Not all business partnerships are smooth sailing. If you and your business partner cannot agree on something important or you believe your partner has done something unethical or illegal, a lawyer can help.
Numerous disputes or disagreements might arise between partners in a business where a lawyer might be needed. Perhaps you and your partner have differing views over significant issues regarding how the business should be run. You may wish to dissolve the partnership and need to split assets with your partner in a way that is fair. Perhaps your partner has done something wrong, like maybe they are stealing profits, and you want that money back. Your attorney can guide you through these problems while protecting your rights and interests. In disagreements, a lawyer can help figure out which partner is right or who has certain decision-making power. They might even help you file a lawsuit against your partner if necessary.
Call Howe & Associates at (678) 680-6983 and ask our partnership dispute attorneys for a confidential case evaluation.
Resolving Disputes Between Business Partners in Georgia
Many disputes might arise between business partners. Some can be resolved by talking it out and reaching a compromise. Other disputes might be more significant, and you and your partner might need legal help to sort through the mess.
Disagreements Over How to Run the Business
An attorney can help you resolve disputes about how you and your partner run the business. Partners might have different ideas of how to run things. This might include disputes over how money is spent, the hiring or firing of employees and managers, and the distribution of profits, among other things.
Depending on the nature of the issue, our partnership dispute lawyers can review the business agreement in place and determine the appropriate course of action. Many businesses and partnerships are based on a formal agreement signed by the partners. The agreement should explain how the business will be run and how partners are to settle disagreements or disputes. If your partner refuses to adhere to the terms of the agreement, an attorney can help you enforce it.
Alternatively, if you and your partner decide to change the agreement, a lawyer can help you make alterations. Your changes will become an official part of the business moving forward.
Dissolving the Business
Businesses do not last forever. Many businesses fade away when the partners decide to retire. Others are sold to new owners and partners who can carry on the business or change everything as they see fit. If you and your partner are dissolving a business, you might have differing views over how money and assets will be distributed.
You may want to split everything 50/50. Maybe your partner thinks they should have a larger share. Again, your attorney can review the terms of the business agreement to see if it contains details about dissolving the partnership. If it does not, your lawyer can advocate for your fair share of the profits and assets.
Your Partner is Harming the Business
Perhaps the most distressing reason a business partner needs a lawyer is that the other partner is up to no good. Suppose your partner is misusing funds, misappropriating money or assets, or doing something they know hurts the business and your interest in it. In that case, they might be in breach of their fiduciary duty.
This duty is the partner’s legal obligation to act in the business’s best interests. Knowingly working against the business or being so careless as to hurt business interests may be a serious violation. Your lawyer can help you take legal action to recover any money or profits lost because of your partner’s behavior and make them cease their actions.
Another possibility is that your partner is stealing from the business. Maybe they take a little extra money out of profits without telling you. Over time, this might add up to significant lost profits. They might instead be investing or working with competing businesses, creating a serious conflict of interest. Your lawyer can advocate for you and your business.
How to Determine Which Partner is Right in a Partnership Dispute
When business partners cannot agree, how can an attorney help them decide who is right? The answer often lies within the business agreement. This agreement is a contract between business partners regarding how the business will be run. Depending on the business and the depth and detail of the agreement, many potential disputes might already be resolved.
What does the business agreement say? Have certain duties or decision-making abilities been reserved for you or your partner? Are certain decisions required to be made by both partners together? For example, you and your partner might have differing views over hiring a new business manager to help the business. Your agreement might say that you have the last word in hiring. This is a legally enforceable clause in the contract, and your lawyer can help you enforce it.
What do we do if the business agreement is unclear? Sometimes, business agreements allow disputes to be settled with a vote. This is probably not helpful when there are only two partners. However, a partnership can have multiple partners, and a vote might be the simplest solution in many cases.
Some disputes are so complex that there is no clear path forward. Your lawyer can review your situation and help you determine if a solution can be found and how to achieve it.
Why You Should Hire a Georgia Partnership Dispute Lawyer Immediately
Business partners normally do not like to get attorneys involved in business disagreements. When people go into business together, their top concern is often maintaining a positive and professional relationship. Hiring a lawyer can come off as adversarial, and many fear their business relationships will be tarnished. Even so, there are many circumstances in which an attorney may be extremely important.
For example, you should hire an attorney if you believe you are being pushed out of the business or prevented from sharing profits. This is a major concern, as the business may be your only source of income. Your lawyer can help you enforce the conditions of the agreement or determine the value of your share of the business so your partners can buy you out.
You also need a lawyer if you have to sue your business partners. Perhaps someone has breached their fiduciary duties. Maybe one of your partners is stealing. Maybe your partner made risky investments with money from the business without telling you and lost everything. Your attorney can help you file a lawsuit so you can be paid back all the money you have lost because of your partner.
Call Our Georgia Partnership Dispute Lawyers for Help Now
Contact Howe & Associates by calling (678) 680-6983 and ask our partnership dispute attorneys for a confidential case evaluation.