Good Morning
We are dealing with an estate in which the deceased was a Partner in a Farming Partnership. There were two other Partners.
The deceased (D) and his Partners entered into a written Partnership Agreement ¶ 22 months prior to D’s death. Within the terms of the PA there is a statement that the Partners are holding the land and property as Partnership property and there is a schedule annexed setting out the details of said property.
The PA does not include an accruer clause but does include a clause indicating that a Partner can assign or will his interest to another one of the Partners.
The PA then goes on to provide that if the outgoing Partner has not assigned or willed his interest then on his death the remaining Partners (PA does not end if at least 2 Partners remaining) can exercise an option to purchase his share and the option must be exercised in writing within 6 months of death. If not exercised then the PA is immediately determined.
I don’t believe that the option was exercised and have concluded that the PA was determined 6 months after death.
My question is what happens to the land? Does the legal and beneficial interest revert to the surviving partners or to the PRs and surviving Partners in the proportions as set out in the original Land Capital Account? The land/property does not need to be sold to settle debts etc. of the Partnership. The only debt to deal with is the amount owing to the estate of the deceased partner and aside from the interest in the value of the land his financial interest is very small.
The answer to this question is also significant as one of the other original Partners has now died and in his Will he leave legacies of his interest in the land. If the legal and beneficial interest in the land has not reverted to him and remains in some way Partnership property then he is not free to gift it in his and the legacies will fail.
Thank you in advance for any assistance that can be provided.