Speak to a specialist solicitor at our law firm in North Yorkshire.
Succession planning- are you prepared?
Succession planning is vital for the continued success and longevity of your GP practice.
Many GP practice partnerships own their own property. When it comes to partners wanting to retire, and for new partners to join, the question of property ownership needs dealing with properly.
If this is not dealt with correctly at the time, you can find situations where a new partner joins a practice, and discovers that there was a partner who had retired some time ago, but is still registered as owning a share in the surgery premises. Indeed, they are also sometimes still named as a partner in the Partnership Agreement. We are able to advise on situations such as these and to put the correct documentation in place. If these issues are not dealt with correctly, they can cause issues for the leaving partner, and those continuing to practice.
Therefore, GP partners need to obtain proper advice on the practicalities of what needs doing when someone leaves or joins the partnership. We can advise on property ownership re-structuring, Declarations of Trust, Stamp Duty Land Tax, re-financing, and amendments to the Partnership Agreement.
With more and more GPs retiring, succession planning is increasingly important. Partnerships need to have their “house in order” to minimise risk and demonstrate they are properly run, in order to attract the best young GPs wishing to take up partnership.
