Posing as a minors parent to sign a waiver, could this realistically cause any problems for me? (attorney, girl)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We-ll, if you are ever in the situation where you want people to believe what you say, such as in court, and it can be shown that you lied there, then you might have a problem with those who judge accepting your side of the story.
When I finally went to court to get legal custody of my grand I had my attorney and the judge ask with get puzzlement how I had been able to enroll him in school, sports and get medical attention for 5 years.
For the most part no one cares. The teachers, coaches, administrators and his pediatrician were all so accustom to seeing me, and only me with him some assumed and some knew the situation and turned a blind eye and some did not care at all. No one seemed to fault me for my little scam.
Now when I was asked point blank was I the legal guardian I did not lie and it caused a great deal of unnecessary crap.
Just text the parents and ask them to text back that you have their permission to take their kids on the zip line and you have their permission to sign the form at the zoo.
Setting a bad example is not the way this is going down.
On Saturday morning, I'm not saying:
"Hey kids, we have to lie to get on the zipline, here's what we're gonna do...."
We simply show up, I hand the form to the person I need to hand it to, and on the form my relation to the kids is marked "father."
And I say: "Good morning sir or madame, I'm here to sign the kids up for the zipline. Here's the paperwork."
The kids aren't paying attention to what the form says or what I'm writing on it.
I think you are missing the point of what a number of people are saying. It is extremely unlikely that the person collecting the waivers is going to say anything. But let's say Johnny, climbing the stairs to the top slips, falls, and breaks his arm. You take him to the E.R. and maybe don't have issues there and get him all patched up. Some time later, the insurance company will start to see who should pay other than them. They'll contact the zoo. The zoo will happily turn over the waiver. The person at the insurance company is going to see your name and know that you are not the father. It unravels further from there.
The bottom line is, it will be fine until it isn't. You asked what could happen and people gave you possibilities. You seem determined to do it, so go and good luck. Are your kids going, too?
I think we all know that these waivers are little more than CYA. But it's still a legal document. As several others have suggested, send a text to your brother, asking him to text back and state in the text that he, as the kids' father, gives his permission for you, their uncle, to sign any waivers on his behalf from (today's date) to (date when he comes back to collect his kids) due to his being out of town to attend a funeral. The odds of anything bad happening are next to nothing; but if something does go wrong, you've gotten written proof that the kids' parents gave their permission for their kids to do the zipline and for you to sign the waiver on his behalf.
The following is my OPINION, as I have no legal background.
I think this comes down to how much risk you are willing to take for yourself. If you sign it and something bad happens to one or both of the kids, I am fairly sure that you could be liable for all damages. I would do what someone else suggested and get email permission to cover your butt if something bad does happen.
(Just as an aside, this is one more example of how society has changed in 50 years. When I was a teenager and had full-time summer babysitting jobs starting when I was 14,, it never occurred to me or the parents to ask for anything in writing. People back then seemed to accept that bad things could and did happen, but most of the time, accidents were due to bad luck and not bad intentions or willful neglect.)
When I finally went to court to get legal custody of my grand I had my attorney and the judge ask with get puzzlement how I had been able to enroll him in school, sports and get medical attention for 5 years.
For the most part no one cares. The teachers, coaches, administrators and his pediatrician were all so accustom to seeing me, and only me with him some assumed and some knew the situation and turned a blind eye and some did not care at all. No one seemed to fault me for my little scam.
Now when I was asked point blank was I the legal guardian I did not lie and it caused a great deal of unnecessary crap.
Same with my grand kids, especially my grandson who I'm always driving. No one has ever questioned me. I've taken him to the doctor, hospital. I've never had to show proof of who I am. He's calling me grandma.
Funny, I wrote a check for my daughter, they returned the money. I forgot it had her name on the check, signed it, put it in my account. I guess no one cares I signed my name on the check. Oh well.
Who am I defrauding? I'm not taking any money from them. In fact, I'm paying them money, the full cost of their services.
But the main question I'm presenting here, is who would know, and why?
If anyone asks, they're my kids.
But no ones ever asked before.
So to sway my ultimate decision, I'm looking for: "Yes....you could get caught because......and here are the consequences if that happens. .."
The only way you'd get 'caught' is if there were an accident, and the parents tried to sue the zoo...they wouldn't get anywhere because you signed the waiver. Then the parents could sue you for signing the waiver. That's the worst consequence I could think of.
9/10 there won't be a problem. 1/10 could have some serious financial consequences at the least and maybe beyond if something really goes awry.
cd :O)
Wow, where did you get that there’s a 10% chance something goes really awry on a zip line? I’ve ridden a zip line 20-30 times and never had an issue. I guess I’m just one of the few lucky ones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by djmaxwell
I think you are missing the point of what a number of people are saying. It is extremely unlikely that the person collecting the waivers is going to say anything. But let's say Johnny, climbing the stairs to the top slips, falls, and breaks his arm. You take him to the E.R. and maybe don't have issues there and get him all patched up. Some time later, the insurance company will start to see who should pay other than them. They'll contact the zoo. The zoo will happily turn over the waiver. The person at the insurance company is going to see your name and know that you are not the father. It unravels further from there.
The bottom line is, it will be fine until it isn't. You asked what could happen and people gave you possibilities. You seem determined to do it, so go and good luck. Are your kids going, too?
Why would the zoo pay if you fell and broke your arm? Does the waiver cover climbing up stairs? I’ve been to plenty of amusement parks and climbed stairs without a waiver at all. In these cases I would assume it’s “at your own risk”, unless these places are dishing out money every time someone falls. Now if the place was negligent in some way then I could see them being sued regardless if there is a waiver or not. Wouldn’t the parents have to sue the zoo to get money from them? I’ve never heard of an insurance company going after a business for medical expenses.
I’m guessing the waiver is meant to cover freak accidents where fault can’t be determined.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stagemomma
The only way you'd get 'caught' is if there were an accident, and the parents tried to sue the zoo...they wouldn't get anywhere because you signed the waiver. Then the parents could sue you for signing the waiver. That's the worst consequence I could think of.
Correct, but as long as he informs the parents about the zip line, I don’t even see this being an issue.
In the end I really don’t put a lot of stock into that waiver form. It’s not some kind of official document signed in front of a judge and people sign for other people’s kids all the time. I take it as a warning that the activity carries some risk, nothing more. If there is an accident, then it’s either the fault of the park or the person riding the zip line. In most cases this will determine any kind of financial outcome rather than some amusement park waiver form.
I’ve never heard of an insurance company going after a business for medical expenses.
Subrogation. The insurance company is going to do everything it can to not have to pay for the claim.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
