Recent News
Changes To Estate And Gift Taxes For 2015 in Washington State
The “applicable exclusion amount” is the amount of a deceased person’s estate that passes free of estate tax. This differs from the unlimited marital deduction that applies when one spouse dies and transfers all of his or her interest in property to the surviving spouse. There is an applicable exclusion amount for federal estate tax… Read More
Dividing Property At The End Of Committed Intimate Relationship In Washington State
If you are in a marriage-like relationship with another adult, referred to as a “meretricious relationship” or a “committed intimate relationship,” but not legally married, Washington State courts can still determine the division of debts and assets you acquired during the relationship. In order to determine whether you and your former partner fall into the… Read More
Beresford Booth, Edmonds, WA Sponsors Clothes For Kids’ Fundraiser
Beresford Booth was a proud sponsor of Snohomish County nonprofit Clothes for Kids (www.clothesforkids.org/) and its 3rd annual Brew and Bluegrass fundraiser. The event featured local breweries and wineries, bluegrass music from several area bands, and community support for the work Clothes for Kids has been doing in Snohomish County for 30 years. Clothes for… Read More
Public Employees Entitled to Two Additional Unpaid Holidays for Faith or Conscience
In an interesting effort to accommodate non-Judeo-Christian public employees, a new Washington law, which took effect on June 12, 2014, gives public employees an additional two unpaid holidays per calendar year "for reasons of faith or conscience." The measure amends RCW 1.16.050, which had granted public employees one paid floating holiday per calendar year in addition… Read More
Washington State Condo Leasing Restrictions
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
Washington Court Holds Employers Can Retaliate Against Indepedent Contractors
An independent contractor truck driver named Larry Currier heard another driver “yell ... at a Latino driver ... ‘[h]ey, f**ing Mexican, you know why you have to go to Portland and I don’t? Because f**ing Mexicans are good at crossing borders.’” Currier also reports previously having heard other racially motivated slurs and comments directed at a… Read More
Damages In A Non-Judicial Foreclosure Of A Deed Of Trust In Washington State
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
Beresford Booth Wins Court Of Appeals Case, Including Award Of Costs And Attorneys’ Fees For Client
The Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, issued its decision in the Matter of the Estate of Karl O. Molck, agreeing with the arguments made by Beresford Booth. The Court decided the issues in favor of the estate and awarded the estate and its personal representative their costs and attorneys’ fees from the appellant.… Read More