Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
“I am part of a youth football/cheer organization. We are, by bylaws, part of a parent organization that brings together all sports (baseball, softball, volleyball, and our organization). This parent organization requires us to submit budgets for approval, and act as the bill payer for budgeted items. The idea of the mother organization is to help out other orgsanization if financial help is needed. All orgsanization, if successful, would be handing over a surplus at the end of the year, creating extra monies if an organization needs it.
In 12 of the last 15 years, we handed in a surplus. The last 3 years, we were in the red.
There are people and votes in our organization that wish to leave the mother organization. My question is as follows: If we leave, does the mother organization have the right to claim all of the football equipment, as it was bought in a time when there was a relationship and yearly budgets submmitted and followed?”
This will depend entirely on what is written in the by-laws and any other supporting documentation. If all documents are silent on such a matter (including about to whom ownership of equipment vests upon purchase of the equipment), then you will need to sit down with a local attorney who can go over the paperwork to determine how best to proceed.
