Do I have a case against my mother in law?

There are number of "crimes" committed and the police will have to deal with them if you want them to.

They will be reluctant to do so as it is a family matter but, child abuse and fraud are two serious crimes both of which could be said to have been committed here.

Taking legal action will be the end of any relationship you may have with your m.in law and possible cause a lot of problems with you and the childs father.

If that is what you want then go ahead and take action.

Otherwise have some serious words with her and let it go.

You can try in small claims court. However it is my feeling the issue you are going to run into is the fact it was a deal between family members. Even though this type of contract is not required to be in writing but when it comes to contracts between family members Courts tend to be a bit skeptical unless they are in writing. The reason for this tends to be the nature of the relationship and the way families operate. With that said I am not saying you cannot win but you are going to need to prove there was an agreement to enter into a legally biding agreement. How do you do that depends on the documentation you have of the transaction. For example a check written to you for payment might help. If you are able to prove it then the only thing you will get is a judgment for the amount owed and you will not get the computer back. My advice is determine how important it is to you that she pays you back balanced against the family drama that will almost surely follow if you take your mother-in-law to court. If you are determined to get her to pay the money owed then I would write her a letter sent via a recorded delivery stating the agreement, that she has not paid, the amount owed, and you expect to be paid otherwise you will begin legal proceedings. An alternative suggestion would be tell her flat out she is not getting anymore support from you and go look elsewhere if she wants anything else. In conclusion if you are not prepared to that then I would say take it as a learning experience and not buy things like computers for family members.

The thing is you have to weigh up court costs etc. You may get the satisfaction of a court agreeing with you, but it is a stressful process and may cause stress between you and your partner as he is his mother.

Personally, I would focus on the relaxed laws regarding ear piercing. I think piercists should only be able to pierce children under 16 once they have seen documentation which proves that the parent/guardian asking for the procedure to be carried out is who they are saying they are. Had this procedure been in place, Sophie would never had got her ears pierced in the first place.

What your MIL did was unacceptable and wrong, and I don't think you will ever get over what she has done to you, your partner and Sophie even if you did take her to court.

I hope Sophie starts feeling better soon xxx

Forgery is a crime. When it involves your signature it is the theft of your identity. It is not to be accepted or tolerated and you are legally protected from it. Understand the law.

Is every forgery a Crime?

Although a true forgery is a crime not every crime is actionable or subject to prosecution.

When is it prosecutable?

Generally when the forgery involves substantial amounts of money, or property and the crime meets the established threshold of the law. The prosecuting authorities for the venue and jurisdiction generally make that determination.

When is it not actionable?

Generally when there is no large pecuniary or other substantial loss prosecution is unreasonable.

Quotes from a website I found. I'm sure you could try and take her to court for it. It is illegal for her to do. I'd be downright pissed if my mil did that to her. No way would she ever be able to take my daughter alone anytime in the future. If anything, you could file a lawsuit against the place she got them pierced at for not checking ID. If they're letting just anyone claim that they're parents to a kid they have with them, that's not right. I'm mad for you, and she's not even my kid! Did you take the ear rings out? I would have.

Here's state laws about piercings:

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/minorbodyart.h...

You probably do have a case of some sort against her. Before you do anything you need to think about the repercussions. I agree with you that she was wrong for doing this. However if you do anything about it you may destroy your relationship with your mother in law, and also get your hubby mad at you. Why don't you leave it alone but use the issue as a reason to not let her take your daughter out of your sight. In the mean time you could let them just grow back.

That's ridiculous! How awful. Take out the earrings (if you can) in the hope the holes will close, and don't let her near your kids again!

Others have given good advice about how you could possibly pursue this civilly or criminall against her or the piercing place. Call Legal Aid or the equivalent for more advice.

Criminally - it's technically an assault on your daughter but the police may not be interested. you could certainly report her for it.

Civilly - you could sue her for the assault on your daughter (it's a technical assault) You probably don't need the stress, as you say, but for God's sake don't let that stupid woman near you daughter again! you could write to her telling her why you feel the way you do (try and keep it civil) and say that you are considering your options, legally and will be in touch. that should scare her a little!! poor baby - take the earrings out and the holes will close up fairly quickly - wash them with cooled boiled water every few hours to help. Poor little girl - give her a cuddle from me!

Take the legal advice from those above.

As far as pain & suffering or child abuse: for piercing her ears, she was wrong but many people piece a baby's ears at far younger ages with no negative results so that part is a weak case.

As far as her forging your signature, impersonation, and perpetuating fraud: A VERY good case that should be pursued for the sake of your children. I don't believe you need a lawyer at this time. You should be able to press criminal charges with the police. Make sure to present them with the forged documents. Since they are fraudulent, the ear piecing place must provide you with copies, They are legally bound to do so.

And do not allow unsupervised visits with your child until ordered to by a judge. She has already shown herself to be untrustworthy with the welfare of a child. Who knows what fraudulent parental consent forms she will sign next to do who knows what to your child. Will she take her for cosmetic surgery to "fix her nose" at 4 years old? Or decide tattoos are "cute" on toddlers?. She's using your child to play baby-doll dress up.

Yes, this will cause tremendous descent in your family and you must convince your husband to support you, which I'm sure he will be reluctant to do, no one wants to put their own mother up on criminal charges. But what she did is against several laws and she did perpetuate a criminal action.

You have both a criminal and a civil case against her.

Under criminal law your mother in law would technically be guilty of wounding (piercing the entire skin) under section 20 of the Offence Against the Person Act 1868. This is equivalent to GBH. But in practice a charge of ABH is more likely, but this is still a serious crime. You need to report her to the police to proceed.

You MiL is also guilty of the civil equivalent, so you could sue her, on behalf of your daughter, for trespass against the person. If you were successful your daughter would be entitled to damages for her pain and suffering.

A successful criminal prosecution would also result in damages, so you would only need to sue if the police refused to act. But doing such a thing to a child is equivalent to child abuse, so I'm sure the police would act.

I think the best place to start is going to be the CAB. Their advice is free and they will know if you have a case.

From what you have said today and yesterday I think the main crime (in the eyes of the law) is the fact she pretended to be you. Unfortunately I don't see how you can get her for the pain Soph has suffered as it seems it is legal to pierce a toddlers ears (else they wouldn't have done it) Shame we don't have more laws regarding morals hey!

Glasgow (Albion Street) Citizens Advice Bureau

3rd Floor, 48 Albion Street

Glasgow G1 1LH

Phone: 0141 552 5556

Email: cab@albionstreet.fslife.co.uk

Sheriff Court Area/s: Glasgow

Council: City of Glasgow

There are LOADS of CAB offices:

http://www.govanlc.com/glasgow.htm