THE LETTER OF THE LAW

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Testing by the seller or lessor is not mandatory, but buyers and lessees will get a 10 day period in order to test the premises at their expense if they desire to do so.

There are a few exemptions from this disclosure law, including short-term rentals of less than 100 days, foreclosures, units without a bedroom, and housing for the elderly (unless children live there). All others must comply whether or not a realty agent handles the sale.

This is an overview of the new law. For detailed information and copies of the pamphlet call 1-800-424-LEAD. Your realty agent will also have copies of the pamphlet available if and when you list your property.

Many years ago my parents and seven of their children bought some land on a real estate contract. Now it is time to commercially thin the timber. A substantial profit will be made, but we are having difficulty deciding how to split the profit. Here's why:

Almost immediately one brother quitpaying oil thecontract and agrees he is not entitletled to profit even though he is still on the title. My dad passed away; later another brother quit paying and a sister not originally involved has been paying his share. One sister got divorced and stopped paying, she has now remarried her former husband and they want a full share of the profits. Two brothers failed to keep records of their payments and mother always made up the difference if anyone didn't pay their full share. This has already caused some angry words and is holding up the logging operation until we resolve this. Have you any advice for us?

Whew! What a mess. This is a classic case of things going awry between partners. Even with families and close friends, memories and perceptions can change through the years, with each person having a different picture in mind. Some suggestions:

Log prices can change at any time and if you were quoted a good price for your timber it might be prudent to allow the logging operation to commence while you are working this out. It could be a few weeks before your first check comes in, giving you time to resolve this.

If profits do come in before a solution is reached it might be helpful to place the money in a separate account, perhaps a trust account. Your two brothers will then have time to research their bank accounts and make a record of their payments. Before your sister and brother-in-law receive their full share the family may want to subtract an amount equal to the payments they missed. You may want to credit a partial share to the sister who made up payments for a brother even though she isn't on title. Yours is a community property state and your mother will probably be entitled to both her own and your father' s share unless a will stated otherwise. Your mother should try her best to reconstruct her payment record for herself and others. The brother who quit paying at the beginning can quitclaim his share back to the family or to the person who made up the bulk of his payments.

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