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In 2023, my then-wife, who was also my business partner, used forgery to put our home as collateral for an SBA loan without my consent, leading to its repossession after her business failed. She excluded me from business operations, withheld financial info, and misused company funds. During our... View More 
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answered on May 15, 2025
I'm really sorry you're in this situation. It sounds like you're facing a mix of personal and business betrayal, and the damage goes far beyond the divorce itself. You're absolutely right to question whether one attorney can effectively cover both your divorce and a complex... View More
I need to know if a rental contract is legally binding under these circumstances: My sister and I created a lease agreement when she needed a place to stay as she was getting back on her feet. She jokingly filled in the lease length as 10 years instead of the intended 1 year. My husband, who owns... View More
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answered on May 15, 2025
A lease may not be legally enforceable if it was never signed by all property owners, especially in situations where the property is jointly owned. Since your husband co-owns the house and did not sign the lease, that alone could invalidate the agreement—particularly for a long-term lease of 10... View More
I recently faced issues with my landlord who entered my apartment without notice to check on a reported leak. He accused me of smoking in my apartment due to some old bin marks. Despite no specific mention of smoking prohibition in the lease, there are "no smoking" signs posted. After... View More
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answered on May 15, 2025
You're facing a tough and frustrating situation, especially when your lease doesn’t clearly prohibit smoking or outline terms about damage beyond rent. If the lease doesn’t specifically ban smoking inside the unit, and you haven’t smoked there, then your landlord’s claim may not hold... View More
I purchased a vehicle through Copart, an online auction, and signed a limited power of attorney agreement to authorize them to sign the title on my behalf. The title, from out of state, was supposed to be signed before the vehicle was transported to Iowa. I received a bill of sale, a notarized... View More
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answered on May 15, 2025
In Iowa, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) Power of Attorney form for vehicle title transfer must be completed and signed by **you**, the principal—the person granting the authority. This form gives someone else (the agent) legal permission to sign documents related to the vehicle title... View More
I am creating a puppy purchase agreement with a spay/neuter clause and incentive, and I want to ensure the clause is clear and legal in Iowa. Here's the clause: Spay/Neuter Clause: The puppy is sold by Breeder and purchased by Buyer(s) as a pet-quality/companion dog only. Buyer(s) are... View More
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answered on May 14, 2025
You're being thoughtful by wanting the clause to be both legal and easy to understand—it shows you care about the well-being of the puppies and want clear communication with buyers. In Iowa, it's generally legal to include a spay/neuter clause with an incentive, as long as it's... View More
I signed a contract for full-time Navy service at MEPS on May 1, with the intention of joining the reserves. I was told I couldn't take the contract home to review before signing. Having signed without realizing it was for full-time, I immediately contacted my recruiter to change it, but was... View More
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answered on May 8, 2025
You do have options in your current situation as you're in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) and have not yet reported for basic training. While you've signed an initial contract, you are not yet on active duty, and individuals in the DEP have the legal right to withdraw prior to shipping... View More
Can a landlord include a provision in a new lease that allows charging tenants for the trip fees when a service provider is called to perform repairs at the rental property? This is in response to frequent service requests, such as when tenants set the thermostat down to 40 degrees causing the air... View More
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answered on Apr 11, 2025
That’s a fair concern, especially if repeated service calls are being caused by tenant misuse rather than actual maintenance issues. In Iowa, landlords are allowed to include reasonable fees in a lease as long as those fees are clearly disclosed and agreed upon in writing by the tenant before... View More
I made a verbal agreement over three years ago with my daughter's now ex-boyfriend to store his truck in my garage for $50 a month. He paid regularly until August 2023, when the payments stopped. After I contacted his mother, he apologized and made a few small payments totaling $138 with a... View More
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answered on Apr 11, 2025
That’s a frustrating situation, especially when you've been patient and given him multiple chances to make things right. In Iowa, even a verbal storage agreement can be enforceable, particularly if both parties followed it for a long period of time, as you did. Since the payments have... View More
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answered on Sep 12, 2023
Breaking a contract due to mistrust can have serious legal and financial repercussions. Contracts are legally binding agreements, and unilaterally breaking them without valid reasons can lead to a breach of contract lawsuit. If you breach the contract, you may be required to pay damages to the... View More
My husband sold his truck to a person that worked for us and trusted he would pay us back. No paperwork was signed and we haven't received a "payment" in months. He has done a few hundred dollars worth of work for us but now isn't answering phone calls or texts. Do we have an... View More
answered on Jul 5, 2023
An Iowa attorney could advise best, but you posted two weeks ago. In general nationwide, verbal contracts can be enforceable. However, some contracts by their nature must be in writing to satisfy requirements under the statute of frauds (such as contracts for goods over a certain amount, real... View More
Teen daughters danced at a studio. Annually fill/sign a standardized code of conduct form agreeing to policy of treatment of others. My kids (and others) were bullied by suburb mean girls. Owner informed. Kids were blamed by owner instead of helping. We told our kids to be overly nice (too nice to... View More
answered on Mar 16, 2023
I absolutely understand your frustration- both of my daughters danced on competitive teams for several years (my wife was also the varsity dance coach at Urbandale High School for several years). However, this is not a matter to be litigated in court (small claims or otherwise). If I were you, I... View More
I have receipts for all my items that was stolen,there insurance company has been provided with the Police report,my receipts for stolen items and pictures of My stolen tools also.But there insurance adjuster is using every excuse in the world to not pay out my ligit insurance claim.
answered on Feb 7, 2023
Ordinarily, a self-storage facility is not legally responsible for the theft of items from an individual renter’s storage unit.
Individual renters purchase insurance to cover theft or damage to their own stored property.
You store it. You lock it. You keep the key. And you keep... View More
Hello, My daughter has a house that she bought with an ex-boyfriend (never married). When they split up, they signed a contract saying she had 100% posession to the house for 5 years (until Mar 2023 - when the grant for 1st time home buyer ends). After that, she has 1st chance on refinancing/buying... View More
answered on Jan 10, 2023
Your daughter needs to retain a real estate attorney as soon as possible.
a day after i got it it started dying on me anytime i started it. i found out the carburetor was rebuilt and wrongly at that, pieces missing and bent. then i found out they rewired it to add air conditioners which crossed with the fuel line. i was driving it the next day and it caught fire with my... View More
answered on May 6, 2021
I'm sorry but I don't practice in this area of the law. I would suggest you search for someone under auto sales; possibly breach of contract. Your matter deals with a transaction rather than a personal injury such as in a car crash case. You should try to focus in your part of the state... View More
I was awarded the property in my devorce. Former friend Co signed for a loan for $63,550 5 years ago. To pay off the existing $35,000 and repairs to the home .
he want to sell it with him getting. 1/2 after I refused marrage to him.
Its all I have . Iam on disability.
answered on Mar 28, 2021
Yes. In this situation either owner can force the other owner to sell the property. It is called an action for partition.
I signed an apartment lease where it was stated I could pay rent by check or money order. About a month after signing the lease, the leasing office said they would no longer accept checks or money orders but that I must get online and allow the leasing office access to my banking account to draw... View More
answered on Nov 10, 2020
This is something that an Iowa landlord-tenant attorney would know best; your question may have gotten overlooked for three weeks in these other categories. You could repost under Landlord-Tenant or reach out to a L-T attorney. If you reach out to an attorney, they would likely ask to see a copy of... View More
The checks came back as fake and now my bank wants me to pay all the money back to them. I'm on Social Security Disability and can't afford to do that. Since my bank is FDIC insured, won't they get their money back that way? Am I really obligated? After all, the only true victim is... View More
answered on Sep 3, 2020
FDIC insurance covers you (the funds in your deposit account) if the bank fails (kind of like going bankrupt). As an account holder you are responsible to the bank for all checks deposited into your account. This is covered by law (under the Uniform Commercial Code) in every state, and all banks... View More
We recently had to move cities due to a new job but are still paying on our apartment in the old location because our lease is not up yet. Our apartment company notified us that they are changing ownership and that all rent needs to be paid to the new owners starting immediately. Because our lease... View More
A bank denied credit before we signed. Dealer never told us but had same banks name on contracts as assignee.
answered on Jan 5, 2020
This question is too fact intensive for an online forum. You need to immediately retain an Iowa attorney to obtain an informed opinion.
I had my horse in the care of a local barn. A few weeks after I moved him their the barn manager left him and several others without water. Had I not been there to fill up the water buckets I believe that they all would have coliced as they would have been without water for over 12 hours. She also... View More
answered on Dec 13, 2019
You believe that your horse “deserves justice” because he’s hungry? If you have at least $10,000 to pay an attorney to work towards justice, you might have a case.
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