Stolen Laptop

[notoriouszig]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

My parents gave me a laptop about 4 months ago because my crappy desktop was not cutting it. The beginning of the college semester helped strengthen my case as far as getting the laptop. My mother purchased the laptop for me, and gave it to me no strings attached.

Since then I have stored massive amounts of music, software, pictures, videos, and personal/financial information on the laptop.

Recently my parents and I have had a bit of a falling out. They do not agree with my life choices. As a result, I am no longer able to attend college. About a week ago my father informed me that he would be visiting me with my mother so we could speak face to face about our issues. It turned out to be an intervention of sorts.

I left after we established that I would be cut off financially and so on. As I was walking out of my apartment I said, "do not touch my stuff." My girlfriend who saw everyone out had stepped outside briefly to call me, and in that time my mother took my laptop and put it in her purse.

I didn't know until the next day when I returned with my girlfriend. I called my parents and confronted them and they told me their reason for taking the laptop was because it is "too easy to convert to cash."

After some thought, they came up with the excuse that the laptop was contingent upon my attendance to school. That was not the case. My girlfriend witnessed the gift but that is all I really have to refute their argument.

My issue is that ALL of my personal information (including private photos and so on) are on that laptop, and I have strong reason to believe that my mother is now using it; thus jeopardizing the security of my information. Not only that, but she walked out of my apartment with a piece of my property.

How can I get it back? I do not want to take it back by the same means she did, so I am hoping I can take legal action.

 

[Proserpina]

How are you able to prove that the laptop wasn't loaned to you, versus given as a gift?

 

[notoriouszig]

the laptop was purchased by my mother for me.

hence why it is registered in my name in all of the information and software. i only have my girlfriend as a witness who was there when the gift was given.

would the burden be on me to prove it was a gift, or would it be on my mother to prove it was conditional?

i am 20 years old, i had the laptop for 4 months. it is my understanding that the laptop is my property, and she stole it. would she not then have the burden of proving that it was not a gift? every bit of information on the computer points to it being my property.

 

[Proserpina]

the laptop was purchased by my mother for me.

hence why it is registered in my name in all of the information and software. i only have my girlfriend as a witness who was there when the gift was given.

would the burden be on me to prove it was a gift, or would it be on my mother to prove it was conditional?

i am 20 years old, i had the laptop for 4 months. it is my understanding that the laptop is my property, and she stole it. would she not then have the burden of proving that it was not a gift? every bit of information on the computer points to it being my property.

Sue your Mom in small claims court.

 

[notoriouszig]

Sue your Mom in small claims court.

that is exactly what i was thinking. i am wondering where to start.

tomorrow i may stop in and file a police report. i am really hoping i actually have the grounds to recover my laptop.

 

[notoriouszig]

i suppose the question still remains:

where does the burden rest -

on me to prove the laptop was a gift?
or
on my parents to prove it wasn't a gift?

 

[BL]

i suppose the question still remains:

where does the burden rest -

on me to prove the laptop was a gift?
or
on my parents to prove it wasn't a gift?

What did the police say ?

When you say everything was registered in your name ?

Who has the purchase receipt ?

 

[notoriouszig]

What did the police say ?

When you say everything was registered in your name ?

Who has the purchase receipt ?

i have yet to involve the police - i will bring my girlfriend to explain how my mother hid the laptop in her belongings and left.

macbook pro - about this mac - it reads notoriouszig's macbook + all software on the computer is licensed to me. as well as numerous passwords to forums, financial services, and so on under my name.

my mother (if she kept it) - it was gifted to me

 

[BL]

What did your mother say when you advised her you might contact the police or file small claims ?

Why would she be worried that you might convert the PC to cash ?

BTW ,what lifestyle ?

Sounds like they may the decision to cut the apron strings .

 

[notoriouszig]

What did your mother say when you advised her you might contact the police or file small claims ?

Why would she be worried that you might convert the PC to cash ?

BTW ,what lifestyle ?

Sounds like they may the decision to cut the apron strings .

my parents have been insistent that i be sober since i was 15. i chose otherwise. i do not have a habit of any sorts, they are literally manufacturing reasons for their reactions. all who know my family and the situation agree i am a scapegoat for my parents issues. hopefully now that we have that aside we can stay away from my family dynamic.

and they have no reason to worry about me selling my laptop. i have plenty of assets, the largest being my car which is easily ten times the value of my laptop. as well as other trinkets i could sell if that was what i wanted to do, but the point is i don't. i just want my property back, and would like to go about recovering it legally.

my parents told me good luck wasting my money trying to get my laptop back.

 

[Antigone*]

my parents have been insistent that i be sober since i was 15. i chose otherwise. i do not have a habit of any sorts, they are literally manufacturing reasons for their reactions. all who know my family and the situation agree i am a scapegoat for my parents issues. hopefully now that we have that aside we can stay away from my family dynamic.

and they have no reason to worry about me selling my laptop. i have plenty of assets, the largest being my car which is easily ten times the value of my laptop. as well as other trinkets i could sell if that was what i wanted to do, but the point is i don't. i just want my property back, and would like to go about recovering it legally.

my parents told me good luck wasting my money trying to get my laptop back.

There's a lot more to this story.

I can almost bet that the OP is going to need mommy dearest sometime in the future and if he/she involves the police should make mom and dad think twice about supporting their adult child any further.

My suggestion is to buy your own laptop.

 

[Ohiogal]

my parents have been insistent that i be sober since i was 15. i chose otherwise. i do not have a habit of any sorts, they are literally manufacturing reasons for their reactions. all who know my family and the situation agree i am a scapegoat for my parents issues. hopefully now that we have that aside we can stay away from my family dynamic.

and they have no reason to worry about me selling my laptop. i have plenty of assets, the largest being my car which is easily ten times the value of my laptop. as well as other trinkets i could sell if that was what i wanted to do, but the point is i don't. i just want my property back, and would like to go about recovering it legally.

my parents told me good luck wasting my money trying to get my laptop back.

So you are breaking the law and they do not want you to break the law.

 

[Zigner]

my parents told me good luck wasting my money trying to get my laptop back.

I agree .

 

[notoriouszig]

So you are breaking the law and they do not want you to break the law.

you can't tell me that drinking the year before i turn 21 and attempting to live life like my peers is a reason for my parents to behave in which the way they are. also you make no sense, that in no way justifies stealing from me.

I agree .

if you have nothing to contribute, please spare your sass. yes, i said sass.

There's a lot more to this story.

I can almost bet that the OP is going to need mommy dearest sometime in the future and if he/she involves the police should make mom and dad think twice about supporting their adult child any further.

My suggestion is to buy your own laptop.

no, i am not going to need mommy dearest. it was a mistake to allow them to support me for this long. if you must make judgments about what else could possibly be going on at least do me the favor of speaking with respect. i get it, it's tempting to type whatever you want from behind the keyboard. but here is the thing, i am looking for a solution.

this story is far too complicated to get into all of the details. i will say i made a huge mistake in allowing my parents to be as involved as they have been in my life. they have many of their own issues to sort out which is not going to happen any time soon. i am beginning life on my own for the first time, the last thing i want to do is to pick up where i left off. so back to the topic at hand:

how do i establish a case to get my laptop back?

if you must know, i have contributed much more than the cost of the laptop towards my family. i bought my own car, i pay my own repair bills, and i helped with bills. like i said before, my mother stole my laptop from me. please do not place a sense of entitlement where there is not one. if you have anything to contribute i would appreciate it!

 

[Dave1952]

Ok, if what you say is true then your parents (or Mom) did steal your laptop. I think you'll be able to make a fairly strong case that it was a gift since you filled out all the warranty cards and the purchase occurred around the start of the Fall semester.
So, will the cops be interested? Who knows? The cops and perhaps an ADA will question both you and your parents if you file a report. This is called washing the dirty linen in public.
Now on to small claims court. The judge/magistrate will also wash your family's dirty linen in public.
I think the result will be that you recover the stolen laptop and lose a family. That's not wise.
Since you are leaving college, why do you need a laptop?

Good luck