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Escrow is a legal arrangement whereby an asset (often money, but sometimes other property such as art, a deed of title, website, or software source code) is delivered to a third party (called an escrow agent) to be held in trust or otherwise pending a contingency or the fulfillment of a condition or conditions in a contract. Upon that event occurring, the escrow agent will deliver the asset to the proper recipient, otherwise the escrow agent is bound by his or her fiduciary duty to maintain the escrow account.
Not all escrow agreements impose the duties of a legal trustee on the escrow agent, and, in fact, in many such agreements, escrow agents are held to a mere gross negligence standard and benefit from indemnity and hold harmless provisions.
While escrow is best known in the context of real estate (specifically in mortgages where the mortgage company will establish an escrow account to pay property tax and insurance during the term of the mortgage), escrow companies are also commonly used in the transfer of high value personal and business property, like websites and businesses, and in relation to person-to-person remote auctions (such as eBay).
More on [ Escrow ]
McCain and Obama tax plans diverge on wealth
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
True to party doctrine, the GOP candidate's economic proposals would ease the burden on the rich, while the Democratic candidate's would increase it. One in a series of occasional stories
Conservatives urge McCain to select a running mate who opposes abortion
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
His noncommittal responses and the release of the GOP convention schedule fail to allay their concerns. Many of those speaking -- and the VP pick may well be among them -- favor abortion rights. Unofficial Republican presidential nominee John McCain insisted Wednesday that he had not yet picked a running mate, even as he was confronted here by conservative voters worried that he would select someone who favored abortion rights.
Rice arrives in Iraq to iron out security deal
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:53:00 -0700
She insists that negotiators have made progress on all issues after five months of talks and are now filling holes in a draft agreement that will govern the role of U.S. forces here. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew into Iraq's capital today on an unannounced visit to try to iron out difficult final issues of a long-awaited security deal that will govern the role of U.S. forces here.
SFGate: Top News Stories
'Incalculable loss' _ US Rep. Tubbs Jones mourned
By M.R. KROPKO, Associated Press Writer Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:53:45 -0700
Tributes from political allies and even one-time enemies came pouring in for Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a trailblazer whose energy and outspokenness made her one of Congress' most dynamic leaders. Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to...
14 bodies ID'd so far in Spain plane crash
By DANIEL WOOLLS, Associated Press Writer Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:49:45 -0700
Spain began three days of mourning Thursday for the 153 people who died when a jetliner crashed shortly after takeoff in the nation's worst air disaster in nearly 25 years. Only 19 people survived Wednesday's crash of a Spanair plane bound for the Canary...
Lawsuit blames alarm companies for Contra Costa firefighter's death
hlee@sfchronicle.com (Henry K. Lee) Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:07:03 -0700
The widow of one of two Contra Costa County firefighters who died in a 2007 house fire that also killed two residents has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against two security companies, saying improper reporting of the blaze led to his death. The fire at 149...
Financial Title Company Escrow Service - Serving all of Northern California. Offices located in the Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay area and the East Bay.
