Estoppel 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…
Read MoreSellers of undeveloped land selling to buyers who plan on developing the land often want the buyer’s development work if the buyer does not follow through with the deal. In Mangat v. Snohomish County, No. 67712-8, (Div. 1, Aug. 26, 2013),…
Read MoreEarlier this year, the Washington state legislature made changes to the Washington state estate tax designed to limit the impact of the Bracken decision. The legislature made other changes to the state estate tax, which have been discussed in a…
Read MoreIn Bavand v. OneWest Bank, F.S.B., the original deed of trust named IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. as the “Lender” and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”) as “the beneficiary” and “as a nominee for the Lender and Lender’s successors and assigns.”…
Read MoreThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued guidance clarifying the federal tax implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Windsor decision. Windsor held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between one man and…
Read MoreKristi O’Brien, leading Seattle business attorney and managing partner of Montgomery Purdue Blankinship & Austin PLLC received special mention in the 2013 Law Guide published by the Puget Sound Business Journal. Kristi is featured along with several other Seattle area…
Read MoreThe use of unpaid internships to provide “real world” work experience has grown tremendously in recent years. For example, a recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 55 percent of students in the class of…
Read MoreWashington law generally permits deeds of trust to be foreclosed upon by non-judicial trustee’s sale. This provides secured creditors with a faster and generally less expensive alternative to judicial foreclosure. Washington law affords debtors additional protections where a creditor elects…
Read MoreThere has long been doubt and ambiguity in Washington about whether consideration must be recited in a deed gifting real property, but a Washington Court of Appeals has recently dispelled the confusion. The requirements for transferring real property vary from…
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