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Lien Waiver Form "Release Through" Date

By Diane Dennis

What is that pesky "release through date"?

Click here for the lien waiver form you need

QUESTION:

Dear Diane:

I have purchased and use your California 20-day preliminary notices and I love them!

I am thinking of purchasing the lien waiver package but I wanted to know if the instructions tell you what date to put in the #1 release.

Some of our customers want the last date work was performed and others want the date of the invoice....

Thanks, Lou E.

The release through date for the lien waiver form is the date that you're invoicing the job through

ANSWER

Dear Lou:

Thank you, I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the forms you purchased! :)

To answer your question, yes the instructions included with the lien waiver form package do explain release dates and how to handle the situation you described. :)

The release through date for the release form is the date that you're invoicing the job through.

When you submit an invoice on a project it's going to be for all work performed, material supplied, etc. through a particular date, typically the last day of the prior month. The date you're invoicing through is also the date you are releasing through.

You might invoice on the 5th of each month and the invoice covers all work performed during the prior month.

Let's say it's September 5th. You're invoicing for all of August.

Your "release through" date will be August 31, not Sep 5.

This is because you aren't yet billing for September's work, even though you're billing in September.

You'll want to make absolutely certain that you have ALL material, labor, supplies, etc. accounted for, for that time period ending August 31.

If you forget something, or you add wrong, you could lose out on payment for what got left out of your figures.

When you sign that document you're giving up lien rights for that time frame.

This is because the document you're signing states that you're releasing your rights for everything, expense and profit, through Aug 31.

Your recipient relies on that document as the final word.

The lien waiver form isn't releasing lien rights for a particular dollar amount, it's releasing for a time period ending on a particular date, in this case through August 31.

A couple never-to-do's...

Never release your lien rights for work you've done on the job or material you've supplied to the job when you haven't yet submitted an invoice or been paid for it (the work and/or material).

Never make the release through date the same date as the date of the invoice UNLESS the date you're invoicing and releasing through is the same date that you're preparing the invoice.

Thank you again Lou!
Diane

Mechanics Lien Waiver Form Word and PDF Be PRO with the lien waiver forms! Instant Download Unlimited Usage Unlimited Free Replacement Unlimited Free Support Bonus! Learn exactly how to use each mechanics lien waiver with the included in-depth article. Construction-Business-Forms.com

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