What is the name of your state? Utah:
My wife helped her friend with INS document preparation and translations after she went back to Mexico to begin the immigration process for being in the US illegally. My wife charged her $2000 for her work, which is less than half what an INS attorney would charge. She also did ALL the work for her friend: she did all the document translations from Spanish to English, she tracked down and convinced her friend's family and friends to write letters on behalf of her friend and get them notorized, she spent hours and hours trying to secure an interview date, helped write the majority of the "Letter of Apology" (which goes into great detail and is quite lengthy when done correctly, prepared all supporting documentation for her case, and dragged our 4 kids along with her everywhere she went to complete all the work. That is much more work than any INS attorney would ever do. Now her friend says (now that she is back in the US) that she doesn't owe my wife anything because my wife is not a licensed professional. My wife has no written agreement for the amount indicated with her friend but has an itemized list of all the work and hours that she spent on her friend's case. Her friend finally paid her $500 and says that is all she will pay. My wife wants to sue her in small claims court for the remaining balance. Does my wife have a case against her friend even though they had no written agreement? She also wants to sue her for all her pain and suffering during the 4 weeks she packed our 4 children around with her everywhere she went. Can she sue for that, too?
My wife helped her friend with INS document preparation and translations after she went back to Mexico to begin the immigration process for being in the US illegally. My wife charged her $2000 for her work, which is less than half what an INS attorney would charge. She also did ALL the work for her friend: she did all the document translations from Spanish to English, she tracked down and convinced her friend's family and friends to write letters on behalf of her friend and get them notorized, she spent hours and hours trying to secure an interview date, helped write the majority of the "Letter of Apology" (which goes into great detail and is quite lengthy when done correctly, prepared all supporting documentation for her case, and dragged our 4 kids along with her everywhere she went to complete all the work. That is much more work than any INS attorney would ever do. Now her friend says (now that she is back in the US) that she doesn't owe my wife anything because my wife is not a licensed professional. My wife has no written agreement for the amount indicated with her friend but has an itemized list of all the work and hours that she spent on her friend's case. Her friend finally paid her $500 and says that is all she will pay. My wife wants to sue her in small claims court for the remaining balance. Does my wife have a case against her friend even though they had no written agreement? She also wants to sue her for all her pain and suffering during the 4 weeks she packed our 4 children around with her everywhere she went. Can she sue for that, too?