He should do the same thing a U.S. citizen should - hire a lawyer to represent him in court. There are tons of lawyers who would take on a case like this for a share of the judgment. If the case does go to trial they could probably arrange for another visa to cover the time he has to return to the U.S. to testify.

The lawyer would take care of all the paperwork and filings, and if they won the case they could arrange collection of the judgment too.

He can assign his claim to a resident of the jurisdiction. Pretty simple actually. The problem is that he may need to return to testify.

A terrible time, to be sure, and these economic concerns make it harder yet.

First, yes, follow the other advice and get a lawyer.

Second, If the lawyer agrees, most of her non-major creditors (credit cards, utilities) can be deflected by writing a letter that explains "Customer has died without estate/intestate/broke, please forgive this debt". Most will write it off, some may forward the account to a collections company. Businesses vary on ethics.
Next, Kip has a wonderful alternate option: please keep in mind your wife should be under no obligation to accept her roles as assigned inheritor nor as exec. Unless she's already agreed, she should have the right to decline someone else's will, and if the Last Will was written correctly there are provisions provided for such.

http://www.solid-ground.org/Tenant/Pages/Repairs.aspx

A really good page about this subject, and breaks out exactly what timeframes go with which repair issues.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.070

Do you have rental insurance? Hotel stays are often covered in that.

Hotels are NOT part of the law but it shouldn't take a week. The carpet should be pulled and new stuff laid down, and that takes 2 days or less.
If the landlord can't fix it in the timeframes set above, you can have it done instead, and make the landlord pay later. Just warn them that's what's about to happen.

State law trumps local.

Check this out.

http://www.lawhelp.org/documents/1593216300EN.pdf?stateabbrev=/WA/

It looks like, once you officially request a repair and wait the required period (I think 72 hours for a plumbing issue), your recourses under the law are to walk away from your lease, hire a plumber and deduct the cost from your rent, or DIY and deduct it from your rent. Unfortunately there no apparent obligation to find alternative lodging for you, hotel or otherwise:

http://www.seattle.gov/dclu/Publications/cam/infofortenants.pdf

HOW TO HANDLE REPAIRS

A tenant must be current in the payment of rent including all utilities to which the tenant has agreed in the rental agreement to pay before exercising any statutory remedies, such as repair options. [RCW 59.18.080]

Required Notice [RCW 59.18.070] - When something in the rental unit needs to be repaired, the first step is for the tenant to give written notice of the problem to the landlord or person who collects the rent. The notice must include the address and apartment number of the rental; the name of the owner, if known; and a description of the problem. After giving notice, the tenant must wait the required time for the landlord to begin making repairs. Those required waiting times are: 24 hours for no hot or cold water, heat or electricity, or for a condition which is imminently hazardous to life; 72 hours for repair of refrigerator, range and oven, or a major plumbing fixture supplied by landlord; 10 days for all other repairs.

Tenant’s Options [RCW 59.18.090] -  If repairs are not started within the required time and if the tenant is paid up in rent and utilities, the following options can be used:

1) Tenant can give written notice to the landlord and move out immediately. Tenants are entitled to a pro-rated refund of their rent, as well as the deposits they would normally get back.

2) Litigation or arbitration can be used to work out the dispute.

3) The tenant can hire someone to make the repairs. In many cases the tenant can have the work done and then deduct the cost from the rent. [RCW 59.18.100] (This procedure cannot be used to force a landlord to provide adequate garbage cans.) An Important Note: If the repair is one that has a 10-day waiting period, the tenant cannot contract to have the work done until 10 days after the landlord receives notice, or five days after the landlord receives the estimate, whichever is later. To follow this procedure a tenant must: Submit a good faith estimate from a licensed or registered tradesperson, if one is required, to the landlord. After the waiting period, the tenant can contract with the lowest bidder to have the work done. After the work is completed, the tenant pays the tradesperson and deducts the cost from the rent payment. The landlord must be given the opportunity to inspect the work. The cost of each repair cannot exceed one month’s rent; total cost cannot exceed two month’s rent in any 12-month period. If a large repair which affects a number of tenants needs to be made, the tenants can join together, follow the proper procedure, and have the work done. Then each can deduct a portion of the cost from their rent.

4) The tenant can make the repairs and deduct the cost from the rent, if the work does not require a licensed or registered tradesperson. The same procedure is followed as for (2) above. However, the cost limit is one half of one month’s rent.

5) Rent in Escrow - After notice of defective conditions, and after appropriate government certification of defect, and waiting periods have passed, then tenants may place their monthly rent payments in an escrow account. For copies of the law (RCW 59.18) write to the Code Reviser or consult your attorney.

I think there's another aspect to this that a lot of the respondants are overlooking.

Not to sound paranoid, but when checking out a potential new employees record, I'm not obligated to tell them what I find, how I weigh it or what I conclude. All they know is whether or not I offer them the job, and/or if I ask them for more information before deciding.

What's to keep me from deciding that I really don't want someone who protested when they were young...or were arrested, but feel that they "got away with it". How would you ever know if a potential employer got wind of your protest record and decided to look at other candidates instead?

You can't know the mind of every employer or supervisor that you'll ever work for, but the whole idea is to make yourself as attractive as possible, and with as few drawbacks as possible.

*(Then again, maybe a prospective employer might be turned on by a fellow protester, or admire your protest record. I'm assuming that it might be a negative in the future, as you are too...)

First you should send a written letter (I think email counts too) as official notice about the problem - always do this with landlords right away, just in case you have to go to court later. Also include in this letter your demands: either they pay for a hotel room, or pay you reimbursement. You can always ask for something, even if they are not required to give it to you.

Second, here some information from the Seattle Department of Planning & Development (DPD). Call them and ask for help. Also print out a copy of their Information for Tenants - it's very useful:

"Repair and Maintenance—Housing and Building Maintenance Code. This ordinance requires owners to meet certain minimum standards and keep buildings in good repair. After first requesting the owner to make repairs, a tenant can report needed repairs by calling DPD at (206) 615-0808. If an inspector finds code violations, the owner will be required to make needed corrections."

I don't know if the situation in your apartment is so bad that the city would find code violations, but it doesn't hurt to ask them for help. If your water or heat was cut off because of landlord negligence, you might be able to get the city to "condemn" your apartment and then the landlord would be required to pay you legal costs. Unfortunately most of the time tenants have to take landlords to court to get reimbursement, which sucks. It takes a long time.

DPD helped me with a new landlord that tried to jack my rent, and I was very grateful. Hopefully they can help you too.

You might check with the Tenant's Union of Washington State:

http://www.tenantsunion.org/

My guess is that they are not required to pay for a hotel but the union should be able to give you a definitive answer.

Sorry I am a bit late on this. You can walk away from your obligations here. You need a lawyer to do it though. Don't talk to the bank or do anything with the keys. Go to a lawyer and formally reject your association to the estate. It is an all-or-nothing proposition.

I can share my husband's experience. He was arrested in a sit-in at the Federal Building in in Euguene, OR in the mid-1980's, as part of an anti-Apartheid protest. They were charged with criminal trespass, as well as making a false statement to a police officer (every protester told the police his name was Stephen Biko, which did not go over well when the cops learned that Biko was a South African activist who had been beaten to death in police custody). After a couple of days in the country jail, they all pleaded guilty and forfeited their bail and went back to their lives.

My husband is forty-something now and he says his record hasn't ever gotten in the way of his being hired by a few medium-sized manufacturing and tech companies in Washington and Oregon. His roommate, who has the same record, went to a very good law school (in the southern U.S.) a couple of years later, and is presently working for the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague, prosecuting former Yugoslav war criminals. It didn't seem to hinder him much, either!

Tom,

Sorry for your and your wife's loss. There is not enough info there to answer the question Was your wife named as Executrix in that will? Isn't there a bank account or two with some money in it, even if that is a nominal amount?

I am now a real estate agent for 21 years but I was a Trust and Investment Officer in a Bank for 20 years and know a bit about estates...enough to point you in the right direction. But it would be too lengthy to put in this answer. As example, the mortgage, Home Equity and Credit Cards all at Wells do not cross reference and wipe out one another.

There may be equity in the house, as example, and no obligation to pay the credit card debt with that equity. It depends on many things including what it actually says in that "brief" will.

You will still likely need to see an attorney, but I may be able to help you organize the info so that you need very little, vs a lot, of that attorney's time. I don't do that for a living...and it would of course just be a friendly gesture. But I'm better than the average person at doing that and may be able to help. Give me a call, Ardell, at 206-910-1000. I'll be as much help as I can.

Yes.

No.

I was arrested by military police at a protest over a decade ago. I was basically told to fuck off and not come back ever again unless I wanted to serve time in a federal prison. That arrest hasn't affected my life in any way (as far as I know).

Being arrested isn't an issue, being convicted presents potential issues.

I have never been arrested at a protest but normally protesters are arrested without being charged or are charged with misdemeanors such as "disorderly conduct" or "obstructing a police officer." If the prosecutors are vindictive thought they could go the Dan Choi route and charge you with a felony. Most people I know that have been arrested and convicted get off with a small fine and it has not prevented them from getting a job, most employers only screen for felonies, fraud or violent crimes.

8 of the protesters arrested last night have been charged with "obstructing a police officer" which is a gross misdemeanor can carry a sentence of 1 year in jail and a $5K fine.

They are now being represented by an attorney that has a good track record of getting these types of charges dismissed or not-guilty verdicts. Personally, I am always more concerned about getting swept up in a riot and maced, tear gassed, or hit with batons.

http://publicola.com/2011/10/06/occupy-seattle-attorney-says-arrests-violate-first-amendment/

I'm sorry for your family's loss. I think you should talk to a probate attorney ASAP, because it's not as simple as writing the bank a note. I haven't gone through this process myself, but have seen relatives go through this after my last two grandparents' deaths and I think having at least one consultation with a lawyer is worth the money. You can probably do everything yourself, but the fact that your mother-in-law died in Washington (I assume) and owned property in Oregon makes it a little more complicated.

First: have you or your wife filed the will? This is required within 30 days of death in Washington state (RCW 11.20.010). In Seattle you file it with the King County Superior Court Clerk.

Notify all her creditors, but keep the house keys. I think you also need to notify Social Security and any pension plans that she may have been receiving payments from.

The credit card debt and any other unsecured debt is no big deal; your wife can't inherit that and if there's no money in your mother-in-law's estate to pay that it will go away. But the mortgage and home equity LOC are secured, and it's possible your wife's credit could be affected because she inherits title to the home. This is what really screwed one of my relatives when my grandpa died, although I don't know all the details and it was a different state. Hence my recommendation to talk to a lawyer.

Here are some other resources you might find helpful:

King County Law Library Probate Guide

When Your Parents Die Broke

Is a Probate Necessary? (WA specific)

I hate to answer a question with a question, but what happens if you just give up the car and get another one? I've known a few people who lost cars to impound and just let them keep it as the outstanding ticket balance was higher than the car was worth. Hell, I even knew one guy who took a sledgehammer to his booted car, with the same effect (i.e. no more car, but no more tickets). This was in CA, and I'm not certain it would work the same way in WA.

gossip factcheck ?--
ApartmentRatings.com is a good resource for buzz and grapevine type info. You might find out what you need there?

maybe also important to note --are Corne and Ass owners AND managers of the bldg, or are they management agents? (Phillips RE does that alot, where they act like a prop mgr, but in reality the deed of the house or apartment is owned by an silent investor/absentia landlord). If in King County, you can use the kingcounty website parcel viewer to find out who really pays taxes on that apartment bldg.

Good heavens, that's a spectacular total. That's like what, ten years of three tickets a day? Dedication!

Does Kirkland ever do amnesties?

Have you tried calling the city attorney's office and begging for mercy, promising to pay them without a collection agency on some kind of arrangement in return for not being taken off the road? Use a pay phone. Maybe they'll deal; they get very little through the agency.

Good god, $20,000. That's more than both our cars are worth combined (admittedly one of them is valued at 85 cents).

I have no idea but I would like to congratulate you on $20k in parking tickets. Quite epic. How are you not booted/impounded?

You know about the new van they have that drives around scanning plates and boots people with more than 3 unpaid tickets, yeah?

I know that I can request a copy of my personal file from my employer, I guess it even includes the background check they did on me.

You may have the same privilege. I'd say just request it from your HR person, you shouldn't need to indicate why you want it. Just say it's for your personal files.

You can find out if they are a party to case by searching the Washington Courts website. If they are, you can look at the complaint (again, for free) at the clerk's office in the county courthouse. If you want a copy, you can print it there at some exhorbitantly high price per page.

You have a right to "inspect" your personnel file (even if you are a former employee). That file must be made available to you "locally". Most companies will simply give you a copy; others comply only with the letter of the law and will allow you to come and "inspect" in a conference room.
In terms of the legality of the conduct, the company had an obligation to take prompt and effective remedial action in response to your assault allegation. If it failed to do so, they may have "ratified" the assault and, thereby, face liability. Obviously, this is WAY more complicated and depends on various facts. This does not constitute legal advice and there is no attorney-client relationship here on Questionland.

Sounds like a terrible situation, I am sorry. This is your best resource for information on your right to access your file:

http://www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/PayReq/PersonnelRec/default.asp

Basically you have a legal right to inspect your file at least once per year.

Are you looking for something to use against them or are you looking for an explanation for why they're preoccupied and unhelpful at this time? If the latter, I've had several coworkers who rented with Cornell and every single one had bad experiences with that management company. One coworker went without a lock on her front door for a week after she moved in, and that same coworker had to fight the company to get a gray water leak repaired.

Cornell and Associates may very well be the worst residential property management company in a city full of shitty landlords.

The Washington Courts website has a searchable database of cases, here:

http://dw.courts.wa.gov/

If you can identify the case by number, there are a few ways to find out about the subject matter of the case.

If it is in King County, you can access the court file online (King County scans all filed documents). You'll need to sign up for an ECR account and set up an account with funds from credit card, here:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/Clerk/Records/ECROnline.aspx

I believe the minimum transfer is $5 - if you put $10 in your account, that may be enough to cover the access fees for the case. Start by looking at the Complaint, and then any Motion, Response or Reply in the case.

If the case is filed in another county, you'll need to call that county's Superior Court Clerk, and find out how you can access the physical file. But, unless the case is filed under seal (very rare except in juvenile and dependency cases), you'll be able to access most if not all of the physical file and review it.

For any county, if you can find out the name and number of the attorney for the party suing your building manager, s/he may be able to direct you to a representative of his/her client to tell you about the case.

It's not so much what they will do to you now... but if they issue a warrant or some sort of penalty against you, it's what will happen later.

For instance, a traffic stop for something minor COULD mushroom into something more serious, if they see a warrant out for you for no show to court.

Not saying it WILL happen, but there ARE consequences.

Plus, most people who report for duty either get a day off with pay, and then are released... or they get questioned in the empanneling process and something trips them up and they are excused.
WARNING: DO NOT INTENTIONALLY TRY TO GET EXCLUDED. They judge is used to this one.
On the other hand, if they ask if you have any opinions on the topic or case that is at hand, answer honestly...and if you have strong opinions, tell them. Most will not want someone of strong opinion on their jury.

First, it's your civic duty, so you should go. As you stated, it is illegal to ignore the summons.

That said, in reality there is no way for them to prove that you actually received the summons, so if you just don't show up, nothing will happen.

But go. It's an interesting experience, even if you don't get on a jury.

Other than having a uniformed bailiff show up at your house or your work and haul your ass in to appear before a pissed off judge who will want to know why you didn't respond voluntarily to your summons (my mother watched that happen one day when a judge got fed up of no-shows)...not much.

Personally, I would go in a heartbeat. I got on a jury once and it was fascinating, seeing how it all worked (also affirming, to see that it worked much better and more fairly in many ways than my cynical assumptions would have led me to believe). The other times I've been called, I didn't get picked, but it gave me time to get a lot of reading done, and an excuse for lunch at Salumi.

I got called once about 15 years ago. they took one look at me and sent me home and I have not been called since.

So go. It's no big whoop and you'll probably be sent home.