Title: June 1, 2005
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 years of experience. She operates her law practice from her new office in town, as well her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities. Please forward your questions to maxinedev@msn.com.
Q. I purchased a car from the Salvation Army. The salesman said they did not have this year’s tag on it because the car license was due for renewal. He also told me there was something wrong with the brakes, but otherwise the car was fine. Today, I attempted to drive the car off the lot and a big puff of smoke came out the back. I got out of the car and a puddle of oil was behind the car. My brother, who was in the car with me, told me I shouldn’t drive this car because it is unsafe. I told the salesman I wanted my money back, but he refused and told me the Salvation Army was going to have to tow the car to my house. What can I do?
A. I suspect you bought this car “as is”, although you have mentioned nothing about the contents of your sales contract. I do not believe that the Salvation Army is considered to be a “car dealer”. Car dealers are bound by law not to sell cars that are unsafe to drive, which includes brakes that are not in good working order. When you are considering the purchase of a used vehicle with an “as is” sign on it, you should always be extremely careful and have the car checked by a mechanic before you buy it. I gather that you failed to do so. I am sorry that you had to learn such an expensive lesson. Read your sales contract and see if you have an escape clause in it which would allow you to return the car andyou’re your money back.
Q. Last year, I got married on foreign soil while on vacation. I wonder if my marriage is legal here in California and if not, should I re-marry under California law?
A. Failed to tell me in which country you got married and whether or not the marriage is considered valid in that country. Were you or your “husband” ever a citizen of this country? Typically, foreign marriages are valid if you meet the residency requirement of that country, among various other requirements. Each country has different requirements in order for a marriage to be valid. If both of you resided in California before and after the foreign marriage, it might be a good idea to at least have a civil ceremony here in California. If there are any questions in your mind that you are not married, then your “marriage” may not be valid and/or legal in this state.
Showing posts with label unsafe vehicle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unsafe vehicle. Show all posts
Friday, February 27, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Legal Eaze #11 Care for Elderly Parents/ Car Dealership
Originally Printed: December 15, 2004
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She operates her law practice from her home office in Alpine Forest, as well her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities. Please forward your questions to maxinedev@msn.com.
Q. My parents are quite elderly. My father is already in a wheelchair from diabetes and arthritis, while my mother suffers from congestive heart failure. They live together on their 20-acre property and the closest neighbor is a couple of miles away. I fear for their health and safety and need to convince them this is not the safest way to live at their age. How can I convince them to change their lifestyle?
A. Do your parents still have all their mental faculties? If so, you need to speak with each one separately and convince each one to sign a Power of Attorney for financial decisions and Power for Attorney for healthcare. One way would be to ask each one: “Should anything happen to the other, how would you take the decisions that need to be taken in the absence of the other?” Listen to the response and if it does not make sense, formulate and make your argument using that response. Sometimes, elderly people can be very obstinate and not realize that their lifestyle can endanger their spouse. Your love for your parents should dictate how you need to approach them and prepare them to accept and sign Powers of Attorney. Such POA can be “springing” in other words are activated only if your parent’s mental ability is lacking according to a physician, or if one or both parents are physically incapacitated and unable to care for the other. POA’s wording can be very flexible.
Q. I purchased a used vehicle from a dealer that had a three-month warranty. The day after I took it off the lot, the brakes failed and I hit the back of another car that was stopped at a red light. I was raining pretty hard that day. I went back to the dealer and complained that my brakes failed and had a car accident. The dealer gave me the runaround and refused to do anything about the brakes, not to mention the $2,500 of damages to the other car. What can I do?
A. There are several issues here. First it was raining the day of the accident. How fast were you going and when did you start applying your brakes? Rain can render the pavement very slick, especially if it was the first rain of the season. Second how do you know that your brakes failed? It is against the law for a dealer to sell an unsafe used vehicle and that includes bad or no brakes. The accident was surely investigated by the police and the police report would certainly give you an idea of who was at fault and caused the accident.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She operates her law practice from her home office in Alpine Forest, as well her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities. Please forward your questions to maxinedev@msn.com.
Q. My parents are quite elderly. My father is already in a wheelchair from diabetes and arthritis, while my mother suffers from congestive heart failure. They live together on their 20-acre property and the closest neighbor is a couple of miles away. I fear for their health and safety and need to convince them this is not the safest way to live at their age. How can I convince them to change their lifestyle?
A. Do your parents still have all their mental faculties? If so, you need to speak with each one separately and convince each one to sign a Power of Attorney for financial decisions and Power for Attorney for healthcare. One way would be to ask each one: “Should anything happen to the other, how would you take the decisions that need to be taken in the absence of the other?” Listen to the response and if it does not make sense, formulate and make your argument using that response. Sometimes, elderly people can be very obstinate and not realize that their lifestyle can endanger their spouse. Your love for your parents should dictate how you need to approach them and prepare them to accept and sign Powers of Attorney. Such POA can be “springing” in other words are activated only if your parent’s mental ability is lacking according to a physician, or if one or both parents are physically incapacitated and unable to care for the other. POA’s wording can be very flexible.
Q. I purchased a used vehicle from a dealer that had a three-month warranty. The day after I took it off the lot, the brakes failed and I hit the back of another car that was stopped at a red light. I was raining pretty hard that day. I went back to the dealer and complained that my brakes failed and had a car accident. The dealer gave me the runaround and refused to do anything about the brakes, not to mention the $2,500 of damages to the other car. What can I do?
A. There are several issues here. First it was raining the day of the accident. How fast were you going and when did you start applying your brakes? Rain can render the pavement very slick, especially if it was the first rain of the season. Second how do you know that your brakes failed? It is against the law for a dealer to sell an unsafe used vehicle and that includes bad or no brakes. The accident was surely investigated by the police and the police report would certainly give you an idea of who was at fault and caused the accident.
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