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Wausau Real Estate - Drafting Contracts

By
Real Estate Agent with yourChoiceRealty.net

New Supreme Court Rule Affects REALTOR®

Date:
June 14, 2010

MADISON, WI - Almost 50 years ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held in State ex rel. Reynolds v. Dinger (1961) by a narrow 4-3 decision that a real estate licensee drafting contracts for customers and clients is the practice of law, but that real estate licensees may do so on state-approved forms so long as the consumer is not harmed by such practice. Right now you may be thinking, "How does this affect me and why are we talking about Dinger?"

On June 1, 2010, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on a petition presented by the State Bar of Wisconsin that had the potential to take away a great portion of the REALTOR®'s role in a real estate transaction. The Supreme Court unanimously voted to adopt SCR Chapter 23 Regulation of Unauthorized Practice of Law, subject to final drafting modifications. Currently, the Court is working on a technical review of the final draft and anticipates an effective date of January 1, 2011.

Why was this scary for REALTORS®? The worst-case scenario for REALTORS® would have been a world where REALTORS® would no longer be able to draft a real estate contract on behalf of a consumer. Only persons authorized to practice law in Wisconsin and/or the consumer would be able to draft a contract relative to a real estate transaction. The outcome completely hinged on the drafting of the language of this new Supreme Court rule.

For the last seven years, the State Bar repeatedly petitioned the Supreme Court to create a definition for both the lawful practice and the unauthorized practice of law. During that time the WRA represented you by monitoring and participating in the process with the support of your dedicated Board of Directors, the Legal Action Program, WRA legal and public policy staff, and outside legal counsel.

The WRA did not advocate for such a rule; however, we did recognize that if the Court elected to adopt a rule as proposed by the State Bar, certain language needed to be included to protect your rights under Dinger. While the Court did determine a rule should exist, it also recognized that the rights under Dinger should continue and adopted a rule with our proposed language. Once the rule goes into effect, REALTORS® will practice in a world where you have both Dinger and SCR 23 supporting your ability to draft contracts on behalf of your customers and clients.

John Flor, WRA Chairman
Bill Malkasian, WRA President

About the WRA
The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association is one of the largest trade associations in the state, representing more than 14,000 real estate brokers, sales people and affiliates statewide.

 

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