(a)  Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, the association of two (2) or more persons to carry on as co-owners a business for profit forms a partnership, whether or not the persons intend to form a partnership.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-202

  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Business: includes every trade, occupation, and profession. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
  • Interest: means :

    (i)  A share in a business corporation;

    (ii)  A membership in a nonprofit corporation;

    (iii)  A partnership interest in a general partnership;

    (iv)  A partnership interest in a limited partnership;

    (v)  A membership interest in a limited liability company;

    (vi)  A share in a general cooperative association;

    (vii)  A member's interest in a limited cooperative association;

    (viii)  A membership in an unincorporated nonprofit association;

    (ix)  A beneficial interest in a statutory trust, business trust, or common-law business trust; or

    (x)  A governance interest or distributional interest in any other type of unincorporated entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-1101

  • 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.
  • Partner: means a person that:

    (i)  Has become a partner in a partnership under Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102

  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: means an individual, business corporation, nonprofit corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, general cooperative association, limited cooperative association, unincorporated nonprofit association, statutory trust, business trust, common-law business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
  • Property: means all property, whether real, personal, or mixed or tangible or intangible, or any right or interest therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-12.1-102
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent

(b)  An association formed under a statute other than this chapter, a predecessor statute, or a comparable statute of another jurisdiction is not a partnership under this chapter.

(c)  In determining whether a partnership is formed, the following rules apply:

(1)  Joint tenancy, tenancy in common, tenancy by the entireties, joint property, common property, or part ownership does not by itself establish a partnership, even if the co-owners share profits made by the use of the property;

(2)  The sharing of gross returns does not by itself establish a partnership, even if the persons sharing them have a joint or common right or interest in property from which the returns are derived; and

(3)  A person who receives a share of the profits of a business is presumed to be a partner in the business, unless the profits were received in payment:

(i)  Of a debt by installments or otherwise;

(ii)  For services as an independent contractor or of wages or other compensation to an employee;

(iii)  Of rent;

(iv)  Of an annuity or other retirement or health benefit to a deceased or retired partner or a beneficiary, representative, or designee of a deceased or retired partner;

(v)  Of interest or other charge on a loan, even if the amount of payment varies with the profits of the business, including a direct or indirect present or future ownership of the collateral, or rights to income, proceeds, or increase in value derived from the collateral; or

(vi)  For the sale of the goodwill of a business or other property by installments or otherwise.

History of Section.
P.L. 2022, ch. 123, § 2, effective January 1, 2023; P.L. 2022, ch. 124, § 2, effective January 1, 2023.