“The law applies to all, otherwise none at all”, as the popular saying goes. Whether out of fear or of sheer zealousness, people can sometimes go overboard to the point that they subscribe even to non-existent laws.
Since you have enough time to waste now that we’re all locked up due to COVID-19, expand your knowledge a bit by finding out which of the laws you believe and follow are true or just plain hearsay. Here are the top most common made up laws most of us still believe:
- Last will of a deceased person should be read to his or her heirs.
This belief is somehow melo-dramatic and we can blame it on its Hollywood origins. Such a thing is not required and families fighting over inheritance is more possible to happen than this.
- Your employer can fire you for discussing your salary with your co-employee/s.
On the contrary, discussing your wage and unionizing is part of your right and your employer can be sued for preventing you from doing so.
- It is mandatory to wait for 24 hours to report a person missing.
If you have reasons to think that a person is missing, you can file a report for a missing person even if 24 hours hasn’t yet lapsed. According to experts, the first 48 hours is crucial to find a missing person. So the rule of thumb is to consider how long the absence is to be considered unusual.
- Co-signing a loan means you have to pay the loan together with the main borrower.
Some of us are cautious when a friend asks us to be a co-maker or co-signatory of a loan for fear that we could be held equally liable to pay the debt. This is not true. Creditors will only be after you if your friend you co-signed for is unable to pay his or her debt. Nevertheless, Just to be on the safe side, it’s a good caution not to co-sign any loan for anybody.
- A claim dismissed as plain talk for not having physical evidence to back it up is just hearsay and won’t hold any water in a trial.
This is another misconception brought by watching too much courtroom drama. Courts admit testimonies and they also serve as evidence in cases without even needing physical evidence as backup.
- Living together with your partner for a long period of time (case to case as to number) is as good as getting legally married.
Being legally married is different from what you call common-law marriage. The recognition and coinciding right and responsibilities of common-law marriages differs from state to state. Still, they ain’t the same.
- Good samaritan laws” are supposed to get you out of any sticky situation because you mean well.
It is a big misconception that invoking that you were just in a sticky situation because you were there to help can get you out of any legal debacle. Good samaritan laws can vary from state to state, country to country, but they are usually strictly implemented, that you won’t be sure that it would work in your favor.
- How tax brackets work are more complicated than you think. Moving up or down the tax bracket is not clear cut that it will also increase or decrease your taxes substantially.
As @tourdelmundo from Reddit explained it: For example, the tax bracket is $10,000, the rate below $10,000 is 5% and the rate above $10,000 is 10%. The common belief is that if someone earns $9,999, he or she will get a 5% cut in taxes but, if someone earns $10,001, he or she will get a 10% cut in taxes. This is a misconception. How it actually works is that you pay 5% on the first $10,000 and 10% only on the dollars above $10,000. If you earn $9,999, you pay $499.95. But if you earn $10,001, you will pay $500.10. You earned an additional $2 and paid an additional $0.15 in taxes: 5 cents on the 10,000th dollar and 10 cents on the 10,001st dollar.”
- Police should give you their name or badge when asked by anyone, including you.
In most viral videos about encounters between private citizens and the police, you would see people asking for the badge and the name of the police officer. There’s actually no such law that compels police officers to comply with those kinds of requests. It is just a matter of rules or standard practice established over time.
- You can’t get arrested for drunk driving if your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is below the legal limit.
There’s no such thing. You just hear it in the news as mentioned by Redditor @BeaversandB*ttholes, while there is a limit stated, being arrested for drunk driving depends on your intoxication level. So, even if your BAC is way below the limit, if you’re intoxicated, you can still get apprehended for drunk driving. So, it remains. Don’t drink and drive.