June 2009


Am I Eligible to Receive Welfare Now That I Have Custody of my Niece?

Summary

My niece was recently released from a group home in NC. She is bipolar and ADHD and is on quite a bit of medication. I have applied for Medicaid and it is pending. Is there any type of assistance I can apply for through the state ( Florida) or govt to help support her?

Dear Esq. is not intended as direct personal legal advice. For direct personal legal advice regarding your own state and situation you should consult a local attorney. → You should not and may not rely on anything on this website as legal advice.

“My niece was recently released from a group home in NC. Her mother is deceased and father unknown. She is bipolar and ADHD and is on quite a bit of medication. I have applied for Medicaid and it is pending. I was laid off recently and looking for a job. My husband makes about 48k a year, but it takes most of that for our bills. Is there any type of assistance I can apply for through the state ( Florida) or govt to help support her? She is 15 yrs old. Thanks for any help you can provide.”

Your first step in order to get the maximum assistance you need is to make sure that you have something which documents that you legal guardianship or custody of your niece. With that, you should be able to apply for food stamps, medical assistance, and perhaps even financial assistance. In addition, as a minor, your niece may be eligible to receive Social Security based on her mother’s circumstance; your local Social Security office should be able to let you know your options.

What is an Easement? What Are my Property Rights in Terms of an Easement?

Summary

I bought my property in October 2008 and I was told at signing that I had lot 14 and 14a. I have the lot 14a on my deed and then when i was putting up a fence on the opposing side of my ditch I ran into a conflict with my neigboor about this. I called the deeds office in the county and they say that the deed shows 14 and 14a as mine but it is an easement. What does this mean? Is this portion of land of 14a mine?

Dear Esq. is not intended as direct personal legal advice. For direct personal legal advice regarding your own state and situation you should consult a local attorney. → You should not and may not rely on anything on this website as legal advice.

“I bought my property in October 2008 and I was told at signing that I had lot 14 and 14a. 14a is on the back half of my two neighbors lot totalling .65 acres. I have the lot 14a on my deed and then when i was putting up a fence on the opposing side of my ditch I ran into a conflict with my neigboor about this. They said that this land was theirs as my property of 14 a was an easement and I could not put a fence on their property. I called the deeds office in the county and they say that the deed shows 14 and 14a as mine but it is an easement. What does this mean? Is this portion of land of 14a mine? Or is this the two neigboors property?”

An easement is the right to use land that belongs to someone else. That right can be minimal, such as the right to walk over the other person’s land to access yours, or it can be close to the same as ownership, such as when an easement is granted to accommodate a building which encroaches over a property line.

Exactly what your rights to this property are will depend on the nature of your easement, and it will require, at a minimum, a legal analysis of your deed. You might also want to investigate whether you overpaid for this land, since you got less than you expected. Both of these things can be done by a real estate attorney, possibly in the context of an initial consultation.