Can a partner retitle his/her ownership in the club to
his/her trust? Have any clubs encountered this question or
has anyone done this in the past?

Yes, you can have a trust be an owner if your partnership
agreement allows this. The sample partnership agreement
found at :
https://www.bivio.com/site-help/bp/Partnership_Agreement
Does not permit this. Additionally, having a trust as a
partner changes how your club is treated by the IRS.
I hope this helps.
scott
From the sample agreement at bivio:

Ownership Restrictions. Membership in the club may not be
held by any of the following entity types:

    Partnerships
    Trusts
    Foreign entities that would not be treated as a C
    corporations if they were a domestic entity
    Any disregarded entity described in IRS Regulations
    section 301.7701-2(c)(2)(i)
    A nominee or other similar person that holds an interest
    on behalf of another person
    An estate of an individual other than a deceased partner

    Can a partner retitle his/her ownership in the club to
his/her trust? Have any clubs encountered this question or
has anyone done this in the past?

Ed:

It is legal to have a trust be a partner in a partnership. Bivio discourages
allowing a trust be a partner, which explains the provisions in its sample
partnership agreement.

Having a trust as a partner does preclude the partnership from taking
advantage of certain IRS audit rules. Search the club_cafe archives for
prior discussions.

If you decide to allow a trust to be a partner, I would recommend the
partnership agreement provide:

1. It is limited to a revocable living trust.

2. The trust remains a partner only so long as the creator of the trust
(trustor) remains the trustee.

3. When the trustor ceases to be the trustee for any reason, that event is
treated the same as the death of a non-trust member, i.e. the partnership
treats the event the same as a voluntary withdrawal.

4. Part of the different IRS treatment in the event of an unlikely audit
assessment being collected directly from the partnership can be ameliorated
by including a provision that former members will reimburse the partnership
their pro-rata share of any assessment paid by the partnership.

When a member has created an estate plan using a revocable living trust, it
seems to me to be a major deterrent to membership if a single-asset probate
must be processed for a membership in an investment club. If my club did not
allow revocable living trusts, It would certainly make me think twice
before continuing to be a member as would at least two other members.

Jack Ranby

-----Original Message-----
From: club_cafe@bivio.com [mailto:club_cafe@bivio.com] On Behalf Of Ed
Wadsworth via bivio.com
Sent: Sunday, 12 May, 2019 09:20
To: club_cafe@bivio.com
Subject: [club_cafe] Club Ownership

Can a partner retitle his/her ownership in the club to
his/her trust? Have any clubs encountered this question or
has anyone done this in the past?