Recent News

Consider a very stressful, but not uncommon, scenario: a process server has just knocked on your door and served you with a lawsuit.  Perhaps a disgruntled homeowner has sued you as a member of the association’s board of directors.  Perhaps a neighbor has sued you for adverse possession of a portion of your property.  Perhaps… Read More

Community associations rely upon regular assessments and special assessments paid by their owners to address their collective common expenses. Sometimes, however, owners cannot pay their assessments.  Such unfortunate circumstances require community associations to review their options on how to collect the needed unpaid assessments.   To understand a community association’s possible avenues for collection of assessments,… Read More

Condominium and homeowners associations typically govern their communities through their CC&Rs, bylaws, and rules and regulations. Although not always the case, the CC&Rs often tackle big ticket items such as maintenance and repair obligations, damage and destruction to the units and common areas, insurance coverage, condemnation proceedings, and other such matters. The bylaws, on the other hand,… Read More

The trust is one of the most popular tools in estate planning.  Generally speaking, a trustor (also sometimes known as a settlor or grantor) establishes a trust for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries (the parties benefitted by the trust).  A trustee (who controls the trust property) then administers the trust for the benefit of those… Read More

The sale of real property involves a variety of different forms of financing and purchase.  In the Washington State real estate market, all cash offers have become more common, and of course, many prospective purchasers seek out lending opportunities through banks and mortgage companies.  A less common, but sometimes very effective tool for the right… Read More

What is a reserve study?  Community associations, such as condominium associations, homeowners associations, and cooperatives, often have budget planning studies conducted to identify the current financial shape of their reserve fund, a fund meant to ensure the association remains in good repair without the need to impose sudden special assessments, or to seek funding from… Read More

In Washington State, unmarried individuals who purchase real property together typically do so as tenants in common, as this provides significant flexibility for each co-owner.  For example, tenants in common can independently pass their respective ownership interests to their heirs after death and can sell their individual ownership interests in the real property to third parties. … Read More

Washington State provides that, generally, a business entity may not employ medical professionals to practice their licensed professions.  This Corporate Practice of Medicine (CPOM) doctrine protects the relationship between medical doctors and patients.  The doctrine dates back to 1943, when the Washington Supreme Court ruled in State ex rel. Standard Optical Co. v. Superior Court, that only a person,… Read More

When purchasing a property, a buyer has a multitude of different considerations to keep in mind, such as reviewing Form 17 disclosures, addressing financing contingencies, reviewing inspections, and considering earnest money deposits, escalation clauses, and more.  The list can feel endless.  One of the most important documents involved in the purchase of a home, the… Read More