law school relationships/love?

[aroma]

It's not a matter of gas prices having gone up [...]

Well, labeta, I think it IS a matter of gas prices having gone up!

(AP) -- QUESTION: When I use my debit card to buy gas at the pump, I've noticed that a hold gets put on funds in my account for a few days -- sometimes for more than what I purchased. What gives? Is there any way to avoid this?

ANSWER: Paying for gas right at the pump is a convenience many people have come to enjoy and expect, but what many people don't know is that a hold of up to $75 can be put on your bank account -- even if you bought only $50 worth of gas. And it can take a few days to clear. To protect merchants from fraud, an authorization is sent to the bank when a debit card is swiped at a self-pay pump. That triggers a hold of funds, which then has to be reconciled with the final purchase amount. With gas prices now at $4 or more a gallon, it's no longer unheard of to have a full tank cost more than $75, the usual limit for debit card holds. That means some people using debit cards to fill up can get cut off when their bill hits that level.

Visa Inc., the largest payment processing network in the country, said last month it would make changes in its systems this fall to allow debit card payments from gas purchases to clear much faster, usually within a few hours. It would also allow merchants to authorize larger amounts, in line with what customers in their market typically pay to fill up. Consumers Union, a non-profit consumer advocacy organization that publishes Consumer Reports magazine, praised Visa's move and called on gas station owners to take advantage of the faster clearance system and also for MasterCard Inc. to follow suit.

MasterCard hasn't yet said whether it would also speed up its own payment clearance system for gas pumps. The company said in response to a query that it "continues to evaluate and develop ways in which our network can be improved for the benefit of consumers, merchants and issuers. This includes, but is not limited to, addressing and minimizing 'hold' periods on debit and credit card transactions." In the meantime, Hillebrand said, gas buyers can avoid the debit card holds altogether by simply paying inside at the cashier after filling up. If you pay with a debit card and use your personal identification number (PIN), the transaction will clear right away.

For gas stations, taking advantage of Visa's new fast-clearance system for debit cards will require upgrades to their payment processing systems, but it's not yet clear how much it will cost, said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, a trade group representing gas stations. "It's something that every retailer will look at to investigate the payoff compared to the cost, but it is not simply a matter of Visa giving a handout," Lenard said. Paying with a credit card at the pump also can trigger an authorization against your credit line, but that's different from having a hold put on cash in your checking account. A credit card authorization wouldn't affect cardholders unless they were right up against their credit limits. Similar holds for funds on debit cards can occur if you use one to check into a hotel or pick up a rental car. Avoid these by using a credit card when checking in, Hillebrand said. You can always pay the final bill with your debit card -- just do so with your PIN.

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/fueling.america

[mapit]

It's not a matter of gas prices having gone up, LadyInRed, when you are physically thousands of miles away you begin to distance from them emotionally as well... I mean, you can not expect to remain "close enough" to someone when you only see them every 6 months or so..

Then what are you people waiting for? Do what you think it's the right thing to do, there's no need to feel guilty about it!

Have you guys heard that song that goes smth like "I used to have a friend..."?

[random house]

I completely agree! Law students do not understand the importance of spending time with their loved ones, they get caught up in studying and the whole law school thing forgetting that they have parents, brothers and sisters to turn to whenever they are in difficulty. And even if they are not in difficulty, they have an obligation towards their parents to visit from time to time -- unless, of course, you're already thinking like a lawyer, that is how much money you'll spend for gas to go and meet them ... well, who said you're wrong, oil prices have gone up!

It's not a matter of gas prices having gone up, LadyInRed, when you are physically thousands of miles away you begin to distance from them emotionally as well... I mean, you can not expect to remain "close enough" to someone when you only see them every 6 months or so..

Try to put this "family" and "spouse" thing in perspective... Take a look at this interesting piece, for instance:

If one spouse supports the other through graduate or professional school, does the supporting spouse have a right to be compensated for increasing the earning capacity of the other spouse?

Some courts offer compensation for putting a spouse through school. For example, one spouse may have supported the other through graduate or professional school. The supporting spouse may have expected that both would benefit from the educated spouse's enhanced earning capacity, but the marriage ended before any material benefits were earned. In some states, the professional license of a spouse or many forms of enhanced earnings may be treated as a valuable asset if acquired during the marriage.

The supporting spouse does not need rehabilitation because that spouse has worked during the entire marriage, and there is no significant property to be distributed because marital resources went to the educational effort. In cases such as this, the courts may award compensation, usually as periodic payments, to the supporting spouse. The amount paid may be based upon the contributions of the supporting spouse to the educational expenses and general support of the spouse who leaves the marriage with an advanced degree. In some states, support also may be based upon a portion of the increased earnings of the educated spouse. The courts may change or end such payments if the expected increased earnings do not occur, but the payments are not ended by remarriage of the recipient. This type of payment sometimes is often called reimbursement alimony or alimony in gross.

[,.,.,.;.,.,.]

There's a fascinating case on the previous poster's topic called in re Graham in the Colorado Supreme Court.  A woman helped her man earn an MBA.  Issue: is the MBA considered property and its earning potential should be divided?  Another issue: does she deserve alimony?  How much, what type?

I love property.

[t h e r m o s]

Gimme a break, fella! I, for one, do not believe that a spouse who works and contributes to the education of the other spouse during marriage normally does so in the expectation of compensation. Spouses simply work together, in both income and non-income producing ways, in their joint, mutual and individual interests. If the marriage fails, the supporting spouse's consequent loss of expectation by itself is no more compensable than that of having invested a portion of her life, youth, energy and labor in a failed marriage.

Furthermore, it is almost impossible to predict what amount of enhanced earnings, if any, will result from a professional education. The degree of financial success attained by those holding a professional degree varies greatly. Some, even, may earn less from their professional practices than they could have earned from non-professional work. Moreover, others, due to choice or factors beyond their control, may never practice their professions. 

[potentprodigy]

I would not advise starting a relationship with someone that you go to law school with.  The main reason for this is if it doesn't work out which it seems most of the relationships at my law school don't it can sometimes be very difficult to deal with.  There are plenty of people outside of law school that you can have a healthy relationship with. 

[R a h m a n]

Gimme a break, fella! I, for one, do not believe that a spouse who works and contributes to the education of the other spouse during marriage normally does so in the expectation of compensation. Spouses simply work together, in both income and non-income producing ways, in their joint, mutual and individual interests. If the marriage fails, the supporting spouse's consequent loss of expectation by itself is no more compensable than that of having invested a portion of her life, youth, energy and labor in a failed marriage.

I remember a law student at my school who's complaining about his wife that (at least according to him) was sabotaging him. She didn't have even a college degree and was definitely much below him in social standing. She had supported him emotionally during the first year of law school, and was also the only one working for almost three years - now, it appears the closer the guy was getting to finishing law school the more problematic her attitude towards him became. In the back of her mind she was like 100% sure he'd dump her upon graduating and becoming a lawyer, so she thought the only hope for her to be with him was to sabotage him so that he'd not earn the law degree. She'd not keep quiet for him to study (funny as it may seem), put valium in his food so that he'd not concentrate for the exam, would hide his books, destroy computer files, and ultimately she even dropped water on his laptop so that the guy could not even have it repaired by BestBuy (she knew dropping liquids on the laptop was not covered by the insurance plan he had bought for his laptop). The guy figured what was going on, but was not in a position to divorce her right away (he had already racked up a lot of debt and could not borrow more in the form of financial aid) so he put up with her. She left him days before he graduated and he took the bar exam while homeless and sleeping in his car.

[R a h m a n]

Gimme a break, fella! I, for one, do not believe that a spouse who works and contributes to the education of the other spouse during marriage normally does so in the expectation of compensation. Spouses simply work together, in both income and non-income producing ways, in their joint, mutual and individual interests. If the marriage fails, the supporting spouse's consequent loss of expectation by itself is no more compensable than that of having invested a portion of her life, youth, energy and labor in a failed marriage.

I remember a law student at my school who's complaining about his wife that (at least according to him) was sabotaging him. She didn't have even a college degree and was definitely much below him in social standing. She had supported him emotionally during the first year of law school, and was also the only one working for almost three years - now, it appears the closer the guy was getting to finishing law school the more problematic her attitude towards him became. In the back of her mind she was like 100% sure he'd dump her upon graduating and becoming a lawyer, so she thought the only hope for her to be with him was to sabotage him so that he'd not earn the law degree. She'd not keep quiet for him to study (funny as it may seem), put valium in his food so that he'd not concentrate for the exam, would hide his books, destroy computer files, and ultimately she even dropped water on his laptop so that the guy could not even have it repaired by BestBuy (she knew dropping liquids on the laptop was not covered by the insurance plan he had bought for his laptop). The guy figured what was going on, but was not in a position to divorce her right away (he had already racked up a lot of debt and could not borrow more in the form of financial aid) so he put up with her. She left him days before he graduated and he took the bar exam while homeless and sleeping in his car.

[Mindili]

Because Rahman has double-posted, I would assume the guy passed it the second time 'round

[fromadistance]

[..] put valium in his food so that he'd not concentrate for the exam, would hide his books, destroy computer files, and ultimately she even dropped water on his laptop so that the guy could not even have it repaired by BestBuy [...]

A lot of this sounds like criminal stuff, doesn't it?