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| First Person: Money & Meaning |
Patrimony and Partnership
Elizabeth Giffin Flint
11/01/2005
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With the easy money, of course,
comes a downside. Death permeates this investment. My grandparents, then my dad,
had to die before I became part owner of this property. I am reminded of
this sad fact every time I deal with the market. I liked it better when they
were alive, and it was their property.
There also remains the question of
our—the current owners’—deaths. My aunt and uncle will probably go first because
they are older, but the truth is any one of us can die at any time. What happens
then? Will they pass on their one-third share to each of their three children?
If they do, the property will have 10 owners. I am newly married, and though my
family likes my husband Carl, I am not sure everyone would want to go into
business with him if I die unexpectedly and he inherits my share.
To further
complicate matters, we do not have a partnership agreement, but instead hold our
shares as tenants in common. Consequently, we have no formal mechanism by which
we make decisions. So far this has not been a problem because we have been able
to talk through the issues that have arisen (such as renewing the lease) and
reach agreement on key points. However, it is only a matter of time before
something comes up that we cannot agree on, and we will need some way to resolve
the issue.
For example, the area in which the market is located has been
targeted for redevelopment, and the property may be taken by eminent domain.
Eminent domain is a complex process that requires extensive negotiation and
possibly litigation. We have also been approached by a local charity to buy the
property and by a drug store chain to enter into a long-term lease. At some
point, we will need to decide upon a different course than the one we are
currently taking. I have no idea how that decision, considering all of the
competing interests involved, will be made.
With no partnership agreement
limiting us, each of us can do whatever we want with our share of the property,
including selling it or using it to secure a loan. This means that the normal
life events that occur in all families, such as marriage, divorce, financial
hardship and even death, take on new meaning: How will it affect the market? I
liked it better when we were just concerned about each other as family members
and not business partners.
Changing World
I have tried and failed to convince the family that we need
a partnership agreement. The problem is that our family has been doing business
without one for decades. Our relationship with the current tenants stretches
back a few generations. We have always gotten by on good faith and a handshake
agreement, and the rent check has cleared each month. To suggest that we need
anything more is to challenge my grandpa’s way of doing business.
I wish the
world still operated on a handshake and in good faith. As a lawyer and student
of human nature, I know it does not. But, like the rest of my family, I don’t
want to press the issue for now—financial prudence will just have to wait. We
are not a close family in the sense that we see or talk to each other regularly.
But when my uncle died, we went over to spend time with his family; they did the
same for us when my dad died. We still get together a few times a year to eat
tri-tip, drink wine, tell stories and have a good laugh. It’s not the same as
when my grandparents headed the family, but it is all we have left. I’ll take it
for now and hope that the rest works itself out.
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