An agricultural business owner finds herself lucid but aged and in a care home, having passed on her business responsibilities and residence to one of her sons. Unable to meet her care home fees, questions have arisen as to who is responsible for the payment of these fees and whether the mother is or is not still part owner of the farming business.
Writing for Farmers Weekly, partner, Mike Westbrook and solicitor Jack Rogers, both in the Succession and Tax team at Thrings, help one of the sons to understand his mother’s rights.
Mike said: “It seems there may have been transfers of your mother’s share in the partnership to the other partners over time. It is important to establish whether your mother was fully aware of this. Day-to-day management decisions of the partnership can generally be made by a majority vote of the partners. However, significant changes, particularly those involving changes to the rights of the partners (to capital, for example), must be made with the consent of all partners.”
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