(a) Subject to the limitations on public benefit corporations in § 48-61-122, a domestic nonprofit corporation may become a domestic unincorporated entity pursuant to a plan of entity conversion.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 48-61-109

  • board of directors: means the governing board of a corporation, whether denominated the board of directors or otherwise, except that no person or group of persons is the board of directors because of powers delegated to that person or group pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
  • Business: includes every trade, occupation, profession, investment activity and other lawful purpose for gain or the preservation of assets whether or not carried on for profits. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Document: means :
    (A) Any tangible medium on which information is inscribed, and includes any writing or written instrument. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
  • domestic nonprofit corporation: means a corporation incorporated under the laws of this state and subject to the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act, compiled in chapters 51-68 of this title. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
  • Entity: includes the following, whether foreign or domestic: LLCs. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Foreign unincorporated entity: means an unincorporated entity whose internal affairs are governed by an organic law other than the laws of this state. See Tennessee Code 48-61-101
  • Interest: means either or both of the following rights under the organic law of an unincorporated entity:
    (A) The right to receive distributions from the entity either in the ordinary course or upon liquidation. See Tennessee Code 48-61-101
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Organic law: means the statute governing the internal affairs of a domestic or foreign business or nonprofit corporation or unincorporated entity. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
  • Unincorporated entity: means an organization or artificial legal person that either has a separate legal existence or has the power to acquire an estate in real property in its own name and that is not any of the following: a domestic or foreign business or nonprofit corporation, an estate, a trust, a state, the United States, or a foreign government. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
(b) Subject to the limitations on public benefit corporations in § 48-61-122, a domestic nonprofit corporation may become a foreign unincorporated entity if the entity conversion is permitted by the laws of the foreign jurisdiction.
(c) A domestic unincorporated entity may become a domestic nonprofit corporation. If the organic law of a domestic unincorporated entity does not provide procedures for the approval of an entity conversion, the conversion shall be adopted and approved, and the entity conversion effectuated, in the same manner as a merger of the unincorporated entity. If the organic law of a domestic unincorporated entity does not provide procedures for the approval of either an entity conversion or a merger, a plan of entity conversion shall be adopted and approved, and the entity conversion effectuated, in accordance with the procedures in this chapter. Without limiting this subsection (c), a domestic unincorporated entity whose organic law does not provide procedures for the approval of an entity conversion shall be subject to subsection (e) and § 48-61-111(7). For purposes of applying this chapter:

(1) The unincorporated entity, its interest holders, interests, and organic documents taken together, shall be deemed to be a domestic nonprofit corporation, members, memberships and charters, respectively, and vice versa, as the context may require; and
(2) If the business and affairs of the unincorporated entity are managed by a group of persons that is not identical to the interest holders, that group shall be deemed to be the board of directors.
(d) A foreign unincorporated entity may become a domestic nonprofit corporation if the organic law of the foreign unincorporated entity authorizes it to become a nonprofit corporation in another jurisdiction.
(e) If any provision of a debt security, note or similar evidence of indebtedness for money borrowed, whether secured or unsecured, or a contract of any kind, issued, incurred or executed by a domestic nonprofit corporation before January 1, 2015, applies to a merger of the corporation and the document does not refer to an entity conversion of the corporation, the provision shall be deemed to apply to an entity conversion of the corporation until such time as the provision is amended on or subsequent to January 1, 2015.
(f) If a plan of entity conversion includes a for-profit conversion of the corporation, the corporation must also comply with §§ 48-61-116 – 48-61-121.
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