Final answer:
William, as a general partner with a 50% interest in a limited liability partnership, would be responsible for half of the $80,000 in liabilities, amounting to $40,000, according to standard rules of partnerships with both general and limited partners. Option b is the correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to how the liability is shared within a partnership where there's a combination of a general and a limited partner. In a limited liability partnership, the general partner has unlimited personal liability, meaning they are responsible for the partnership debts if the partnership assets are insufficient to cover them. Given that William is a general partner owning a 50% interest in William and Mary Enterprises and assuming standard partnership rules apply without any special agreement to the contrary, William would typically be responsible for up to half of the total liabilities, provided that Mary as a limited partner has her liability restricted only to her investment in the company.
In this scenario, the partnership has $80,000 in liabilities, which are all recourse liabilities. Recourse liabilities mean that the lenders can pursue the general partners for debt satisfaction beyond the assets of the partnership. Therefore, since William is a general partner, he can be held personally liable for the debts of the partnership. Based on these considerations, William's share of the total liabilities would be $40,000, which is half of the total liabilities according to his 50% interest in the partnership.
Therefore, the correct option answer in the final answer would be 'b. $40,000'.