safty's office. Since florida has an all parties consent rule and no signs are posted is this action prohibited by the omnibus act of 1969??

Master_Shake

In US law you absolutely have rights regarding your children. What country in Europe are you in? I don't know European family law but I would doubt you have no rights there.

The main question you need to be concerned about is jursdiction, where will the divorce and custody actions take place. Divorce could take place in either, it just depends on who files first probably, but custody is almost certianly limited to the children's home state.

You're going to need at least a lawyer in Arkansas, and maybe a lawyer in Europe where you live if you want to file divorce there.

The Arkansas lawyer doesn't need to know European law, he/she's going to be fighting here for custody so you will be subject to the laws of Arkansas. Fortunately most states follow uniform international child custody laws (but I'm not sure with Arkansas, check with a lawyer).

As the biological parent you will certainly be entitled to visitation, and maybe partial custody (during the summer or other vacations). But you're going to need a lawyer to argue for you, and be prepared to spend a lot on airplane fees for you and your kids.

Depending on income you may have to pay child support, and maybe even some form of alimony.

__________________
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You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

Master_Shake

http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/ind...n%2003#0934.03
This is the statute that would seem to prohibit such unauthorized recordings (there's also a civil damages section), but if it's anything like Pennsylvania there are a slew of exceptions.

I seem to recall an exception here in PA when a University did something very similar to what was being done in Florida. They claimed to be excluded because a) they weren't recording anything, and b) they claimed they weren't actually listening to the conversations, rather they were being attentive to sounds or raised voices that would indicate violent activity. This got them around the PA laws, and I imagine something similar is being done in FL. Are you sure the guy's recording the conversations?

__________________
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You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

hawker rider

Thank you for replying so quickly!

It looks like I will just have to go talk to a lawyer in Arkansas. That's where they live and that's probably where we'll file it anyway. It's just that the online yellow pages haven't really gotten me anywhere and picking out a good lawyer should be a very carefull task. As far as childsupport and alimony, I really don't mind paying to have my children have a better future. I would do anything for them. It's just very dissapointing that my wife doesn't share the dreams that we both used to have anymore.

Airline tickets should also not hurt me too much, as one of my job benefits. And in a year or so there is the possibility that I will be able to move and live in the US again with the current job. So all I want is to be able to see my children as much as is reasonable, and have them have all the oportunities they deserve.

Thank you.

HR

Master_Shake

Check with the Bar Association for the county in Arkansas they live in. You should be able to get a good reccomendation from them.

http://www.arkbar.com/

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You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

Meier_Link

Alright... I've got a legal question. Is it lawful for an employer to terminate employment because a male employee has long hair? This seems like a double standard, and though I will probably get my hair cut soon, I absolutely refuse to do it because my employer is now requiring me to do so. If I am fired for this I intend to persue legal action.

Willravel

Food services, Meier? If it brakes a sanitation rule, I can see it, but I'm no lawyer.

My question is: Is gay marriage protected by the constitution (in the opinion of a lawyer)? Why or why not?