Recent News

Your crew has done construction or remodel work at a property, but you are not being paid. You want to file a lien against the real estate, but you are not sure you can legally. You are not even sure exactly how a lien might benefit you. Overview of Liens A “mechanic's lien” is the… Read More

In the 2010 case Eastwood, the Washington Supreme Court set forth the Independent Duty Doctrine (the “IDD”).  Under the IDD, when two parties had a contract together, one could only sue the other for a “tort” (such as negligence or fraud) if the tort claim “traces back to the breach of a tort duty arising independently… Read More

Short-term investment gains (that is gains for investments you held for less than a year) are taxed at your ordinary income tax rates. Long-term gains (that is gains on investments you have owned for longer than a year) are taxed depending on your overall income tax bracket. If your overall income falls within the 10%… Read More

In Washington state, non-judicial foreclosures of deeds of trust are governed by statute, RCW Chapter 61.24.  The non-judicial foreclosure process involves a public trustee’s sale after giving notice to various interested parties.  The effect of the trustee’s sale is to deprive the grantor of the deed of trust and anyone claiming under them of all… Read More

Most people know they should have a contract with their business partners.  But too often, they try to perform the legal drafting themselves, or they use a form inapplicable to their specific partnership.  Usually, such contracts do more harm than good.  Most small businesses form as LLCs in Washington, and rightfully so.  By far the… Read More

You borrow money to buy or refinance your home.  Your lender takes a deed of trust on your home as collateral.  Some time goes by and you pay off the loan or refinance it with a new lender who also takes a deed of trust on your home as collateral.  More time goes by and… Read More

A friendly quiet-title lawsuit is usually the most efficient option to adjust property lines in Washington State. You and your neighbor just settled a property line dispute with a handshake.  Now you figure you must head down to City Hall to fill out a boundary line adjustment application (“BLA”).  But your most efficient route to an… Read More

Effective January 1, 2013, the top capital gain tax rate has been permanently increased to 20% for married couples filing jointly with incomes exceeding $450,000 (400,000 taxable income for single filers). Investors owe capital gains taxes for taxable transfers of real property on the gain associated with the transfer. Please contact one of the real… Read More

Since the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Bain v. Metropolitan Mortgage Group, we have seen an increasing number of foreclosures-by-lawsuit (“judicial” foreclosures). The judicial foreclosure typically takes far longer to complete than the standard non-judicial foreclosure, in which a trustee goes through a notification process before selling the property without court involvement. One main drawback… Read More