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Q: My son moved in to an apartment with his girlfriend. They both signed the lease. They broke up, and she moved out. Now she refuses to pay her share. Can my son pay just his share of the rent? Does he have the right to break the lease and move out? He can’t afford to live there alone if he has to pay all the rent.

A: The answers to your questions are no and no! When you sign a lease you are obligated to pay the rent. Unless the lease says otherwise (and most do not), when there are co-tenants, each owes the full amount of the rent. How the co-tenants divide this responsibility is up to them. If one doesn’t pay, however, the other owes the full amount of the rent.

The fact that the girlfriend has moved out also does not affect the lease. Your son is obligated to pay rent for the entire term of the lease. If he pays more than his share, however, he has the right to seek reimbursement from the ex-girlfriend.

My suggestion is that your son speak with the landlord about mutually terminating the lease. Perhaps the landlord will release him if he agrees to pay a one-time settlement amount, such as one-month’s rent.

Q: I recently ordered a few small plates to complete a set. The total cost was $90. The “shipping and handling” charge was $30. This is outrageous. Isn’t there some limit on how much may be charged for shipping? The postage on the package was less than $10.

A: First, “shipping and handling” usually includes more than just the cost of postage or freight. For example, there is also the expense and time of packing the goods and the cost of any insurance. More importantly, however, a seller may charge whatever amount it wants for the goods or for shipping.

As far as the law is concerned, this is a matter of private contract between you and the seller. The seller has the right to charge any amount for shipping, and you have the right to refuse and go elsewhere. In most cases, the market takes over and a seller who charges much more than the “going rate” soon finds that it cannot stay in business. Some companies, however, will offer a lower price, and raise the shipping and handling charges.

Richard Aldermann, a consumer advocate popularly known as “the People’s Lawyer,” is a professor at the University of Houston Law School in Houston.