Law

Ask a Legal Question, Get an Answer ASAP!

Have your own Legal question?

6 Lawyers are Online Now

characters left:

Not a Legal Question?

Question

We allowed our daughter and her ex-husband (they were divorced and then got back together and have been together two years) to live in our house for three months free of rent until they could get on their feet. The verbal agreement was they would replace the hot water heater with an electric one and take care of the upkeep of the property. The agreement was to end January of 2009. The ex left her without money, a job, no electric, nothing fixed, no vehicle. They were suppose to put the electric in their name but we found out they never did and have over a $600 bill from the utility. She has three boys. What can we do to recover the hot water heater and the electric bill that we are now being billed for. She is talking with an attorney about her rights and she still has her stuff in the house. She also found pawn tickets where he sold stuff that belonged to us. Can this be handled in small claims and do we have a leg to stand on since nothing was signed. She will testify for us in court

Submitted: 278 days and 17 hours ago.

Category: Legal

Value: $15

Status: AWAITING CUSTOMER ACTION

Bluff Dale, Texas

Already Tried:
Talking to them. She has no money to do anything. She pays child support and is 4 months behind. She just started to work and has to rely on friends to get her to work etc. He called my husband and wanted our daughter to return gifts he bought the boys for Christmas at Aaron's rent a center because he is not paying and they are threatening to sue him. He works for a Xcaliber a oil and gas company making very good money. He told her he had insurance on the boys required by the court but she found out he never did.

Accepted Answer

You are mixing family law matters with ordinary civil matters. The family law issues are between your daughter and her ex(s).

Your recourse is to sue both your daughter for the reasonable value of the rent, or for breach of the rental agreement, if the deal was for them to fix the place up in exchange for use of the premises. If you sue only the ex, he can sue your daughter for "contribution," and offset one half of whatever the court awards you.

I understand your annoyance, but the reality is that the court will not treat your daughter's occupancy as a gift, and simutaneously treat her ex's occupancy as a lease.

It will be all gift or no gift at all for both of them.

Terms and Conditions: By your continuing in this conversation with me, or by your clicking "Accept", you are expressly agreeing to all of the following: (1) our communication is for entertainment purposes only; (2) you are not consulting me in my professional capacity as an attorney; (3) you do not seek to establish an attorney-client relationship with me, nor do I with you; (4) you will not rely on anything I say and you will obtain appropriate legal counsel via a traditional/office consultation with an attorney licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where your legal issue arises (and you may not use our communication to avoid taxpayer penalties imposed by the U.S. Dept. of Treasury); (5) by communicating with me in this public forum you are irrevocably waiving any right to privacy, confidentiality and attorney-client privilege concerning the matters discussed. You further separately declare that any payment made by you is not consideration for this contract, nor offered for any services rendered by me on your behalf, but rather is made in genuine admiration and respect for my desire to help others. If you do not agree with these terms and conditions, then you must advise me immediately.

Accepts:
Expert:	socrateaser
Pos. Feedback:	98.8 %
Answered:	2/18/2009

Lawyer

Retired (mostly)

278 days and 17 hours ago.

Reply

Thank you but what about the electric bill. Would that be something we would have to include in suing them for damages.

Posted by socrateaser 278 days and 14 hours ago.

Answer

Yes. You can sue for any/every thing arising from the use of the property.

Terms and Conditions: By your continuing in this conversation with me, or by your clicking "Accept", you are expressly agreeing to all of the following: (1) our communication is for entertainment purposes only; (2) you are not consulting me in my professional capacity as an attorney; (3) you do not seek to establish an attorney-client relationship with me, nor do I with you; (4) you will not rely on anything I say and you will obtain appropriate legal counsel via a traditional/office consultation with an attorney licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where your legal issue arises (and you may not use our communication to avoid taxpayer penalties imposed by the U.S. Dept. of Treasury); (5) by communicating with me in this public forum you are irrevocably waiving any right to privacy, confidentiality and attorney-client privilege concerning the matters discussed. You further separately declare that any payment made by you is not consideration for this contract, nor offered for any services rendered by me on your behalf, but rather is made in genuine admiration and respect for my desire to help others. If you do not agree with these terms and conditions, then you must advise me immediately.

Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.

Law