Plea_of_insanity

My wife and I have been married since 2012. We live in Washington, D.C. We established a comomon-law marriage, which is recognized under D.C. law. The web site of the D.C. Department of Health confirms this is true.

We refer to each other as husband and wife, we live together, we have a joint bank account, I'm in her will and she's in mine, we own a house together, and we file taxes as married. My wife's employer's group health insurance plan does not recognize our marriage and will not let me enroll in the plan under spousal coverage.

We have already provided a notarized letter stating that we are married, and we also gave them a copy of our most recently prepared tax returns showing us as filing as married.

Her employer is a private corporation. It is definitely not religious or connected to any church in any way, shape, or form.

The plan is located in D.C. If it was an out-of-state marriage, I might say they can refuse. But it's an in-state opposite-sex marriage. The plan is refusing to recognize our in-state marriage.

I can only imagine that ERISA applies here, and that ERISA requires a plan to recognize marriage law based on the law of the site of the plan, which clearly recognizes our marriage.

I could use some help please? Relevant laws, court rulings, and so forth requested in particular.

Thanks much.

My wife and I have been married since 2012. We lived in Washington, D.C.

We established a comomon-law marriage, which is recognized under D.C. law. The web site of the D.C. Department of Health confirms this is true.

We refer to each other as husband and wife, we live together, we have a joint bank account, I'm in her will and she's in mine, we own a house together, and we file taxes as married.

My wife's employer's group health insurance plan does not recognize our marriage and will not let me enroll in the plan under spousal coverage. We have already provided a notarized letter stating that we are married, and we also gave them a copy of our most recently prepared tax returns showing us as filing as married.

Her employer is a private corporation. It is not religious or connected to any church in any way, shape, or form.

The plan is located in D.C. If it was an out-of-state marriage, I might say they can refuse. But it's an in-state opposite-sex marriage. The plan is refusing to recognize our in-state marriage.

I can only imagine that ERISA applies here, and that ERISA requires a plan to recognize marriage law based on the law of the site of the plan, which clearly recognizes our marriage.

I could use some help please? Relevant laws, court rulings, and so forth requested in particular.

Thanks much.

I work for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. We are considering an internship for a Spanish citizen who is in law school in Spain. She would help us on legal issues, learning about the legal system in the U.S. We would not pay her for her work. What is the most appropriate visa for her? J-1? H-3? Something else? Thanks.

In 2000, Congress approved the issuance of U Visas for certain crime victims. I heard that the US is not actually issuing these visas yet because the rules and regulations have not been established yet. Wondering if this is true or not?

If you have a G-4 visa because your husband works for an international organization, you can apply to receive work authorization in the US. The husband's income from working at the international organization is clearly not subject to US taxation. If the spouse works for any private employer, the spouse's income is clearly subject to US taxation.

When the spouse files her income taxes (Form 1040NR, I suppose), should the spouse file as married or single? And does the spouse have any limitations to the deductions and credit she can claim that are different from those of US citizens and permanent residents?

My grandfather passed away 22 years ago. He was born in New York City.

I would like to obtain a copy of his birth certificate for personal ancestry research. Am I authorized to receive a copy? Is it in the public domain? Can anyone receive a copy?

We disposed of some fixed assets that had been fully depreciated at the time of disposal. There was no cash transacted during the disposal. Should we include the disposal on our Statement of Cash Flows? If so, what would the line item be?

(Not homework. For work.)

I broke a bottle of cologne in my bathroom. Now my whole house smells like cologne, even after I cleaned it up and tried opening all the windows. How do I get the scent out of my house?

An organization owes $140,000 to its landlord as of the end of its office lease due to nonpayment of two months of office rent several years ago. The organization has recorded this as a current liability on its financial statements.

After much negotiation, the landlord agrees to forgive the debt upon renewing the office lease for another seven years, with the following stipulation. The renewed lease states that, if the organization ever defaults on the renewed lease, then the $140,000 becomes due again.

Upon signing the renewed lease, does US GAAP allow the organization to remove the $140,000 current liability from its financial statements?

(Taxation is irrelevant. The organization is tax exempt. Also, this is a real-life case. Not my homework or anything like that.)

I want to open a bank. That way everyone would give me their money, and then I would be rich. Can I do that? Also, I heard that banks are supposed to give interest? How much interest should I give? All the banks I've ever been in were really boring and had nothing interesting in them at all. How are they allowed to stay open if I didn't have any interest at all while I was there. So I think I should be able to put something like an aquarium in my bank so the kids can look at the fish. Fish food is cheap too. Also, would I have to give the people their money back if they wanted it? Can I just give them blank checks and have them spend the money that way so I can keep all their money? Also, I love the mints that they give out at banks. How do I get some of those mints?

I met a penguin online. Her photos are really cute, and we talk on the phone all the time. I want to marry her and live with her in Antarctica. Her parents don't like me for some reason, but that's not going to stop us. I can't find the Embassy of Antarctica to ask them about fiance visas? And after we get married, would I then be eligible for Antarctican citizenship? Would our children be Antarctican citizens too?

I have always wanted to live and work on Mars. I already quit my job and sold my house. I want to bring my passport to the Martian embassy, but I'm having trouble finding it. Do you think it would be better to find an employer there to sponsor me? Or should I apply for a student visa instead? Also, I think I might already be a citizen because my mother was born there. Does it work that way? Does anyone have any advice?

A friend recently moved from Bangladesh to the US. He brought his XBox, which he bought in Bangladesh. He wants to use it in the US. But the XBox is designed for a different wattage and voltage. Where can he find a device to convert American electricity appropriately? We already tried Best Buy and RadioShack, but no success yet. Thanks for any advice.