What is the best way to structure a partnership?  

-form a partnership with a US citizen, ideally a local citizen in KC.

I'll of course do my due diligence of vetting potential partners, but will also do my best to remember that it's always possible to move on from a negative partnership.

I wanted to connect with anyone that is looking or is doing a partnership in some deals in New Jersey.

On the face of it, I'm encouraged to hear that your FIL (Father-in-law) has initiated this mentorship and partnership deal.I would be inclined to use this as an on-ramp into real estate investing. 

States like New York and New Jersey require a partnership tax return to be filed if the partnership/LLC has any partners/members that are NY/NJ residents.Failure to file results in a penalty per partner per month that the return is late.Once you have a partnership above a certain amount of assets - you are required to keep a proper set of books(balance sheet & P&L).The rules for partnership are getting a little bit more nuanced as you are required to keep proper records of each partner's capital account.With that said - I don't think Excel will work

Def need someone to help draft a partnership agreement.

Each partner contributed say $100,000 to the partnership to purchase the rentals. 

However if your LLC is multimember LLC then reporting will be different, as in you have to file a partnership return and then report your income in your personal return once you get your K-1 from your partnership.

What if I pick an agent and it turns out to be not a good partnership, can I still go back to the ones I initially rejected?