Recent News

An escrow holder owes fiduciary duties to all parties to the escrow, and owes the same duty of fidelity that an agent or trustee owes to its principles.  Parties to escrows frequently misunderstand these duties.  It is not an escrow holder’s job to sort out ambiguities of a contract between the parties; rather, the escrow… Read More

In the midst of divorce proceedings, the effect of those proceedings on existing estate planning documents and whether the estate planning documents should be replaced are probably not high on a person’s list of things to consider.  Under Washington law, a Will signed during marriage that gives property or powers to a spouse is revoked… Read More

“I want to gift some money to my kids, and avoid estate tax, but I know you can only give $15,000 in a year.” Clients say this regularly. But the gifting cap is a myth! In the vast majority of cases, the term “gift tax” is a misnomer. Only the very wealthiest are at risk… Read More

The newly-passed Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) will take effect on July 1 of this year. The WUCIOA is comprehensive and regulates the formation, management and termination of common interest communities (CICs). Covered communities include condominiums, plat communities, and cooperatives. Application The WUCIOA will apply to all CICs created after July 1, 2018… Read More

Beresford Booth lawyer David C. Tingstad was recently appointed by the Washington State Bar Association as Chairman of the Practice Primer Business Law Series. The WSBA Practice Primer is a continuing legal education program that takes a substantive area of law and develops a series of learning tracks that build upon one another. Completion of… Read More

Getting a divorce is never easy --- but it certainly is less stressful when it is done amicably. In fact, many couples decide that they don’t need the advice of counsel because they are able to agree on the division of assets and liabilities --- and thus they proceed with filing pro se. Further, many… Read More

It may be your very own neighbor.  While many of us want to co-exist peacefully with our neighbors, you cannot always choose your neighbors, and they may have other goals in mind.  Conflicts between neighbors can arise in a variety of contexts, from tree cutting disputes to boundary disputes.  However, one of the most unsettling… Read More

In the fall of 2016, Washington State voters approved Initiative 1433, which made four major changes to state law:  (1) it increases the minimum wage; (2) ensures tips and service charges are given to appropriate staff; (3) protects certain employees from retaliation for exercising their legal rights; and (4) requires employers to provide paid sick… Read More

The lawyers can see it coming. By their nature, certain lawsuits are primed from the outset to cost the parties excessive money and time, regardless of the amount in controversy. A certain a piece of litigation might involve a technical or complex area of the law. It might require ongoing and frequent oversight of the… Read More