Washington Laws

Question 1

Water Rights (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/rights/water-right-home.html)

Answer 1

State statute provides that water in Washington is considered to be owned by the general public.
To be allowed to divert waters for private use, a landowner must obtain a water rights certificate from the Supervisor of Water Resources at the Department of Ecology.

Question 2

a riparian owner

Answer 2

one who owns land along the bank of a river or stream

Question 3

a water rights certificate

Answer 3

shows the following:

• the period during which the right may be exercised
• the point of diversion
• the place of use
• the maximum quantity of water that may be diverted
• the land to which the water right is appurtenant

Question 4

community property

Answer 4

Under state law, all real property in Washington and all personal property anywhere acquired by a husband and wife during a valid marriage or by persons in a state- registered domestic partnership is community property unless specifically acquired by one or the other as separate property.

Question 5

Separate property

Answer 5

is property that is owned and may be conveyed individually by a husband, wife, or domestic partner. It includes:

• property owned before the marriage or partnership
• rents and profits from separate property
• property acquired with the proceeds of separate property
• property acquired during marriage or partnership by devise, inheritance, or gift

Question 6

a community property agreement

Answer 6

making all property currently owned or later acquired by either spouse or partner community property, regardless of how or when it was acquired, and providing for all community property to automatically pass to a surviving spouse or partner

Question 7

unsecured liens

Answer 7

judgments and other liens in which the property was not originally offered as security for the debt

Question 8

a person’s homestead

Answer 8

the real or personal property actually intended or used as his/her principal home

Question 9

A homestead exemption

Answer 9

may protect a homeowner from foreclosure on unsecured liens (i.e., judgments and other liens in which the property was not originally offered as security for the debt). It will not defeat foreclosure on secured liens, such as mortgages, deeds of trust, or homeowners’ or condominium association liens.

The exemption is provided only for a person’s homestead (i.e., the real or personal property actually intended or used as his/her principal home). This includes the dwelling house or mobile home in which the owner resides or intends to reside, with appurtenant buildings and the land on which he/she is situated, as well as improved or unimproved land on which the owner intends to place a house or mobile home in which he/she will reside.

Question 10

Excise Tax [RCW 82.45]

Answer 10

An excise tax of 1.28% of the sales price (plus an additional amount added by local authorities) is imposed on the transfer of the title to, or of an estate in, real property when valuable consideration is given.

The tax does not apply to transfers:

• by gift, devise, inheritance, or property settlement under divorce proceedings of leasehold interests
• by deed in lieu of foreclosure
• by loan assumption where no other valuable consideration is given

Question 11

MORTGAGE

Answer 11

technically a mortgage isn’t a loan, it is a type of security instrument used to secure such a loan.