Laws, Regulations & Annotations

C

220.0000 CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP

Annotation 220.0584

220.0584 Record Title. Corporations Code section 16203 provides that property acquired by a partnership is property of the partnership and not of the partners individually. Evidence Code section 662 provides that "[t]he owner of the legal title to property is presumed to be the owner of the full beneficial title" and that, "this presumption may be rebutted only by clear and convincing proof." Because the Partnership took fee title to Property A in its own name upon purchase, the Partnership, and not any partner, is presumed to be the full beneficial owner of Property A. In order to show that the Partnership held legal title only as nominee for Taxpayer, the Evidence Code section 662 presumption must be rebutted by clear and convincing proof. However, here, a number of facts support the presumption that the partnership is the beneficial owner of Property A, including the fact that Taxpayer’s "monetary contribution" was to the Partnership itself, not to the seller of Property A, and thus was a capital contribution to the Partnership and not a purchase of Property A by Taxpayer, and the existence of a written Option Agreement granting Taxpayer an option to purchase property A, entered into contemporaneously with the purchase of Property A by the Partnership. C 5/9/2012.