Professor Richard M. Alderman, Associate Dean at the University of
Houston Law Center, who is known to many as "The People's Lawyer", answers your most common questions. If you have a question pertaining to the law in Texas, please e-mail Richard at peopleslawyer@www.law.uh.edu. This page answers your questions on Miscellaneous
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Banking Bankruptcy Contracts Credit Cards Debt Collection |
Divorce Employee Rights Fraud Liens Loans |
Medical Leave Property Rights Taxes Wage Garnishment Wills/Probate etc. |
A. Because the amount of your damages is less than $5,000, Small Claims Court may be the best place to have an impartial party decide who is right.
I suggest you send the insurance company a certified latter to try and resolve the matter. Let them know you are considering Small Claims Court if you can't work things out. If you don't resolve the matter, you should consider filing a claim against the person who hit you. He will bring his insurance company into the dispute.
You may want to speak with a private attorney to get his or her advice. If you do, however, be sure to discuss fees. Do not sign anything until you read and understand it.
Q. I came here from Vietnam. Our daughter has a Vietnamese name. Although we are very proud of our heritage, the name causes problems because people cannot pronounce it. She is about to go away to school, and we want to change her name. Can we do this without an attorney?
A. First, my advice is to think twice before you change the name. Even though it may be hard to pronounce, it is her name. Maybe it is the people who cannot pronounce it who should be concerned.
I can understand, however, how it can be embarrassing for a young woman to have a hard to pronounce name.
To legally change her name, you will have to go through a simple court proceeding. It is not a complicated process; however, you will probably need the assistance of an attorney.
A second alternative is to simply use another name. It is not illegal to be known by a name different from your legal name. For example, my son's name is Jack William. He is known to everyone, including his friends and teachers, as "Willie." You may want to simply give your daughter a nickname. She will be able to use that name in all cases except when a document requires her "legal name."
Q. I pay my bills in cash. My doctor told me I have to give him my social security number. Is this legal?
A. Doctors, like other business people, have the right to decide who they will deal with and under what terms. I don't know any reason a doctor, or for that matter a plumber or a car salesperson, can't ask for a social security number if he wants to. Your choice is to give the number, or deal with someone else.
Q. I had a medical procedure over one year ago. The doctor still has not billed me or sent in an insurance claim. Am I still responsible?
A. Yes. Just because the doctor has delayed in billing you, it does not release you from your obligations.
The doctor's failure to file the insurance claim, however, could work to your prejudice. To avoid any problems I suggest you immediately contact the doctor and explain that you expect him to take whatever steps are necessary to file the claim and protect your right to payment from the insurance company. In the event that the doctor's failure to act results in a loss of insurance coverage, my opinion is the doctor, not you, should bear the loss.
Q. How long do I have to file a lemon law complaint?
A. You must file a compliant within the shorter of the following time periods: 30 months after you bought the car; or six months after the warranty on the car expires; or six months after the car reaches 24,000 miles.
Remember, the lemon law applies only to new cars. If you would like a free booklet that discusses your rights under this law, call 1-800-622-8682.
Q. I owe several credit cards and department stores a lot of money. They are all threatening to sue me. I don't own anything and have no money, except for my IRA. If they sue, can they take my IRA?
A. No. Under Texas law, your IRA is exempt. This means that even if you are sued and lose, your creditors cannot take the money in the account. Of course, any other money you have in the bank may be taken.
Q. A store recently told me that they wouldn't take my personal check unless I showed them a driver's license and a major credit card. I refused, and they made me pay cash. What purpose is served by showing a credit card. My driver's license is proof of who I am. Is it legal to require a credit card to cash a check?
A. Basically, a store doesn't have to take a personal check unless it wants to. Therefore, it can place whatever requirements it wants on the customer. If the store wants to require a credit card, it may.
Q. Is it legal for a store to require exact change after a certain hour? Can a store refuse to accept checks or credit cards?
A. Basically, business people have the right to run their business in whatever manner they want. If they don't want to accept checks or credit cards, they do not have to. They also may require exact change, limit the size of the bills they will take, or impose whatever other restrictions they want.
As long as the business applies its rules fairly, and does not illegally discriminate, there are no legal limitations on how it requires payment to be made. The only limit on what a business may do with respect to how it requires payment is a practical one; if you don't shop there, it may go out of business. My guess is that any store that imposes unreasonable restrictions is soon forced to change.
Q. I read that an IRA is exempt from creditors in Texas. I have an IRA with a California bank. Can my creditors take it, or is it still exempt?
A. Good question. If the account was in a Texas bank, and a creditor attempted to enforce a judgment in Texas, Texas law would govern, and the creditor could not take the money in the account.
If, however, a creditor were to try and collect the judgment in California, California law may apply. There has been some litigation in this area, and the courts are not uniform in their decisions. The best thing to do may be to transfer the money into a local bank account to insure the protections of Texas law.
OOPS: In response to a question, I recently wrote that a merchant in Texas may charge a fee of up to $30.00 for a returned check. I stated that this was a change to the prior law.
I was mistaken. The law has not been changed. A merchant may charge a fee only up to $25.00. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Q. I know it is illegal to park in a handicapped parking place. Is it also illegal to use restroom facilities designed for a person with a disability?
A. Under the law, there are no penalties for using restroom facilities designed specifically for a person with a disability. On the other hand, common courtesy requires that you do not use such facilities if there are others available, or a person who needs them is also waiting.