My opinion on this issue is that you need to figure out what you want, as clearly as possible, before you even think about an attorney. I have been in several airplane partnerships, and no attorneys were involved, Some grousing, but no legal issues. Put your thoughts and wishes down as clearly as possible; it's expensive to have an attorney drag 'em out of you by the interview method. The attorney can then guide you to clear and enforceable contract wording
The first issue is that you need to partner up with persons of impeccable quality, and a generous nature. This is more important than all of the rest, combined. Decide if you want to allow the aircraft to be moved from the initial location by any means other than total agreement. How will you terminate? A buy sell arrangement is often used. In case of a split, one party designates a selling price, and the other party/parties decide to buy or sell. I've never seen it come to this, but it can be a tie breaker. Think about maintenance. A big issue; one of my ventures was a 4-way deal, and two persons wanted IFR currency, and two did not. Another issue was a decision to replace the ignition system 100 % at a cost of $1300, when good certified rebuilts were available. Kind of hard to swallow if pushed down your throat. Especially for a homebuilt, who will do the maintenance, and who will double-check it? Ron Freiberger mailto: [email protected]
