[GA] Need advice on where to get legal advice for residential business.
Hello r/legaladvice.
My wife is a certified swim instructor with many years of experience. She has CPR, first aid, and water safety certifications as well, and personal liability insurance, too.
We recently bought a home in unincorporated Cobb County, GA that has a swimming pool in the back yard. She would like to teach private lessons from it, but we don't know if that's something she can even legally do.
I just need to know who I can even ask about this? I tried calling the zoning board for the county, and they directed me to someone to ask, but I'm not sure if I should even do that, since she's already done some private lessons for family friends and we don't want any extra scrutiny in case this isn't okay. I'd like to consult with a lawyer who knows the local zoning and business laws, especially as they pertain to residential businesses. I've never contacted a lawyer before, so I don't even know what kind of lawyer to look for. I found a local law firm that specializes in business litigation, but that doesn't seem quite what I'm looking for.
Could anyone please point me to at least what kind of lawyer I should be looking for, or give any assurance about going directly to the zoning board?
Posted Jan 17, 2017, 6:34 PM UTC
You can ask the zoning board about requirements for doing a small buisness out of a residential location. They will likely give you some bright line rules on when you run afoul of zoning. Your biggest issue is the tremendous liability you are risking in the event someone gets injured. Further, doing it at all likely voids your homeowner insurance if they ever find out.