93.1. Kiss FM – Ask A Lawyer – Part 1 – Aug 04, 2025

(0:00:00) Here’s what’s trending on 93.1 KISS FM.

(0:00:05) All right. It is Grizz and Grizz in the morning as we wait for Iris to make her way back. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll see how she is feeling. But for now, as usual, we bring in an occasional guest. And when Iris is gone, that person becomes our permanent co-host. All right. So we will see him back in tomorrow. We’re kicking Iris out. Just kidding. Just kidding. For today, we have an awesome, awesome guest here. One that you know very well. It is Michael Gopin for Ask a Lawyer. Michael Gopin, how are you? I’m doing good.

(0:00:32) Good. How are you doing? Not too bad. Not too bad. And of course, we’re always excited to have you in the studio. Excited to answer more legal questions that the people have submitted. How are you feeling about today’s questions? Do you think they’re going to be good? They’re going to be great. I’m ready to come in tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. or something. Yes, there you go. So that we can keep it going.

(0:00:50) All right. Well, let’s go ahead and dive in. Is my new nickname Grizz or what? You know what? Yeah, yeah. I’ll be Iris and Grizz. It’s Grizz and Grizz when nobody else is here. It’s Iris and Grizz when we’re both here. And then we’ll give you a new name, you know? Grizz and Gopin. How does that sound? Very good. G and G. G and G.

(0:01:07) All right, let’s go ahead and dive into these legal questions submitted by you guys. Our first one here is submitted by Rosa. I was riding my bike near Scenic Drive when a car sideswiped me and drove off. I ended up with a fractured wrist and a road rash all over my legs. I didn’t catch the license plate. The person just kept on going. Can I still file a claim or get help through my own insurance? I don’t think I’ll ever find the driver.

(0:01:31) Well, yes. Good question. Really good question. And in a matter of fact, you can file a claim with your own insurance. We’ve talked a lot about uninsured motorist coverage on this calls. And that is the coverage that you would be able to use to help you here. So just like if you’re a pedestrian walking across the street and get hit by a car, if you’re driving your bike and you get hit by a car and they take off, that coverage will help you here. Plus personal injury protection. So those are the two type of coverages that will work if you have them.

(0:02:01) you’re good to go. If you don’t have them, you’re going to be in deep trouble here. Yeah. And I know you always tell us insurance is not our friend. They are not your friend. But in this case, even if you’re riding a bike, it pays to have that insurance on you for some situations like this. It definitely pays. And the interesting thing about this type of insurance coverage is you have to specifically deny the coverage. So even if it doesn’t show up on your policy, if they didn’t have you sign the

(0:02:29) something, like a little waiver saying, I don’t want these two coverages, you automatically have it even though you haven’t paid. So that’s a really little loophole there. So that’s something to watch out for. Okay. Thank you for the legal loopholes. There you go. Hold them to it.

(0:02:44) Let’s jump into our second question here. This one comes from Julian. I was hit by a drunk driver leaving wet and wild in Anthony last weekend. He was arrested on the spot, but his insurance is offering literally nothing for the vehicle damage. I’m not sure on medical coverage as I have serious injuries and might need surgery. What are my legal options beyond the driver’s insurance?

(0:03:04) Well, you certainly have a right to sue the driver. The insurance coverage will kick in. Just because they’ve offered you what you call a low offer on the property damage doesn’t mean you have to accept it. You’d have to gather the evidence with regards to the damage and what it actually was and work it out. So they don’t have the final say or word, and a court or a jury could go further and determine what that is. So there are lots of options, and certainly we can help you with the…

(0:03:31) The car damage and your personal injury case. Car crashes are the worst. They are the worst, no doubt. Let’s jump into another one. This one has to deal with a dog. This is from Michelle. My neighbor’s dog got loose and bit my daughter while we were walking in our neighborhood in Horizon.

(0:03:47) Animal control got involved, but can I sue even though they apologized and offered to cover some of the medical bills? They offered me $1,000 already, but I don’t know if that will cover everything. And honestly, if it’s medical bills, that’s not going to cover everything. It’s going to be a lot. Medical bills are expensive. In this case, no, you don’t have to accept what they’ve offered. You can negotiate. You can talk to their insurance company and see what they’re willing to do.

(0:04:17) You have to probably gather your medical records and bills and submit them. Those are the key elements here. And the fact that they apologize, although that’s a nice thing to do, of course, that doesn’t change the fact that you can sue even though they said they were sorry. So you’re good to go there. I don’t know if they’re offering to pay out of pocket themselves or if they actually have insurance coverage. That’s going to be a big consideration there. It’s homeowners here. So it’s the homeowners insurance that’s going to determine…

(0:04:48) the recovery here. So, that’s the coverage that they need to have. So, sometimes people will just say, well, I’ll just give you $1,000 out of their own pocket and not call the insurance company. So, that may be what’s happening here.

(0:05:00) Yeah, that’s a tricky one, I think. Some of us probably get caught up in that idea of like, oh, well, they apologized to me. So that’s, you know, maybe that’s okay. But at the same time, unfortunately, that’s an injury. There’s more happening besides just an apology. Exactly. It’s always nice to get an apology, but that doesn’t change things.

(0:05:19) Okay. All right. Let’s move on to our next question here, and then we’ll take a little break, and we’ll come back with some more questions with Michael Gopin. But first, we’ve got Lupita. My father recently passed away, and his girlfriend is not allowing us to claim any of his things. He had a claim with workers’ comp that was in negotiation for a settlement, but when I contacted his attorney, they told me that his case was closed and won’t give me any other info on it.

(0:05:43) How can I find out what to do next? He did not leave a will, and he was only with his girlfriend for a few years. Do me and my siblings have any right over his things? We are not sure what to do here. Well, since your father died without a will, the real question here becomes whether or not the girlfriend was a common law spouse. Oh. Okay, so if they held out as married, even though they didn’t go to the courthouse and got a piece of paper saying they’re married, if they held out

(0:06:11) and live together as a married couple, as a couple holding out as being married, then they would be common law married. And that would change things. But as children, you will be able to recover under the law of Texas with regards to people who die without a will. So that’s the main question you need to look at. And she may…

(0:06:35) I guess it’s a she, your father died. She may say that, yes, they held out. She may have witnesses. You’ll just have to go ahead. It’s a factual case at that point to determine what’s the truth. What is the time length for common law marriage? How long do you have to be in the same place?

(0:06:51) One day is enough if you hold out. Oh, really? I know in some other states it’s a little longer than that for common law. Is that right? That’s interesting. Wow. OK. OK. So it sounds like then as kids. Don’t get drunk and tell someone you’re married. If you’re living in the same house. Now, if you’re not living together, that’s a different story. Yeah. Otherwise, that common law kicks in right away, apparently.

(0:07:11) It kicks in. All right, all right, all right. That works. So that was our message from Lupita here. We’ve got more questions on the way. We are hanging out with Michael Gopin because it is Ask a Lawyer today. Make sure to download the Kiss mobile app, send over your legal questions, and Michael Gopin will answer them next time he’s here. But for now, here’s a quick break, a couple of songs, and then we’ll jump right back in with some Ask a Lawyer with Michael Gopin. It’s 93.1 Kiss FM.

Michael J. Gopin

Michael J. Gopin has practiced law in El Paso since 1987. Even after more than 30 years, he still remembers his first jury case. It was two weeks after receiving his license, when he represented a person whose life had been forever changed after being blinded in a work-related incident...