Richard Alderman's archive

You do not pay taxes on money you inherit

Q. I just inherited some money from my father’s estate. I was wondering how much I should put aside to pay my inheritance tax.

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Landlord might not be able to tow your car

Q. I own two cars. One of them is parked in the lot in front of my apartment. Because I don’t use it very often, I have not yet renewed my license plates. Yesterday, my landlord had my car towed, and it cost me $350 to get it back. Is this legal?

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You may be towed, but only if there is proper signage

Q. Does a store have the right to limit who may park in its lot? Isn’t this public property? Can I be towed for parking in the lot of one store and shopping somewhere else?

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Apartment usually not responsible for vandalism

Q. This morning, there were five cars in my apartment parking lot that had broken windows. Our apartment has no security gates. Is the apartment responsible for the costs of repairing the cars?

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New owner is liable for return of security deposit

Q. I leased a home from a company and gave the proper 30-days notice. My last day was July 10, and I have not received my security deposit. I contacted the management company and was told that the house was sold the month before my lease ended. I was told to contact the new owner because my deposit was transferred to him. I have not received my deposit after forwarding my new address to the new owner. Who is responsible for returning my deposit?

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