Recent News

Washington Enacts the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act

The Lawyers at Beresford Booth | 11/29/2023
A “partition” is a legal action that involves multiple owners as tenants in common of a parcel of real estate. It is governed by statute, RCW chapter 7.52. Generally, the purpose of a partition is to divide the property so that each owner owns a distinct portion rather than sharing ownership of the larger parcel.… Read More

A Contractor’s Scope of Work Must Qualify as an “Improvement Upon Real Property” to Trigger the Statute of Repose

Washington State Real Estate Lawyer Ryan G. Foltz | 11/15/2023
Washington’s statute of repose, RCW 4.16.310, provides contractors with broad defenses to stale or untimely claims. In fact, the construction statute of repose “terminates the right to file a claim after a specified time even if the injury has not yet occurred.” Wash. State Major League Baseball Stadium Pub. Facs. Dist. v. Huber, Hunt &… Read More

There’s a New Real Estate Law! Washington’s Uniform Easement Relocation Act

Washington State Business & Real Estate Lawyer William O. Kessler | 9/22/2023
Washington’s Uniform Easement Relocation Act (“UERA”) – effective on July 23, 2023 – allows a landowner burdened by an easement to relocate that easement in certain circumstances, even absent the consent of the neighboring landowner who is benefitted by that easement. The UERA – codified as RCW 64.65 – applies to all easements created by… Read More

Shaking Up Real Estate Transactions in WA – the Effect of SB 5191

Washington State Business & Real Estate Lawyer William O. Kessler | 9/19/2023
Earlier this year, the Washington State legislature passed Senate Bill 5191. SB 5191 imposes a dual duty upon real estate brokers, i.e. a duty to both buyers and sellers alike, thereby shattering the current landscape of real estate transactions. The legislature used SB 5191 to take aim at a recent Court of Appeals decision. Falcon… Read More

Two Kinds Of Adverse Possession In Washington: Statutory Vs. Common Law

Washington State Litigation Lawyer Andrew M. McKenzie | 9/6/2023
Most people when discussing adverse possession claims in Washington are unwittingly referring only to one kind- common law adverse possession.  Technically, there are two basic species of adverse possession in Washington- claims based upon statute, and claims based on the common law. Common Law Elements: To establish a common law claim of adverse possession, the… Read More

Common Grantor Doctrine 

Washington State Business and Real Estate Law Lawyer Babak Shamsi | 9/5/2023
In Washington State, owners commonly find themselves in situations where they have long possessed land, only to find out – typically through a survey – that some of the land they think they own sits outside of their record legal boundaries. This creates a conundrum in which a property owner has exercised longstanding ownership rights… Read More

My Property Line is Obvious – Or is it?

Washington State Business & Real Estate Lawyer William O. Kessler | 8/23/2023
Most buyers of real property do not wonder “what land did I buy?” Usually that question has an easy, intuitive and straightforward answer. But not always. Your legal description is the law’s expression of your property’s dimensions. Absent claims like adverse possession, a buyer of real property effectively purchases whatever is provided in his or… Read More