Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia
"If I bought a Christmas item for me and my friend to share for Christmas can I return it without breaking any laws? I paid for the item wholly and now I need money so I want to return it, but my friend says he will report it as theft. Can he do this?"
1 Answer from Attorneys
First of all, you have posted in the part of Law Guru that deals with real estate. That means attorneys in the areas of law that actually apply to your post will never see it, as you sent it to a group of lawyers that do deeds and house closings and the like.
To rephrase your question: "I gave someone a gift. Now I want to steal it back from my friend and return it to the store for money." Once you give someone something it is theirs. Period.
Besides showing you to be a jerk, as no decent person would do that, it also makes you a criminal. It's theft. Under OCGA 16-8-2 if the value is under $500, you can go to jail for a year and be fined up to $1000. If the value is over $500 you can get imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years.