Here is an excerpt of our taping with Attorney Joseph Marra of Marra Law in the state of New York. Mr. Marra specializes in elder law and tax and business law. In this taping, Mr. Marra explores the problem of clients not being completely truthful and the fallout that later ensues. Joseph Marra [00:19:20] It's interesting. People not telling you the facts or actually lying to you. It's just amazing. Here is an example. I had this couple that was going through a very contentious divorce, and they had adult children. They were together twenty-five plus years it was you know; you're wondering why it got to this point, but be that as it may, she took out an order of protection against him. A total stay away order of protection. I don't know how Texas enforces these things, but New York is crazy the way they enforce. So, one day he is driving by the house she's living in. She's driving the other way. And she sees him. She goes to the DA's office, takes out a complaint that he violated the order of protection. And I tell him, it was a total stay away and he says all I was doing was driving by the house. I understand that, but it's a total stay away which means stay away from the house, you have no reason to be there. Then he tells me, “Well, that's my normal route to work”. He had his own business, and it's funny in New York, just as a quick story, New York is a huge place, as you know. We are tri-state area with twenty-five million plus. But still, it's an area of neighborhoods. And our neighborhoods are like your little villages and towns. So, where this person lived, he moved out of the house, got an apartment in the neighborhood and his business was in another part in the neighborhood. And he said, well, look, if you look at a map, this is the fastest way to go by it. OK, well, that's a defense. Now, this is a misdemeanor, by the way, in New York, it’s a misdemeanor. OK, so we go to court, and we go to trial. And I put him on the stand and guess what he says? “I had no reason to be in there. Just wanted to drive by the house”. JMD [00:21:21] Oh, oh. Joseph Marra [00:21:24] And I'm sitting there like “What!?” And after he got convicted, I said to him, “You told me repeatedly! We went over this, I just showed you a map! Right!? I'm like, oh, I don't know. But he lied. He made up a lie. And I guess for some reason when he got on the stand, I guess he swore, and he couldn't lie under oath in the truth. Catalina [00:21:48] And to be honest, Joseph, I mean, that could be very well the truth in the core. His heart was exposed, and it came out like true love and probably wanted to see who was around. How is it looking? Is it in shambles? But the truth comes out and guess what? The consequences then follow. Joseph Marra [00:22:13] Yeah. I mean, I tell people these stories all the time. This is why you need to tell me. You don't want to waste hours telling them. You tell them one or two that maybe you'll make the point, and you move on. But it doesn't always work. MD [00:22:26] Like I always say, you can't save somebody from themselves. And so, we can just do the best we can. And hopefully people watch this this podcast and YouTube video. When you go see your lawyer, they're there to help you. And if you tie their hands, they're not going to be able to help you. And by not providing them with all of the information and being truthful, that's going to wind up creating a problem because the truth will always come out. And almost assuredly it will come out at the worst possible moment for you. And that's I mean, it's just that's the way it works. And it's going to come back and bite you eventually. So definitely I hope that everybody who's out there is talking to their attorney, you know, just tell them tell them what you've got going on. Don't hold back because you're only hurting yourself. To contact Attorney Joseph Marra: marralaw@marralaw.com or call him (914) 964-6806.
