Recent News

Congratulations to our 2012 Super Lawyer

BeresfordBooth | 6/19/2012
David Tingstad has been named to the Washington Super Lawyers list as one of the top attorneys in Washington for 2012. No more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers. "Super Lawyers, a Thomas Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice… Read More

Financial Power of Attorney May Not Grant as Broad Powers as You Might Think

The Lawyers at Beresford Booth | 5/2/2012
A power of attorney authorizes a person (the attorney-in-fact) to act on behalf of another person (the principal).  Sometimes the power of attorney authorizes the attorney-in-fact to make decisions on behalf of the principal relating to the principal’s health care as well as to the principal’s non-health care, or financial, matters.  Sometimes the power may… Read More

Windfalls Ahead for Condo Associations?

BeresfordBooth | 3/20/2012
In the recent case Summerhill Vill. Homeowners Ass'n v. Roughley, the Washington Court of Appeals decided the foreclosure redemption statute does not allow a first position lender to redeem following a judicial foreclosure by a condominium association.  This means the following easily-envisioned scenario is possible: Person P buys a condo for $250,000, owns it for… Read More

Minority Interest in a Small or Closely Held Business is Worthless

BeresfordBooth | 3/1/2012
I regularly represent small business owners that share ownership interest with a small group of owners. What many of those business owners fail to recognize is that they need the cooperation of the other owners and cannot act unilaterally. When you are a minority owner in a small business you lack any authority to manage… Read More

Do You Have a Claim in a Probate?

BeresfordBooth | 11/14/2011
             The answer to that question may not be as simple as you might think.  Usually, you know if someone owes you money or some other obligation such as a personal guaranty of a third party’s debt.  But, what if the obligation is not yet due and payable when that person dies?  You might think… Read More

I Promised What? Sellers of Real Estate, Beware! (Buyers too)

BeresfordBooth | 11/14/2011
Sellers of real property sign a Statutory Warranty Deed (“SWD”) at the closing of the vast majority of residential real estate transactions.  This is the document that actually transfers title from seller to buyer.  If you sell a piece of real estate and give your buyer a SWD, you are promising a lot more than… Read More

There is No Expectation of Privacy on Workplace E-mails or Instant Messages

BeresfordBooth | 11/14/2011
A common misconception by employees is that there is an expectation of some level of privacy in e-mail or instant message communications on workplace systems.  The truth is exactly the opposite.  As a general matter, employees have no expectation of privacy in e-mails or instant messages sent through workplace systems.  Most employers have policies expressly… Read More