Aconite said:
In Colorado, it'd be a "check book" or "checkbook."
I figured that way of spelling it must be the Canadian way, as it was the one I was used to, and 'cheque' was the American way. Seems my schooling failed me again . . . or my memory of it did.
Nota bene: IANAL. I think the girl could petition to become an emancipated minor, especially if she could support herself.
All righty. The foster daughter was forced out of her job by her foster father, he was used to having his way and he wanted to cut off her money supply to control her. She was going to run away, he'd effectively killed any chance of her getting a job anywhere in that town when he got her fired, so she didn't even try.
Anyway, it wouldn't look good to whoever was in charge of her case if she had no job, hadn't been looking for one, and had a nasty reputation around town, but she'd have a good $6,000 - $7,000 to her name, most of it college savings, and her own car. So, it could go either way. I'm almost liking the idea of her at least temporarily being forced into another foster home.
Without proof that the man is dead, I don't think the state could take his property (e.g. the horses). Probably, his family/heirs or neighbors or friends would care for the horses, since the fate of his property is in limbo.
The foster daughter was the only one who took care of them, and before she moved in, the neighbors were feeding them, but their place would've also been wiped out in the fire. As long as someone knew where the horses were located in the event the murder victim
did resurface, would the foster daughter be able to keep them with her when she does leave town?
BradyH1861 said:
But sure, he could have the victim's checkbook, Driver's License (the most common form of ID), maybe his work ID if the job required one.
He's working as a lawyer, so he'd probably have a bar card. He could pass that along too, that might get the ID man in even more trouble.
The car would have most likely been impounded. If the driver was arrested for impersonating your victim, then the car would have to be impounded. Certainly if they thought that the car was related to a crime....ie: the missing victim.
All right, that cleans up the trouble of what the foster daughter could have to do with the car. She could easily just leave it impounded until he's declared dead, then I guess the car would be auctioned off.
You might try
http://www.findlaw.com Search for Colorado state statutes. That is as good as law library.
Brady H.
I don't know how to completely explain how absolutely
perfect the law I turned up is, not without spoiling quite a bit of the story . . . but I'll just be cryptic. It's complicated, but I'll try.
The murder victim had handed over his ID to the ID man so he could commit a crime, but have a rock solid alibi. Now, the murder victim was killed after he commited the crime he needed the alibi for, by the person he victimized. Now, the killer was going to confess, but when the chance came, the ID man had already been arrested.
Now, the killer knew the ID man existed and knew the murder victim handed over his ID willingly, which excused him of the crime. However, if it came out that the victim had intended on using the tracks the ID man made as his alibi, the ID man could face 20 years in jail. The victim ends up taking the easy way out, and tells the police the first half of the story, neglecting to mention the crimes committed later, and everyone gets off scot free.
Complicated, but it gives the killer a touch of humanity after what happened, as long as I make it clear the reason for staying quiet was for the ID man's sake . . .
Cathy C said:
You can call the library at the University of Denver College of Law and ask these questions. They are happy to research it on your behalf and call you (but you might have to give them a credit card number for out of the country calls.) The DU Law Library maintains sets of statutes going back to when the state was founded in 1876, so 1978 is no big deal!
The phone number is: (303)871-6206. You can also visit their website, at:
http://law.du.edu/library
Good luck!
I may just have to call them up later, but considering this is just the first draft, I probably should hold off on spending money on it just now. I should wait until after the 'OMG NEW STORY NEW STORY IT'S A DANDY I TELL YOU' syndrome dies off, if I still like it, I'll probably try to focus all my work onto making it The One, the first story I try to publish.
That will be The One I start putting money into.
Joni Holderman said:
One of these I can answer. Credit cards have existed at least since the 60s, although they weren't nearly as common as now.
Yes!
Mostly upper middle class people had them, and they were primarily accepted at chain hotels, (some) full service restaurants, and 'nice' department stores. And gas stations.
The murder victim was a rich son of a b*tch, I've already given him a big house, a big old Caddy, and a microwave,
and he's always flaunting his superior status to the rest of the town's population, so a credit card, even if it was virtually useless there, would be something he'd have.
I don't recall anyone ever being asked to show ID with a credit card in the 70s. (Even in the 80s, we used to take an imprint of a major CC on the back of a check both as ID and to "guarantee" payment. So, if he stole both the checks and the cc, he's golden.)
My god, I really forgot about those imprinting machines? I should be ashamed. My parents ran a gunsmithing shop out of the basement, in the same house I'm living it. Hell, I'll bet we still have it. Maybe I should hit myself over the head with that thing for this lapse of common sense.
At least you got me on the right track, if there was just the imprint, then the odds of being busted for the signature on the bill not matching up will probably be pretty low. Since the driver's license comes up and the car gets impounded, maybe the ID man got a lead foot driving the Caddy and got pulled over.
I'll take a stab at inheritance, as well. Since she's a FOSTER daughter rather than adopted, I don't believe she'd inherit anything unless there's a will.
Hmmm. Okay. I never really addressed whether she was officially adopted, so I could drop a reference somewhere. She's distantly related to the foster father, he's a cousin, though, so there's probably a dozen people more closely related to him. He's an only child, so would his parents inherit his possessions?
I too suspect if she has enough money, independence can be arranged, although it's questionable if she'd still be allowed to live in her foster father's house.
Actually, that was why I thought of the forest fire to wipe out the house. It would make for a tense situation, the horses are at the house and would need to be evacuated, and at the same time that's going on, the body of the foster father is waiting to be found inside the house. Hopefully I'll have made it so the reader won't want him to be found, and anyone showing up could put them on edge, but I'll see how that goes when I get there.
Sorry about the overly long post, I got into the habit a long time ago, at the other forums I lurk in, to quote every single thing worth acknowledging in any thread I replied to. And you guys are absolute gold mines.
I'm more or less just thinking out loud in case I've forgotten what the hell I was thinking after some sleep, though I doubt I will, if anything they'll be absolete by the time I wake up, anyway.
Thank you so much for helping!
At least here, I don't have to worry about any of my questions seeming a bit odd . . . one story I got overly inquisitive about automatic weapons and bulletproofing houses, I probably got my friend who knows about that stuff a little worried with all my questions . . .