Recent News

The IRS estimates that 25% of all LLCs consist of two members. Care should be taken to draft an LLC Agreement to avoid a deadlock between the members or managers. In Washington, our new default rule for voting of members is on a per member basis regardless of how much capital a member contributes. As… Read More

In my earlier blog posting, titled “Should you put your primary residence in an LLC?”, I discussed my opinion that one of the rationales for not transferring your principal residence into an LLC was a likelihood that the homestead exemption would not apply.  By statute, a “homestead” provides an exemption from creditors for up to… Read More

The state of Washington imposes a real estate excise tax on transfers of real estate, but exemptions from the tax are available for certain types of transfers.  One exemption has been for distributions from the estate of a deceased person to a will beneficiary when the estate involves probate of a last will and testament… Read More

Real estate prices are continuing to climb in Seattle and many other parts of Washington. As a result, we are seeing buyers increasingly partner with friends and extended family to buy property together. Some are buying investment property, and some are even sharing a residence with their friends / co-buyers. Such arrangements can be very… Read More

Beresford Booth managing partner David C. Tingstad recently had his article on Washington State's new LLC Act published in the American Bar Association's (ABA's) LLC & Partnership Reporter November 2015 edition.  Here is the full text of David's article: After initially considering the Uniform Law Commission’s Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (“RULLCA”), Washington's Partnership and… Read More

Snohomish County Washington, located north of Seattle and south of Skagit county, features more than 2,000 square miles of dense forest, mountain wilderness, bountiful farmland, beautiful beaches and, of course, impressive urban development. In the last few years, the abundance of Snohomish County real estate growth has filled a variety of areas in the county with… Read More

Even in today’s hot real estate market, many people are still in limbo with a mortgage in arrears and an upside down house. Coming off the disastrous burst of the housing bubble, many people have not paid their mortgages in many months or even several years. They all have one question: What do I do… Read More

Condominiums created in the state of Washington after July 1, 1990 are governed by the Washington Condominium Act, RCW Chapter 64.34 (the “Act”). One requirement for the creation of a condominium is the recording of a declaration in the county in which the condominium will be located. Among the many things required to be included… Read More

In August 2013, Division One of the Washington Court of Appeals held that a borrower whose loan was secured by a deed of trust on owner-occupied residential real property could, depending upon specific facts of the case, recover monetary damages against a trustee who, by acting without lawful authority or in material violation of the… Read More