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Planning for distribution of partnership interest at death.


The transfer of a partnership interest by a deceased deceased 1) adj. dead. 2) n. the person who has died, as used in the handling of his/her estate, probate of will and other proceedings after death, or in reference to the victim of a homicide (as: "The deceased had been shot three times.  partner can result in unexpected income tax consequences. Therefore, it is important to determine who will be taxed on the decedent's share of partnership income or loss in the year of death.

The death of a partner generally does not result in the termination of a partnership; see Sec. 708(b). Under Sec. 706(b), if the partnership does not terminate, the tax year of the partnership does not close as a result of the partner's death. in this case, the decedent's last income tax return generally does not include income or loss from the partnership; as under Sec. 706(a), the last income tax return of the decedent An individual who has died. The term literally means "one who is dying," but it is commonly used in the law to denote one who has died, particularly someone who has recently passed away.  partner includes only his share of the partnership income for any partnership year ending within or with the decedent's last year (i.e., the year ending with his death). Thus, if a calendar-year partner in a calendar-year partnership dies prior to December 3 1, the partner's share of the partnership income f or the calendar year is included in the income tax return of the estate or other successor partner. partnership is not permitted to allocate To reserve a resource such as memory or disk. See memory allocation.  the portion of the income earned during the decedent partner's lifetime to the decedent.

As a result of Secs. 706 and 708, the decedent's final return may not have sufficient income to fully use exemptions and deductions to which the decedent was entitled en·ti·tle  
tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles
1. To give a name or title to.

2. To furnish with a right or claim to something:
. Alternatively, if the partnership generates substantial losses in the year of the partner's death, the estate may not have other income to be offset by the losses. Taxpayers have three basic options to avoid these potential adverse consequences.

First, the deceased partner may name his spouse spouse  A legal marriage partner as defined by state law  to succeed to his partnership interest after death in accordance Accordance is Bible Study Software for Macintosh developed by OakTree Software, Inc.[]

As well as a standalone program, it is the base software packaged by Zondervan in their Bible Study suites for Macintosh.
 with the terms of the partnership agreement. If the spouse is designated as the successor in the partnership interest, the share of the partnership income or loss for the partnership year ending within or with the spouse's tax year is included in the spouse's tax return. Since the surviving spouse can file a joint return with the decedent through the date of death, naming the spouse as successor in interest avoids including the partnership income or loss in the estate. Alternatively, the decedent can also appoint a third party as successor partner to shift the income or loss from the estate.

Second, the deceased partner's interest may be sold pursuant to a plan arranged prior to the date of death. Pursuant to Sec. 706(c)(2)(A)(i), the sale of a deceased partner's interest closes the partnership's tax year with respect to the partner as of the date of sale. Since the partnership's tax-year is closed, the seller includes partnership income or loss through the date of sale and the purchaser includes the income or loss after the sale; the decedent's final return would include his share of the partnership income or loss. In order for this arrangement to work, the transfer must be structured as a sale effective on the date of death and not a liquidation The collection of assets belonging to a debtor to be applied to the discharge of his or her outstanding debts.

A type of proceeding pursuant to federal Bankruptcy
 of the decedent's interest by the partnership, unless the partnership will be able to make payment in full for the decedent's partnership interest on the date of death.

Third, the estate may distribute the partnership interest to the intended successor partner prior to the last day of the partnership's tax year that includes the date of the decedent's death. This distribution allows the recipient of the decendent's partnership interest to include in his tax return the decedent's distributive dis·trib·u·tive  
adj.
1.
a. Of, relating to, or involving distribution.

b. Serving to distribute.

2.
 share of income or loss for the year of death (because the recipient is considered the partner under Regs. Sec. 1.706-1(c)(3)(vi), Example (3)). This last option may not be practical in many situations; an actual distribution of the partnership interest is necessary, and the executor executor n. the person appointed to administer the estate of a person who has died leaving a will which nominates that person. Unless there is a valid objection, the judge will appoint the person named in the will to be executor.  may not be able to make such a distribution within the required time frame.

The first two options require action prior to the partner's death. The third does not, but may not be practical. Therefore, it is important to consider the income tax consequences of a deceased partner's share of income or loss prior to his death.

From Debbie R. Torrance, CPA (Computer Press Association, Landing, NJ) An earlier membership organization founded in 1983 that promoted excellence in computer journalism. Its annual awards honored outstanding examples in print, broadcast and electronic media. The CPA disbanded in 2000. , Smith & Howard, P.C p.c. (post cibum),
n a Latin phrase meaning “after meals”; the abbreviation may be used in prescription writing.
., Atlanta, Ga.
COPYRIGHT 1995 American Institute of CPA's
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1995, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Author:Torrance, Debbie R.
Publication:The Tax Adviser
Date:Oct 1, 1995
Words:707
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