Comments on: Your Personal Lawyer

By: tim a crist

tim a crist — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:20:11 +0000

Div 1997, helped wife at time buy house so kids close.This was during the divorse.All was divided and she got that house and I kept the other house.Mine is paid for hers is not and now she is behind,Div says I am not to be encumbered by her house note or her seperate debts.All deeds cleared so house is only in her name.Now she is behind and mortgage shows up as mine with bad payment hx.Who do I contact ,the div Judge or go to reg court or do I have a leg to stand on.In Texas it is her house and I have no claim to it

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:17:54 +0000

Ed,

My daughter was engaged for about 2 years. Her fiancee “backed out” of the planned wedding a month and a half before the set wedding date. It was 100% his decision. I have paid the venue over $12,000 and it was past the contract date for any refund. Would I possibly have any luck in suing the fiancee in small claims court to try and recoup some of my lost money?

Thanks,
Steve

By: Jan Buntyn

Jan Buntyn — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:07:41 +0000

About my cousin’s Workman’s Comp case, I forgot one very important detail. The Conroe lawyer said he would have to come up with $18,000 to $20,000 (as a retainer, I guess) to a lawyer to take his case. And he does not have that kind of money after dealing with this injury and medical bills over and above his insurance for going on 7 years.

By: Jan Buntyn

Jan Buntyn — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:04:29 +0000

I have a cousin who works for TXDOT as a designer who was hurt on the job in 2006 and has a rather complicated case. I want to find out if this is something I could ask you about on the radio. He has RSD in his left arm which he and his doctor believe came on after his fall as a result of the fall. The State AG office is trying to say it was a ‘pre-existing’ condition because he had had some pain in that arm due to a neck problem from (I think) a car accident previously. But, I forget which, one involved C3-C4 in his neck and the other, C6-C7…one being the car accident, the other being the fall at work, I forget which is which. I tried to help him with a lawyer referral from a friend, and finally through hlrs.org he talked to a lawyer in Conroe who does Workman’s Compensation law, who told him he would never get a lawyer to take his case on contingency because under Texas State Law, there is no way for the lawyer to get paid, because last time this subject was addressed in the Texas Legislature, the ‘Republicans’ (this lawyer must be a Democrat) made it so this could not happen, so if you make over $25K a year, you cannot get representation in such cases and the employer wins by default. I don’t know about that, he is in dire straits because when he fell, when he tried to catch himself with his left arm, his shoulder twisted 180 degrees the wrong way. He’s had 9(?) surgeries with doctors approved by the employer, and still is in a lot of pain. His PCP told him about a month ago, “You will never work again”. He approached this in the beginning with the Workman’s Comp board by using their Ombudsman instead of getting an attorney, and now that, according to him, they are trying to screw him out of a lot of compensation for lost future wages due to the RSD calling it a pre-existing condition, he cannot get representation to fight their opinion, different from his doctor, in the courts. Can you give me an opinion on this? Does he have a leg (or arm) to stand on? I can give you his name & cell# if perchance you want more detail. Seems this might be too complicated for a radio show call. Thanks.

By: Jim Van Atta

Jim Van Atta — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 12:16:26 +0000

My daughter lives in Dallas and has a boy friend that has many rent houses. She has been trying to get her mother and I to move to Dallas. The boy friend is going to give us a house to get us to move. The house is worth $250,000 but not something we would like to live in. I plan to sell my home ($180,000) and the home in Dallas and buy something we like in Dallas. What will be my tax consequences? I am 69 and my wife is 65. How should i handle the title transfer? Would it be a gift?

By: Gail Mariage

Gail Mariage — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 22:24:31 +0000

Hi Ed,
I’ve enjoyed listening to your show a few times. I have a quick question. My oldest son, who is now 25, committed a Class B Misdemeanor when he was 20. He was not represented by a lawyer. This offense was for petty theft (less than 200.00). He was unable to get a job until a kind gentleman in the Ft. Worth area offered him a job in 2009. He will soon complete four years of employment at the same company. Can this misdemeanor be expunged from his record? He would like to get a new job. Thanks.

By: John

John — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:48:50 +0000

Ed,
I have a few questions I hope you can help me with.

1. In Texas how long does an executor have to give all money in an estate to heirs ? I have heard two years.

2. Is an executor required to give current financial updates? If so how often?

By: Cathy Wigley

Cathy Wigley — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:02:58 +0000

Dear Mr. Mattingly,
My sister #1 has a power of attorney over my mother (1 year ago) which was notorized. Mother lives in Harris County, TX.

Is there any further step my sister #1 needs to take to have this legallized?

Can my other sister #2 just come in behind her and have a new power of attorney done to make the one sister #1 has invalid.

And my mother is of unsound mind and takes medication for dementa now.

Thanks,
Cathy Wigley
aka Sister #3

By: cheryl prejean

cheryl prejean — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:49:53 +0000

Dear Ed,

My mother in law died 5 years ago without a will. She co-own property with her boyfriend that died before her that did not have a will. One of my husbands sister is a squatter, and has lived there since her death. The taxes has not been paid. There are 5 children and 3 grandchildren, none except my husband is willing to pay the back taxes. The City of Houston is going to foreclose soon. We want the land, can anything be done?

By: John

John — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:02:59 +0000

Ed,
I was hoping you could help with a question.I am a heir to my Uncle and Aunt’s estate along with nine other heirs mostly neices and nephews. They had no children, but my brother and me where like sons to him and he counted on us to help him work his farm. My cousin is the executor and I am the assistant.The estate is worth 1.8 million and has land in the fayette county area that is worth 1.5 million.Over a year ago she released 1.3 million of the money or 130,000 each.I have questioned her on why she is not distributing the rest and she said she has been advised to hold the rest back by her lawyer which is another 500,000 until the land sales.Is this common? The will says nothing about this.Also I have asked her twice for Financial statements on their estate since I am the assistant exec.and she never sends anything.

If she refuses to send me info on the estate what is the best way to find the information on my own?

281-381-9401 – John