93.1 KISS FM – Ask A Lawyer, Part 5

Trisha 00:00

Waking up with Mike and Trisha on 93.1 kiss FM

Trisha 00:07
So Mike and Trisha mornings presents a once a month visit with special guests, Michael Gopin. You know him. You love him. You see his commercials on TV all the time. Hello, Mr. Michael Gopin.

Michael Gopin  00:17

Good morning. How are you guys?

Trisha 00:19

Good, good. Okay, so I we’ve got a lot of questions today.

Mike 00:23

Yeah, we got a trucking accident question a lot of those for the second segment.

Trisha 00:27

Yep. And then we also have some app questions that we want to ask you. So let’s jump right in. Because we I know that there’s going to be a lot of stuff we can talk about here. Okay, so

Michael Gopin  00:35

Ok, sounds good.

Trisha 00:36

This is something that I think a lot of people, you know, have to go through. This is from Veronica and she submitted this via the kiss FM free mobile app. And she said my in laws are going through a messy divorce my sister in law’s keeping her young kids away from their father for over a month, he reached out to his lawyer who’s already filed for divorce and custody agreement. And his lawyer has reached out to her lawyer, but that lawyer says she has not responded that’s been going on for a week. And she wants to know, is there really nothing that can be done? Because he really just wants to see his kids again?

Michael Gopin  01:09

Well, the question here is, if there’s any temporary orders already established, if there’s an order by the court, setting out the custody agreement, that is legally enforceable. So the question is, is it too early in the process? And there’s no agreement yet. So then whoever really has possession of the kids is going to be the one in power? Or is there an agreement? Is there a court order already, if there’s an order, it can be enforced. So she would need to get her lawyer, who I know she’s been contacting, to set up a hearing, for contempt in the case, if there isn’t an agreement. And if they’re also in agreement, she could also take that agreement and call the police and tell the police that she’s not, you know, going by the agreement, and I want my, my kid.

Trisha 02:03

And I think that what a lot of people think is that once the divorce papers have been filed, that like, all of a sudden, you had to follow the custody agreements and all that other stuff. But there’s a lot of there’s a lot of steps that go into play before, you know, there’s a custody agreement, there’s enforceable, you know, paperwork and things like that.

Michael Gopin 02:20

Exactly. Just the fact that you’re filing the divorce doesn’t necessarily, or doesn’t it all start the custody issues. So they have to be an agreed upon order by the court. There are standard orders, of course. But until those orders are in place, there are no legal rights other than you are the parent, and you can see the child. But if the other parent is in possession of them, you know, good luck. Yeah, a very difficult situation.

Trisha 02:47

And then there’s also there’s also the 30 to 60 days for answers on certain paperwork.

Mike 02:53

And so that’s a lot of foot dragging

Trisha 02:55

Yeah. And so you really can so the person, either the person who is, you know, filing the divorce, or the person who’s waiting around for the answers to come back, it could be 30 to 60 days sometimes.

Michael Gopin 03:08

Oh, no doubt about that. I mean, the best advice, if there’s no orders would be, you know, to try to have a civil conversation with your spouse, and then tell them it’s in the best interest of the kids that I get to see them all. So let’s work something out and be better parents

Trisha 03:27

and then duck, because somebody’s going to throw something at you.

Mike 03:29

Yeah, you’re going to have to suck up a lot is what Mr. Copeland is saying. If, you know, if there’s nothing in place, and you’re the one who is being kept away from your child, you’re going to, you’re going to have to suck it up. And you have to swallow a lot of pride. Yep. Okay, so that brings us to another question. This is from the this is from the also via the app, but it’s to submit audio app. Right. Okay. So this is Isaac. And Isaac wants to know about a situation having to do with dental work done in what is here he is via the free 93.1 kiss FM mobile app.

Man 1 04:04

My question is, I went to the dentist over in Mexico to get some work done on my teeth. Because it’s a lot cheaper, whether I use my insurance for that. And they accepted it. Ever since I got the check. I’ve been trying to pay them. But I’ve haven’t been able to get ahold of them due to the whole pandemic. He got ahold of me. One time. I told him I would I was in a I haven’t gotten the check at the time. And then the second time around, I was out of town. So he got a little mad. And now he says that he’s going to report me as fraud. I still have the check and I’ve been trying to pay him so what can I do?

Michael Gopin 04:45

Well, I would just, you know, tell them that you’re doing the best you can. You know, if you can try to figure out where to get that. Check cashed. That would be great. If there’s someone else that could take the money to the dentist in Mexico If you’re unable to go over there yourself, that would be a good idea. Otherwise, the dentist is just going to have to wait, there’s nothing that he can do to you in the United States. You know, legally, really. So yeah, I mean, he, I mean, it’s a different country. So he would have to file a lawsuit in Mexico for that, he’s not going to be able to come over here to, to try to enforce something that happened in a different country. You know, you can’t report you to the, you know, the credit bureau from Mexico debt. So I mean, you got lots of things that are working in your favor. But just try to be nice to the guy try to tell him that you’re doing everything you can to work it out. It may take a little longer than anticipated because of the pandemic, reached out to some of your friends who make go to Mexico, maybe they could drop a payment off at his office or something of that nature. But that would be my best recommendation for you.

Mike 05:50

Yeah. Because eventually, you know, teef, tifus. You know how they are? eventually it’s going to hurt again. Yeah, so you don’t want to be burning those bridges? or international bridges. Right, right. Okay, more in the US if you think it’s cheaper in Juarez, but so really, because it’s International, the dentist, all he really can do is threaten? Or can he do something and then the minute you cross over, and you get stopped or busted, or however things happen over there, then they can track you down or what?

Michael Gopin 06:21

Well, it’s not a crime to not pay a bill, it’s a civil matter. So they can’t throw you in jail for not paying the dental bill in Mexico. And you have to file a lawsuit over there and serve you and go through the legal process in Mexico. So I mean, he certainly can do that, you know, and you’d have to serve you it’s probably not worth his time and effort and money to do that. But he certainly is able to do it under the laws of Mexico. But in terms of the crime and being thrown in jail, it’s not a criminal act at all. So he doesn’t have to worry about that.

Mike 06:58

All right, but it sounds like you know, like Isaac really does want to pay his debt because he hasn’t, like spent the check on anything else.

Michael Gopin 07:04

Right, exactly. So I would reach out to the doctor, be really nice and apologetic. Tell them the situation and tell him that, you know, you will pay him it’s just it’s just taken longer than anticipated.

Mike 07:17

Okay. All right. So we’ll be right back. The next segment, we’re going to talk about trucking accidents. You know, here in El Paso, you see them all over. I tend all the time. Sometimes you jump in front of them. Sometimes they jump in front of you, but stuff happens and So up next on kiss I’ll pass Oh, and my contrition mornings. We are going to discuss some questions that have come in having to do with trucking accidents with Michael Copeland asked a lawyer continues next on 93.1 kiss FM