13
No
Pennsylvania law § 2104 requires:
(10) Requirement that heir survive decedent for five days.--Any person who fails to survive the decedent by five days shall be deemed to have predeceased the decedent for purposes of intestate succession and the decedent's heirs shall be determined accordingly.
Now, a will can provide contingencies for if an heir ...
9
As you note, it does appear that this tenant has committed one or more crimes.
In Pennsylvania crimes are prosecuted by the state, and you can begin the process by filing a private criminal complaint with your local Magisterial District Court, which will forward it to your county's District Attorney for review and prosecution.
You've essentially written ...
9
It is unusual, but not unheard of, to do a quiet title action in connection with an arms length, non-related party sale of real estate.
The far more customary practice is for the seller to do the quiet title action (at the seller's expense) if it is necessary for the seller to have what is called "marketable title" to the property, before it is ...
8
Generally yes, but it depends on both context and jurisdiction.
For example, if you arrived from a different street segment at 4-way stop at the same time as another car, and give a flash to indicate "go ahead," that by itself is not likely to be sustained as sufficient to justify a stop.
If you come up close behind another car and flash your high ...
8
Under 28 Pa. Code 1.6,
The child of an unmarried woman may be registered with any surname
requested by the mother. If no other surname is so requested, the
child shall be registered with the mother’s surname
Registration is the point at which there is parental discretion. Subsequently, a name change is possible by court order, however as maintained ...
8
The default provision is that the uncle has to survive the grandfather for his estate to inherit. A will or trust can have contrary language (sometimes requiring survival by 120 hours to 6 months) but it would be unusual for a non-spouse inheritor to have to survive by more than 120 hours.
In the case of a beneficiary designation on a life insurance annuity, ...
7
You have misread the DMLP page. In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to record a conversation if you are a party and if the other party does not consent.
The fact that federal law doesn't ban something doesn't mean that states can't ban it. There is generally a presumption that when both the feds and the states can legitimately regulate something, the feds weren'...
7
Possibly, but probably not in this case
It is possible to make an estate the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or an annuity. For example, it is common to have the decadent's own estate to be a beneficiary or contingent beneficiary.
However, to the best of my understanding, this happens only when an estate is explicitly specified, such as "John ...
6
An LLC is a legally distinct entity from your person. Basically, if your LLC is sued, and you lose, you can lose only what you put into your LLC. Your personal assets are untouched.
A very sophisticated plaintiff may try to get around this suing both your LLC and you personally. (I've done this myself.) Even so, if you are careful to keep the business of ...
5
The default rule is that a landlord can refuse to rent to anyone for any reason, in which case the landlord can refuse to rent in this case.
There are civil rights laws that limit this discretion in the case, for example, of discrimination based on race, or family status. But, those laws often have exemptions for owners of small amounts of property (e.g. a ...
5
There is a relevant law, Title 18 section 907 which states that "A person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if he possesses any instrument of crime with intent to employ it criminally". So possession of lock picks is not a crime per se. In Com. v. Gendrachi 389 A.2d 604 we are reminded that "intent need not be directly proved, but may be inferred ...
5
The personal representative is empowered by law (esp. §3311) to undertake actions on behalf of the deceased, and enjoys certain legal immunities against personal liability for their actions. The personal representative can do things that a random person off the street can't do. Until you are appointed by the Register of Wills as personal representative, you ...
4
In the U.S. severance payments are not provided for statutorily, and are rarely made when an employee quits or is fired for cause. However, even when not provided for within contracts it is common to see voluntary severances paid during lay-offs.
Furthermore, in the U.S. it is more likely that they would be "laid off" in order to qualify for unemployment ...
4
You're missing some pretty important details in describing the facts of this case.
The most important of which is: What were the agreed terms upon which Alice obtained possession of the car prior to paying?
Your description says:
Alice takes the car and doesn't pay.
If that's literally true, then this case is both criminal theft and the tort of ...
4
I am not a lawyer either, though I have been through Pennsylvania a few times. The relevant law is 18 Pa.C.S. 5703, which prohibits recording without consent of all parties (Penna is a "two-party consent" state, like Florida and Washington). Unfortunately, violation of that law is a third degree felony, which has a maximum of 7 year prison. A specific ...
4
Regular maintenance does not include repairs for being broken – I have a contract with a company that (for a monthly payment) provides regular maintenance on the furnace, which does not cover the situation where the motor wears out, or whatever. In the worst case scenario of an oil line breech, the tenant would not be liable for the tens of thousands of ...
4
The tenant has certainly committed one or more civil wrongs against you, and you have the right to sue for those (as you know). There could be criminal activity here such as fraud or perjury - but I do not believe it constitutes theft by taking.
The tenant did not use deception to obtain property from you. They used deception to obtain a business deal with ...
4
I intend to close on the house as I've already signed all the loan
paper work, but is there anything that can be done about a Realtor
that breaks contract?
You have probably waived your claim if you proceed with the deal knowing about the Realtor's conduct. What would your damages be? Could you have mitigated them by not agreeing to the deal?
Also ...
4
From a comment on the question:
They did damage the trailer door and headlight is smashed
This seems like the best thing to focus on, especially if you can show that it was not damaged before they towed it. The unusual method of towing (with video evidence) may be a factor in whether they are considered negligent. If the damage to the door looks like ...
4
This follows from a term in your agreement: in opening the account, you agreed to a binding arbitration clause. The general reason why they can do this is because it is not prohibited by law to have such clauses in agreements (in fact, the Federal Arbitration Act protects such clauses from legal challenge). For the same reasons, the clauses can impose ...
4
Yes, an HOA has a duty to treat all members equally
You have my condolences. Dealing with an HOA board and/or fellow residents can be frustrating and exasperating. Unfortunately, as a practical matter, the high cost of legal advice often mean boards can ignore the law.
In Pennsylvania, as everywhere, the Board of an HOA has a fiduciary relation to the owners....
4
No. This is not normal. Get out now!
Imagine you and I negotiate a particular price on a car that I'm going to sell to you. Then, right as we're about to close the deal, I say, "Oh, by the way, this sale might not include the engine. I mean, it probably does, but it might not." Still want to pay the same price for the car?
The title company is not ...
3
I see you've edited the question and added a second scenario. So I'll answer that one here.
The jury can award damages in whatever amount they decide, subject to the judge's discretion and authority. The judge can change damage awards if s/he considers the jury's award amount inequitable, unfair or inconsistent with the law.
3
Your tax advisor was legally correct, but perhaps not very savvy.
Unfortunately, the best way to resolve this sort of situation is to avoid it: You should have insisted your employer stop withholding for PA as soon as you moved out of state. Once someone else has possession of your money the burden is on you to get it back, and the burden can be (...
3
Regarding concern one:
I don't know much of anything about historical landmarks and how they get exempted from certain laws. However, I can tell you that the law generally prefers safety over preserving historical value. It is highly unlikely that a court would ever consider a plant that has existed for any number of years to be of more value than a ...
3
Either party can petition the appropriate court for an adjudication of paternity (if this has not already been established in connection with the issuance of the birth certificate), and for a parental responsibility and child support order, at any time, if no such order is in place (assuming that Pennsylvania is the "home state" of the child and venue is ...
3
The general rule in the sale of a "used" house is "buyer beware", but the seller of a "used" house must disclose latent defects of which the seller is aware. (Different rules apply to the first buyer of a newly built house.)
While a natural spring would not always be a defect, one that causes structural or foundation problems is clearly a defect.
So, the ...
3
There are several questions in the OP. The answers to all of them depend on the lease terms.
If Person A wants out of the lease, is the only option to just try to negotiate a way out of their portion of the lease with the landlord, presumably by payment or other means?
Yes, usually. Regardless of who is on the lease, Person A is on the lease. In order ...
3
This doesn't sound like fraud (against you, at least), but it does sound like an unfair or deceptive trade practice, which is outlawed by Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and perhaps the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, both of which prohibit unfair and deceptive trade practices.
I don't know about Pennsylvania, ...
3
I suspect that the statute in question may be Section 11-104(1)(F) of municipal ordinances of the Town of Bloomsburg, PA, a university town (home to Bloomberg University of Pennsylvania, a public college) that purports to have special need for regulation based upon the large number of student rentals in the town and apparently applies primarily to house ...
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