Chapter 178

178.0501 178.0501 Partner not co-owner of partnership property. A partner is not a co-owner of partnership property and has no interest in partnership property which can be transferred, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

178.0501 History History: 2015 a. 295.

178.0502 178.0502 Nature of transferable interest. A transferable interest is personal property.

178.0502 History History: 2015 a. 295.

178.0503 178.0503 Transfer of transferable interest.

178.0503(1) (1) All of the following apply to a transfer, in whole or in part, of a transferable interest:

178.0503(1)(a) (a) It is permissible.

178.0503(1)(b) (b) It does not by itself cause a person’s dissociation as a partner or a dissolution and winding up of the partnership business.

178.0503(1)(c) (c) Subject to s. 178.0505, it does not entitle the transferee to do any of the following:

178.0503(1)(c)1. 1. Participate in the management or conduct of the partnership’s business.

178.0503(1)(c)2. 2. Except as otherwise provided in sub. (3), have access to records or other information concerning the partnership’s business.

178.0503(2) (2) A transferee has the right to all of the following:

178.0503(2)(a) (a) To receive, in accordance with the transfer, distributions to which the transferor would otherwise be entitled.

178.0503(2)(b) (b) To seek under s. 178.0801 (5) a judicial determination that it is equitable to wind up the partnership business.

178.0503(3) (3) In a dissolution and winding up of a partnership, a transferee is entitled to an account of the partnership’s transactions only from the date of dissolution.

178.0503(4) (4) A partnership need not give effect to a transferee’s rights under this section until the partnership knows or has notice of the transfer.

178.0503(5) (5) A transfer of a transferable interest in violation of a valid restriction on transfer contained in the partnership agreement is ineffective if the intended transferee has knowledge or notice of the restriction at the time of transfer.

178.0503(6) (6) Except as otherwise provided in s. 178.0601 (4) (b), if a partner transfers a transferable interest, the transferor retains the rights of a partner other than the transferable interest transferred and retains all the duties and obligations of a partner.

178.0503(7) (7) If a partner transfers a transferable interest to a person that becomes a partner with respect to the transferred interest, the transferee is liable for the partner’s obligations under ss. 178.0404 and 178.0407 known to the transferee when the transferee becomes a partner.

178.0503 History History: 2015 a. 295.

178.0503 Annotation A partner’s interest in partnership property is assignable by inter vivos gift, provided the elements of such a gift are established. Estate of Schreiber, 68 Wis. 2d 135, 227 N.W.2d 917 (1992).

178.0504 178.0504 Charging order.

178.0504(1) (1) On application by a judgment creditor of a partner or transferee, a court may enter a charging order against the transferable interest of the judgment debtor for the unsatisfied amount of the judgment. A charging order constitutes a lien on a judgment debtor’s transferable interest and requires the partnership to pay over to the person to which the charging order was issued any distribution that otherwise would be paid to the judgment debtor.

178.0504(2) (2) To the extent necessary to effectuate the collection of distributions pursuant to a charging order in effect under sub. (1), the court may do any of the following:

178.0504(2)(a) (a) Appoint a receiver of the distributions subject to the charging order, with the power to make all inquiries the judgment debtor might have made.

178.0504(2)(b) (b) Make all other orders necessary to give effect to the charging order.

178.0504(3) (3) Upon a showing that distributions under a charging order will not pay the judgment debt within a reasonable time, the court may foreclose the lien and order the sale of the transferable interest. The purchaser at the foreclosure sale obtains only the transferable interest, does not thereby become a partner, and is subject to s. 178.0503.

178.0504(4) (4) At any time before foreclosure under sub. (3), the partner or transferee whose transferable interest is subject to a charging order under sub. (1) may extinguish the charging order by satisfying the judgment and filing a certified copy of the satisfaction with the court that issued the charging order.

178.0504(5) (5) At any time before foreclosure under sub. (3), a partnership or one or more partners whose transferable interests are not subject to the charging order may pay to the judgment creditor the full amount due under the judgment and thereby succeed to the rights of the judgment creditor, including the charging order.

178.0504(6) (6) This chapter does not deprive any partner or transferee of the benefit of any exemption law applicable to the transferable interest of the partner or transferee.

178.0504(7) (7) This section provides the exclusive remedy by which a person seeking, in the capacity of a judgment creditor, to enforce a judgment against a partner or transferee may satisfy the judgment from the judgment debtor’s transferable interest.

178.0504 History History: 2015 a. 295.

178.0505 178.0505 Power of legal representative of deceased partner. If a partner dies, the deceased partner’s legal representative may exercise any of the following:

178.0505(1) (1) The rights of a transferee provided in s. 178.0503 (3).

178.0505(2) (2) For purposes of settling the estate, the rights the deceased partner had under s. 178.0408.

178.0505 History History: 2015 a. 295.

subch. VI of ch. 178 SUBCHAPTER VI

DISSOCIATION

178.0601 178.0601 Events causing dissociation. A person is dissociated as a partner when any of the following applies:

178.0601(1) (1) The partnership knows or has notice of the person’s express will to withdraw as a partner, but, if the person has specified a withdrawal date later than the date the partnership knew or had notice, on that later date.

178.0601(2) (2) An event stated in the partnership agreement as causing the person’s dissociation occurs.

178.0601(3) (3) The person is expelled as a partner pursuant to the partnership agreement.

178.0601(4) (4) The person is expelled as a partner by the affirmative vote or consent of all the other partners if any of the following applies:

178.0601(4)(a) (a) It is unlawful to carry on the partnership business with the person as a partner.

178.0601(4)(b) (b) There has been a transfer of all of the person’s transferable interest in the partnership, other than a transfer for security purposes or the entry of a charging order that is in effect under s. 178.0504 and that has not been foreclosed.

178.0601(4)(c) (c) The person is an entity and all of the following apply:

178.0601(4)(c)1. 1. The partnership notifies the person that it will be expelled as a partner because the person has filed a statement of dissolution or the equivalent, the person has been administratively dissolved, the person’s charter or the equivalent has been revoked, or the person’s right to conduct business has been suspended by the jurisdiction of the person’s governing law.

178.0601(4)(c)2. 2. The statement of dissolution or the equivalent has not been withdrawn, rescinded, or revoked, the person has not been reinstated, or the person’s charter or the equivalent or right to conduct business has not been reinstated, within 90 days after the notification under subd. 1.

178.0601(4)(d) (d) The person is an unincorporated entity that has been dissolved and whose activities and affairs are being wound up.

178.0601(5) (5) On application by the partnership or another partner, the person is expelled as a partner by judicial order because the person has done any of the following:

178.0601(5)(a) (a) Engaged, or is engaging, in wrongful conduct that has affected adversely and materially, or will affect adversely and materially, the partnership’s business.

178.0601(5)(b) (b) Committed willfully or persistently, or is committing willfully or persistently, a material breach of the partnership agreement or a duty or obligation under s. 178.0409.

178.0601(5)(c) (c) Engaged, or is engaging, in conduct relating to the partnership’s business which makes it not reasonably practicable to carry on the business with the person as a partner.

178.0601(6) (6) Any of the following applies to the person:

178.0601(6)(a) (a) The person becomes a debtor in bankruptcy.

178.0601(6)(b) (b) The person signs an assignment for the benefit of creditors.

178.0601(6)(c) (c) The person seeks, consents to, or acquiesces in the appointment of a trustee, receiver, or liquidator of the person or of all or substantially all the person’s property.

178.0601(7) (7) In the case of an individual, any of the following applies to the individual:

178.0601(7)(a) (a) The individual dies.

178.0601(7)(b) (b) A guardian or general conservator for the individual is appointed.

178.0601(7)(c) (c) A court orders that the individual has otherwise become incapable of performing the individual’s duties as a partner under this chapter or the partnership agreement.

178.0601(8) (8) In the case of a person that is a testamentary or living trust or is acting as a partner by virtue of being a trustee of such a trust, the trust’s entire transferable interest in the partnership is distributed.

178.0601(9) (9) In the case of a person that is an estate or is acting as a partner by virtue of being a personal representative of an estate, the estate’s entire transferable interest in the partnership is distributed.

178.0601(10) (10) In the case of a person that is not an individual, the existence of the person terminates.

178.0601(15) (15) The partnership dissolves and completes winding up.

178.0601 History History: 2015 a. 295; 2021 a. 258.

178.0602 178.0602 Power to dissociate as partner; wrongful dissociation.

178.0602(1) (1) A person has the power to dissociate as a partner at any time, rightfully or wrongfully, by withdrawing as a partner by express will under s. 178.0601 (1).

178.0602(2) (2) A person’s dissociation as a partner is wrongful only if any of the following applies:

178.0602(2)(a) (a) The dissociation is in breach of an express provision of the partnership agreement.

178.0602(2)(b) (b) In the case of a partnership for a definite term or particular undertaking, the dissociation occurs before the expiration of the term or the completion of the undertaking and any of the following applies:

178.0602(2)(b)1. 1. The person withdraws as a partner by express will, unless the withdrawal follows not later than 90 days after another person’s dissociation by death or otherwise under s. 178.0601 (6) to (10) or wrongful dissociation under this subsection.

178.0602(2)(b)2. 2. The person is expelled as a partner by judicial order under s. 178.0601 (5).

178.0602(2)(b)3. 3. The person is dissociated under s. 178.0601 (6).

178.0602(2)(b)4. 4. In the case of a person that is not a trust other than a business trust, an estate, or an individual, the person is expelled or otherwise dissociated because it willfully dissolved or terminated.

178.0602(3) (3) A person that wrongfully dissociates as a partner is liable to the partnership and to the other partners for damages caused by the dissociation. The liability is in addition to any debt, obligation, or other liability of the partner to the partnership or the other partners.

178.0602 History History: 2015 a. 295.

178.0603 178.0603 Effect of dissociation.

178.0603(1) (1) If a person’s dissociation results in a dissolution and winding up of the partnership business, subch. VIII applies; otherwise, subch. VII applies.

178.0603(2) (2) If a person is dissociated as a partner, all of the following apply:

178.0603(2)(a) (a) The person’s right to participate in the management and conduct of the partnership’s business terminates, except as otherwise provided in s. 178.0802 (3).

178.0603(2)(b) (b) The person’s duties and obligations under s. 178.0409 end with regard to matters arising and events occurring after the person’s dissociation, except to the extent the partner participates in winding up the partnership’s business pursuant to s. 178.0802.

178.0603(3) (3) A person’s dissociation does not of itself discharge the person from any debt, obligation, or other liability to the partnership or the other partners which the person incurred while a partner.

178.0603 History History: 2015 a. 295.

subch. VII of ch. 178 SUBCHAPTER VII

PERSON’S DISSOCIATION AS
A PARTNER WHEN BUSINESS
NOT WOUND UP

178.0701 178.0701 Purchase of interest of person dissociated as partner.

178.0701(1) (1) If a person is dissociated as a partner without the dissociation resulting in a dissolution and winding up of the partnership business under s. 178.0801, the partnership shall cause the person’s interest in the partnership to be purchased for a buyout price determined pursuant to sub. (2).

178.0701(2) (2) The buyout price of the interest of a person dissociated as a partner is the amount that would have been distributable to the person under s. 178.0806 (2) if, on the date of dissociation, the assets of the partnership were sold and the partnership were wound up, with the sale price equal to the greater of the liquidation value or the value based on a sale of the entire business as a going concern without the person.