Legal Myths |
The law is complex enough even when accurately described. It does not help that it also
is encumbered by many myths and misunderstandings. These are a few. |
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A parent whose former spouse refuses to give him or her visitation with the children
is entitled to withhold child support payments.
No. The legal duty to pay child support or to allow visitation is not conditioned on the other party
obeying his order. You must continue to obey your order and ask the court to punish the party who
is not obeying his.
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If you are injured in an accident while driving without a valid driver's license, you cannot
collect for your damages from the other driver or his insurance company, even if you were not at
fault.
Wrong. Whether or not a driver had a valid driver's license has no bearing on the determination
of who was at fault and who must pay damages to the other.
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Failure to consummate a marriage is a ground for annulment.
Not unless, prior to the marriage, one party misrepresented his or her ability to consummate the
relationship after marriage. The fact that a marriage was not consummated is itself not a ground
for annulment in Arizona. Misrepresentation is the key.
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If you want to disinherit one of your children, you must leave him or her at least $1 in
your will.
Incorrect. The practice of leaving $1 to a child who is to be disinherited was used to overcome
the objection that a parent mistakenly overlooked that child in the preparation of his or her will.
It is more common now to include a provision like this in the will: "I intentionally make
no provision in this will for my son, John R. Doe."
Incidentally, it is not legally possible to disinherit entirely a minor child of yours.
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If you wish to do so, you may disinherit your spouse and children.
Only adult children (those 18 years of age or older) may be entirely disinherited in Arizona. The
law provides modest protection against this for a spouse and minor children.
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You are not guilty of shoplifting until you leave a store with merchandise you
did not pay for.
Wrong. Generally, people who conceal merchandise while inside a store may be guilty of shoplifting.
Also, changing a price tag on an item for the purpose of paying less than the stated price is shoplifting.
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If you live in Arizona, the executor (personal representative) of your will must
be an Arizona resident.
No. He or she may live anywhere.
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Your automobile insurance policy will not cover you if someone other than a member
of your family causes an accident while driving your car.
The vast majority of policies in Arizona provide protection for an owner when the driver is using
the car with the express or implied permission of the owner. Check your policy to be sure.
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If a title or deed to property is in the name of only one spouse, the other spouse
has no legal interest in it.
Title alone does not determine ownership. The manner in which property was acquired is far more
important. Unless the property was acquired by one spouse as a gift or through inheritance, or was
purchased with separate funds, it generally will be considered to be community property. Even when
one spouse acquires property as separate property, the other spouse may acquire an interest in it
over the course of the marriage. Bottom line—title does not control.
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If you fail to return a warranty card to the manufacturer of a product you purchase,
you will lose your warranty on it.
Not true. Many manufacturers use these cards to do market surveys. To enforce the warranty you need
only establish the date you purchased the item.
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Your property will go to the state if you die without having a valid will.
This almost never happens. If you have any living relatives at the time of your death, the state
will not get your property.
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Unless traffic lanes are marked, it is illegal to pass another car on the right.
Wrong. It is legal, provided you do not leave the paved portion of the road and you do not cause
an accident.
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As long as you pay a creditor at least $1 per month, he or she cannot sue you.
No. If you do not pay the agreed-upon amount, a creditor generally can take you to court and demand
the entire unpaid balance of the debt - together with attorney's fees, court costs and interest.
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You may have a traffic ticket dismissed if the police officer who issued it makes
a technical error when writing it (such as including the wrong date).
Typically not. There is a simple court procedure used to correct harmless errors made on traffic
tickets.
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If you are injured by biting or swallowing an object in restaurant food, the restaurant
owner or its insurance company must compensate you for your injuries.
Not necessarily. If the object is one that is commonly found in the food you were eating (like a
bone in a T-bone steak), the restaurant generally has no legal responsibility for your injuries.
Even when foreign objects are in the food, liability is not automatic.
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Arizona will not recognize a common-law marriage.
Although it's true that a common-law marriage cannot be created in Arizona, we recognize them if
they were validly created in another state.
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If you die without a valid will, lawyer's fees and court costs will consume most
of your estate.
Whether you have a will has little or no bearing on the cost of administering your estate. There
may be other good reasons for having a will, but this generally is not one of them.
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If one spouse incurs a debt, it cannot be enforced against the other spouse.
There are a few exceptions (such as buying real estate), but this generally is not true. In Arizona,
either spouse can bind the other to the obligation.
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Oral agreements are not enforceable.
With a few exceptions, oral agreements are as binding as written contracts. The existence of an
oral agreement, or its specific terms, may be more difficult to prove. Once proven, however, it is
just as enforceable as a written agreement in most cases.
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Some Arizona divorces are "no fault" divorces; some are not.
Untrue. All divorces granted in Arizona are "no fault" divorces. Contrary to popular belief, "no
fault" does not mean that a divorce was either simple, uncontested or that no lawyer was involved.
A "no fault" divorce may still be complex and expensive. It means only that the traditional
grounds for divorce have been abolished (mental cruelty, adultery, abandonment, etc.). Under the "no
fault" system, there is only one ground for divorce—the marriage is irretrievably broken.
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If you have a blood-alcohol reading of less than the legal limit you cannot be
convicted of driving under the influence.
Under Arizona law, you can be convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence
of alcohol even with a very low blood-alcohol reading. If the state can prove that you were "impaired
to the slightest degree," you can be convicted without regard for your actual blood-alcohol
level.
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If your driving is not impaired, you cannot be convicted of driving under the influence
of alcohol.
Under Arizona law, you can be convicted if your blood-alcohol reading is at or above the legal limit,
regardless of how well you are driving. The conviction in this case is for operating a motor vehicle
with this blood-alcohol level. It is not based on any actual impairment.
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If you refuse to sign for a traffic ticket, you will have a better chance to "beat
the ticket."
Signing for a traffic ticket is nothing more than an acknowledgement of its receipt. Whether you
acknowledge receipt of the ticket will have no bearing on the outcome of any hearing on the violation.
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It is illegal for a driver to change lanes within an intersection.
Drivers generally may change lanes anywhere—including intersections—as long as they
do so safely and do not interfere with the flow of traffic.
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It is illegal to drive faster than the posted speed limit.
This is not necessarily a violation of the law. Other than the maximum speed limits posted on
freeways and in school zones, the general rule in Arizona is that your speed must be "reasonable and
prudent under the circumstances." Although it is wise to comply with posted speed limits,
your failure to do so is not an automatic violation of the law.
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