Bank of Anacortes v. Cook

A question never precisely resolved by the many cases discussing the Washington homestead exemption statute, RCW 6.12, is presented by the somewhat unusual facts involved in this appeal: Is a homestead declaration invalid if the claimant vacates the premises he selected as a homestead and permanently moves to another state before the declaration is filed with the county auditor, even though the homestead claimant in fact was in full compliance with the residence requirements of the homestead statute on the date he signed the declaration? The trial court determined that a declaration of…