Estate of Melvin W. Ballantyne, Deceased, Jean S. Ballantyne, Independent Executrix, and Jean S. Ballantyne - Page 29




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          had 50-percent ownership in land.  Jean testified that, although            
          she generally did not discuss business with Melvin, she “just               
          thought that everything was 50-50" in BBP.  Kab testified that,             
          at the time of Melvin’s death, he believed that Melvin and                  
          Russell shared BBP profits on an equal basis.  Todd testified               
          that he understood that Melvin and Russell had an agreement that            
          all property was owned equally and income taxes were split                  
          evenly.  After Melvin’s death, a dispute arose concerning BBP.              
          The parties eventually negotiated a settlement agreement                    
          resolving the dispute concerning BBP.  In negotiating the                   
          settlement agreement, the goal of the estate’s representatives              
          was to obtain 50 percent in value of the partnership assets.  The           
          parties stipulated that the grain income was the sole property of           
          Russell; however, Russell was also required to pay $2 million to            
          be held in trust for the benefit of the estate.  The evidence in            
          the record indicates that the remaining assets and liabilities of           
          BBP were split approximately equally between the estate and                 
          Russell.  Thus, the evidence generally indicates that each                  
          partner had equal rights to distributions of capital upon                   
          liquidation of BBP.                                                         
               In addition to the four factors above, we also note that               
          other evidence bears on the partners’ interests in BBP.  For at             
          least the years 1980 through 1994, BBP reported all partnership             
          items equally, and a dispute never arose as to the proper                   






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