Farming Partnership Agreements - Drafting, Reviewing & Managing Ownership

Introduction

Agricultural partnerships can hold some of a farming family’s most valuable assets, but without a properly drafted and up-to-date partnership agreement, those assets can be exposed to significant risk.

Many farming partnerships continue to operate without a written agreement or rely on arrangements that no longer reflect the way the business operates. This can create uncertainty over ownership, decision-making, profit sharing, retirement, succession and the treatment of land and other key assets.

This practical new virtual classroom seminar will provide a focused examination of the critical aspects of agricultural partnership agreements, helping you identify weaknesses, avoid common drafting pitfalls and put effective protections in place.

Whether drafting a new agreement or reviewing an existing arrangement, the session will provide practical guidance to help you advise farming clients with greater confidence, minimise uncertainty and manage the legal and commercial risks affecting the partnership and its partners.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• Partnerships as asset-holding vehicles - understanding how partnerships can be structured to hold land, property and other significant business assets
• Ownership in a partnership - examining how ownership operates and the distinction between partnership interests and specific partnership assets
• Land and capital accounts - using capital accounts effectively and addressing the treatment of land and other assets within the partnership structure
• Land held within a partnership - identifying the practical and legal issues that can arise when agricultural land is owned or used by the partnership
• Retirement and death of a partner - addressing the treatment of partnership interests, land and assets when a partner retires or dies
• Companies as partners - exploring the use of corporate partners and the key legal, structural and practical considerations
• Partnership borrowings - understanding partnership debt, how borrowings should be analysed and the implications for partners and partnership assets
• Limited partnerships and LLPs - comparing the key features, benefits and considerations of different partnership structures
• Partner incapacity - managing the legal and practical consequences when a partner loses capacity
• Partnerships as collective investment schemes - understanding when partnership arrangements may fall within the collective investment scheme regime and the potential implications
• Key tax considerations - covering IHT, CGT, mixed partnerships and SDLT and identifying the principal tax issues affecting agricultural partnerships

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.