The Struggle Over Minor Heir Property Rights
A state attorney general's ruling clarifies the limits of county power when minors attempt to redeem land lost to tax sales.
Olympia, Wash., Aug 12.—The attorney general has rendered an opinion in answer to an inquiry from R. B. Bryan, state superintendent of public instruction, to the effect that there is nothing in the law to warrant school directors in this state to purchase or construct portable schoolhouses without the direction of the school board. The same officer has answered an inquiry of T. B. Montgomery, treasurer of Klickitat county, in regard to property which has been sold for taxes and minor heirs are attempting to redeem. The heirs in this case made a tender of funds and the county auditor notified the purchaser to appear and accept it. They refused to do so. The attorney general has held that the county treasurer has no authority by which he can demand the tender be accepted. He holds that where property belongs to minors and is sold for taxes, the redemptioner must make his tender to the purchaser, adding enough to cover the value of improvements less the value of the improvements made since the purchase, and if the purchaser refuses to accept the tender, relief can only be sought through the courts.
“If the purchaser refuses to accept the tender, relief can only be sought through the courts.”
Property tax foreclosures and the protection of vulnerable owners—especially heirs—remain a contentious intersection of law and housing equity today. The 1903 ruling highlights that even a century ago, the state struggled to balance administrative convenience with the legal rights of those who could not easily navigate the court system.
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