Question

Discuss the various methods of computing the share in profits in the event of death of a partner.

Answer 1

In case of death of a partner during the year, his/her executer is entitled for share of profit up to the date of death of the partner.

The share of profit can be calculated by one of the two methods.

1) On time basis: Under this method, profit up to the date of the death of the partner is calculated on the basis of the last year's/years' profit or average profit of last few years. In this approach, it is assumed that the profit will be uniform throughout the current year. The deceased partner will be entitled for the share of the profit proportionately up to the date of his/her death.

Share of Deceased Partner in Profit =

Example- A, B and C are equal partners. The profit of the firm for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 are Rs 10,00,000, Rs 7,00,000 and Rs 13,00,000 respectively. C dies on April 30, 2011. The share of C in the firm's profit will be calculated on the basis of average profit of last three years. Firm closes its books every year on December 31.

In this case, C's share in the profits will be calculated for four months, i.e. from January 01, 2011 to April 30, 2011.

2) On the sale basis: Under this method, profit is calculated on the basis of last year's sale. In this situation, it is assumed that the net profit margin of the current year's sale is similar to that of the last year's.

Share of Deceased Partner's Profit =×Sales from the beginning of the current year up to the date of death × Share of deceased partner

Example- X Y and Z are equal partners. The last year's sales and profit were Rs 25,00,000 and Rs 2,50,000. Z died on the April 30, 2011. Sales of the current year till the date of Z's death amounts to Rs 12,00,000. Firm closes its books on December 31 every year.