Legal Holidays
This is a follow-up to a prior post that discussed what a “day” is in a real estate contract and how we count “days after.” [To find that post, search this group for, “DAYS, COUNTING DAYS AND DEADLINES.”] In that other post, I explained how the deadline for performance of a contractual duty cannot end on a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday. The contract doesn’t define what a “legal holiday” is, but everyone knows what the legal holidays are, right? Well, it’s not as easy as you think.
If you want to test yourself, stop reading this, grab a pen and paper and list the legal holidays in California. I’ll wait…
How many did you get? 9? 10? 11? There are actually 12! (And some people would make an argument for even one or two more…)
How can this be so hard? The problem is that they have changed over the years. When I was younger, we had separate days for Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays, now it’s combined into one “President’s Day." Then we have a federal holiday that California doesn’t recognize, and also one California holiday that isn’t a federal legal holiday. You can’t even look at what’s closed or not, because banks, post offices, county and/or state offices will be closed on most of these, but not all. Sometimes the banks will be closed but the county offices will be open.
So do we follow the California days, or the federal days? The answer is, "Yes!" It’s probably safer to consider ALL these days as “legal holidays.” You certainly don’t want to be in the position where you wind up in court over a notice to perform or a demand to close escrow that you gave one day too early (and therefore VOID) because of one of these gray-area holidays.
Let’s get the easy ones out of the way – 1. New Year’s Day. 2. MLK Jr. Day. 3. President’s Day. 4. Memorial Day. 5. Independence Day. 6. Labor Day. 7. Veteran’s Day. 8. Thanksgiving Day. 9. Christmas Day.
That's 9. There are a couple more...
Did you write down “Columbus Day?” California doesn’t recognize it, but it’s still a federal holiday so it should probably still be counted. (Could you make the argument that it shouldn’t count in California. Yes! Do you want to be the test case? No, I didn’t think so…)
Did you get “César Chávez Day?” It IS a state legal holiday in California, even though it's not a federal legal holiday. It's technically a federal “commemorative day.” This means not all banks will be closed and county offices may be open.
So, that’s gets us to 11. There is one more, but don’t feel bad if you don’t know it, because it just became a federal legal holiday in 2021.
Juneteenth. If you can’t find this one listed in an online source of legal holidays, that means that calendar was created prior to 2021 and hasn’t been updated.
So that’s 12. Could there be more? There are two more dates to consider…
Inauguration Day is a paid day off for some federal employees around Washington, but I don’t think it’s one we need to worry about in regards to being a California “legal holiday.” However, if you are reading this during January of an inauguration year and you are preparing a notice to perform and big money is at stake, you may want to factor that day in!
There is one more that’s not an official legal holiday, but there is some talk of making it one. The day after Thanksgiving is becoming a quasi-holiday in the United States. Many businesses (especially banks and title companies) are starting to close early on this day. It may not technically be a legal holiday, but if more and more businesses close early or close altogether that day, it may effectively act like a holiday. In fact, our local county recorder’s office will be closed on that day (see link below).
That brings up another interesting point: What if the county recorder’s office is closed, even though it’s not a legal holiday? Let’s say that there is extreme weather, or a fire or some other reason that they are closed. In that case, all contractual obligations are still due on that day EXCEPT for close of escrow, which shall occur the next day that the Recorder’s office is open. So if your client is attempting to complete a 1031 exchange (or has some other reason where the deadline for closing is ultra-important), keep this in mind.
Below is a list of the legal holidays and when they are observed. (If the date falls on a weekend, it will be observed the Friday before or the Monday following.)
New Year’s Day – January 1st.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day – The third Monday in January
President’s Day – The third Monday in February.
César Chávez Day – Every March 31st.
Memorial Day – The last Monday in May.
Juneteenth – June 19th.
Independence Day – July 4th.
Labor Day – The first Monday in September.
Columbus Day – The second Monday in October.
Veteran’s Day – November 11th. Observed on Friday if it falls on a Saturday or Monday if it falls on a Sunday.
Thanksgiving Day – Fourth Thursday in November.
Christmas Day – December 25th. Friday if falls on Saturday or Monday if it falls on a Sunday.
CALIFORNIA HOLIDAYS
https://www.sos.ca.gov/state-holidays
FEDERAL HOLIDAYS
