Questions Answered by Legal Eagle

The contractor I hired for a water problem in an underground garage misdiagnosed the problem, and now I have two useless drains in my floor and still a water problem. I have text messages of the contractor stating he misdiagnosed it and will make this right.

I am a member of an HOA in Schaumburg, IL. Historically, and per the bylaws, the HOA would handle plumbing costs for issues in the shared main line/behind the wall. They just sent a bill to split a plumbing cost for snaking the main line, charging me (and the other three units) that share the drain, stating “sanitary wipes and other items have caused the blockage, and that damage is no longer covered by the HOA.” I don’t use wipes or throw items down. Given the bylaws say the common element is covered, and this is a common element, am I obligated to pay? The Board recently terminated the management company; the 200+ unit complex is now self-managed. I’m concerned they’re changing policy against the rules and bylaws.

I’m in an F.L.L.L.P. The person who brought me in passed away 2.5 years ago. The lady in charge hasn’t communicated with me. The documents say I won’t receive payment until Jan 2026. Is that normal or should I hire an attorney? I don’t trust her.

I was out on short-term disability from 11/19/24 to 3/24/25. I returned to work and re-injured myself. I finally got disability approved yesterday but need advice on whether I should pursue workers’ comp, as I only have a week to request a Qualified Medical Examiner (QME).

I need an employment lawyer.

I have received a disciplinary notice from my employer and want to go over it with a lawyer.

I'm having a dispute over a property. The person I share the property with still lives there and is making the sale difficult. I think it’s best she moves out. Can this be enforced?

Hello — My mother changed my father’s Will. In October 2020, my mother requested that I review my father’s Will that was left on his laptop so that it may be notarized. At this time, my father was bedridden with Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease. In this version of his Will, the house was left solely to me to inherit. After reviewing the Will, I informed my mother that the house was left to me. I showed her my father’s laptop so that she could view this section of the Will, which declared my father is “not married” and that the house would go to me. She immediately requested that we go visit my father in his bedroom. When we did, we asked if his intention was to leave the house to me. He replied along the lines of, “I can’t deal with this right now.” My mother and I then exited the room. I memorialized the conversation between my mother and myself in a text message to my then-girlfriend. In these messages, I describe what I saw in the Will, my mother’s reaction to the Will, my father’s statement, and the conversation between my mother and myself after speaking to my father. We had never asked my father again to explain his Will. The Will was notarized a couple of days later in the presence of two neighbors, myself, my mother, father, and the notary. I moved to Seattle with my partner in May 2022. I requested a copy of the Will from my mother in September 2022, shortly after a stay in a psychiatric hospital in Seattle. When I received the Will, I noticed that it had been changed, and the provision of the house was completely deleted. I sent emails to my mother and asked her why she had changed the Will, and if the original laptop was still in existence. She denied changing the Will and claimed that my father dictated his wishes that he wanted in the Will in front of the neighbors. She suggested that due to my mental health, I did not remember the provisions in the Will that I reviewed. When I replied to the email that she was lying, and I had text messages that would confirm this, she didn’t reply. I acquired a copy of the deed to the house through Minnesota attorney. On this deed of the house, it says that my mother and father owned the house as a married couple — although they were never married. My father succumbed to his condition and passed away on December 19, 2022.

Can I refile a lawsuit in California against a negligent property management company if my previous lawyer didn’t file on time?

I have a tenant who has been in my rental property for over two years in California, and I want to terminate the lease (move them out) to do some necessary repairs. What is the process for this?