When tenants rent space in a multi-unit commercial complex, they often demand protection from competition within their real property leases through noncompete provisions. The risk is that the landlord will lease another unit within the same commercial complex to a…
Read MoreAs a recent Washington Supreme Court case illustrated, failure to obtain a restraining order prior to a non-judicial foreclosure sale may prevent a borrower from being able to challenge the sale. Further, if a loan is for commercial purposes or…
Read MoreThe Division II Court of Appeals recently decided that the Washington Deeds of Trust Act prohibited a lender from obtaining a deficiency judgment against a commercial guarantor where the guaranty was secured by nonjudicially foreclosed deeds of trust. First-Citizens Bank…
Read MoreThe Tax Court recently decided that taxpayers may not deduct interest payments from their federal taxes related to a mortgage or deed of trust on their principal residence that was never recorded in the county records. Defrancis v. C.I.R., T.C. Summ. Op.…
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari of In re Clark, 714 F.3d 559 (7th Circuit 2013), and thus will apparently resolve a split among federal Circuit Courts of Appeals regarding whether a debtor’s inherited IRA is exempt from bankruptcy.…
Read MoreThe IRS recently published Rev. Proc. 2013-35, which announces the annual inflation adjustments for certain federal tax provisions for 2014. Among many other adjustments, the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping federal transfer tax exemption was increased from $5.25 million to…
Read MoreA recent Washington State Court of Appeals (Division I) case holds that the time during which the creditor of a probate estate can bring a claim begins to run from the mailing of the Notice to Creditors, even if the…
Read MoreA condominium is a way of organizing ownership in real property. Condominiums are used when portions of a larger piece of real property may be portioned into smaller “units,” and then the owners of such units share in the use…
Read MoreEstoppel certificates are documents that establish facts that the signing party then cannot contradict. Estoppel certificates are very common when dealing with commercial property. In the commercial property context, estoppel certificates are relatively simple documents that request a tenant to provide/verify…
Read MoreA recent decision by the Washington state Supreme Court, Raven v. Department of Social and Health Services, clarifies the duty of a guardian of the person to take an incapacitated person’s preferences into account in making residential placement decisions. The…
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