family law

my father has been living with me since aug. 20, 2008. He has either been hospitalized or with me, not residing with his wife of 35 years. Due to neglect his health failed causing kidney shut-down. His wife refuses to pay any bills for their house, joint tenants legally. She recently went to the post office in her city and filed a change of address stating he no longer resides there and has had all his mail forwarded to my house. My questionis... Since she claims he is not a legal resident of that property, do that release my dad of any financial liability for that address? Last month they had their power turned off due to nonpayment. She told me she has been selling dad's personal possessions to pay the bills. Although she is able to pay them herself. Do we have any legal recourse to prevent her from selling any more items?

Re: family law

Your father could file a petition for dissolution of marriage. Once she is served with a copy of the summons and complaint she is restrained from disposing of any property. If he is unable to make the required decisions then you should consult with an attorney regarding filing the petition and protecting his rights.

my aunt

hello my aunt was with a man for 20 something years and he died can she get any ssi from him shes 62years old.

Re: my aunt

probably but she will have to prove common law marriage..and that is by simply saying they were married if both were free to marry..so call social security office in your area...for quick answer..and tell her to apply

I bought a laptop from Craigslist and realized it was stolen a couple days later. I found the original owners' info and contacted him. The guy said he just wanted the files back, so I was going to just send him his files. Later that day I get a call from the police saying I should drop off the laptop st the station, or I could get arrested for possession of stolen property if caught with the laptop. Since I payed for it, do I have to drop it off at the police station, or do I have some kind of leverage to just give back the owner his files and keep the laptop?

No, if the laptop was stolen, you do not own it even if you paid for it. If you are nice, the owner might give you a reward for returning it, but you cannot keep it if the owner wants it back.

Unfortunately, this is the problem with buying stuff off Craigslist. You should provide the police with all the information you have about the person you bought it from.

Your remedy for the money you paid is against the person who sold it to you. As Mr. Whitaker said you should surrender the computer to the police and provide info on the seller. If you have enough information, you may be able to sue the seller. In the alternative, if a prosecutor decides to file a criminal complaint against the seller, you may be able to get an order for restitution of the money you paid.