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Unconditional release thru date

I have a customer (the GC) requesting that i change the thru date on an unconditional release from 10.31.19 to 9.30.19. Does that really matter if what amount on the waiver is what they've been paid for thru 10.31.19. The customer has only been paid once. Their invoice was dated thru 9.30.19. They have not invoiced us October nor November, so technically I can have it say thru 11.30.19, right?

1 reply

Dec 12, 2019

The through date on California mechanics lien waivers couldn't be more important, so it's normal for the parties submitting and requesting waivers to be cautious when filling out a waiver. While I'm not sure I fully understand the situation described above, providing some information should help to clear things up here.

Understanding through dates and their impact California mechanics lien waivers

Through dates mark the end date for the waiver - it describes the end of the time period for which the waiver is effective. With that in mind - naturally, the risk of putting an improper date on a lien waiver lies in waiving more lien rights than intended. The through date on a waiver should generally be the last date for which lien rights are being waived. Moving the through date back, to cover more time, could certainly be risky. But, moving the waiver forward, to cover less time, shouldn't carry that much risk - and it may be effective to more accurately reflect the timeframe for which the waiver is being sent. And finally, if the payment has actually been paid in full and received, keep in mind that the lien waiver may ultimately be a formality as long as the waiver doesn't waive more than what's intended. After all, if payment is in hand, the party who's been paid won't have lien rights anyway.

Additional California lien waiver resources

I hope this was helpful. If you've got other questions or would like to read more about California lien waivers, Levelset has lots of content on the subject: - California Lien Waivers | Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them - California Lien Waiver Forms & Guide – All You Need to Know - California Lien Waivers Guide and FAQs - California Conditional Lien Waiver and Release on Progress Payment (Form & Guide) - California’s Unconditional Lien Waiver and Release on Progress Payment (Form & Guide)

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