Q: can’t my (adopted mom) aunt-hold my legal documents if i’m 18 and still in high school?
hello i am 18 and still in high school and was adopted by my aunt and uncle. i have recently moved out and she (my aunt) is refusing to give me my legal documents-such as my Social security card, birth certificate, and mail-also can she throw away my mail?. is this in anyways legal? and if she continues to refuse to hand them over can i get the police involved? (if she is legally supposed to give them to me?)-and another question is can she open ANY of my mail and “look” at it without my permission. (another question) can she take my social security checks and sign my signature or hers without me knowing? Can she hold onto my Social security checks from me as well? Another concern is i had a phone that has my personal email on it i have asked many times if she could let me see it (in her supervision) so i can get my email off the phone and place it on the one i have now. is it legal for her to change the password to the email-or all in all tamper with my email-without me knowing?
A:
While it is probably wrong for your aunt to withhold important documents like your social security card and birth certificate from you, I doubt law enforcement will deign to get involved. Simply request duplicates from the appropriate government office.
A person cannot lawfully divert mail addressed to another person, but no one is going to do anything to your aunt if she opens mail that is delivered to her address. You need to file a change of address notice with USPS and with anyone, any business, and any government agency that regularly send you mail.
A person cannot lawfully sign another person's name to a check without permission.
A personal cannot lawfully change or access another person's email account without permission. However, you don;t need your phone to access your email. You should access your email account from another device and disable your old cell phone's access just like you would do if you lost a cell phone.
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