Looking at a Business Divorce? What You Need to Consider Before You End Your Relationship.
Marriage and business partnerships have numerous similarities. They begin with zeal and the highest hopes for the future. They necessitate a great deal of communication and have to deal with peaks and valleys. Business partnerships, like marriages, can come to an end at any time. Business divorce is the term used to describe the breakup of business relationships.
Anybody who’s had a business associate can attest that the marriage analogy is accurate. For married people, divorce can range from cordial to attack.
Similarly, a business divorce might be amicable or fraught with feelings, egos, and costly, protracted litigation. Business partners must cope with people and equipment rather than determine who keeps the China and silverware.
Business divorces are rarely pleasant, but they don’t have to be when a business attorney Pennsylvania is involved. If business partners remember the following crucial elements early on in their relationship, any future separation will be considerably less traumatic.
Selecting a Partner
Firm partners that want to build a long-term business should analyze compatibility before starting a new company, much as people look for compatibility in a marriage.
Potential business associates should think about whether their interactions and mental processes are complementary. Do their strengths and shortcomings complement one another?
One partner might have had specific expertise or know-how but no experience establishing a firm, whereas the other knows how to operate a business but has limited technical understanding.
As any married couple knows, getting along is easy when things are going well, but when things aren’t going so well, the partnership faces the ultimate test. In high-pressure situations, business partners should examine how well they operate together.
Do both spouses pull up their sleeves and work to find a solution when problems arise, or does one partner crumble under pressure or, worse, become angry and critical?
It is possibly the most crucial factor to consider because it will influence not only the tone of the partnership but also whether the breakup will be collaborative or confrontational.
The Partnership Accord
Before getting married, some couples sit down and think about what will happen if the marriage does not work out. A prenuptial agreement is a document that results from this process (prenup).
A partnership agreement is a name for such a document in a partnership. The distinction is that while asking for a prenuptial agreement may cause wounded emotions, pursuing a joint venture agreement must never be viewed with anger.
It is prudent to have precise, intelligible terminology about operations, norms, objectives, and exit strategies in a firm, with the help of your Pennsylvania business attorneys.
Partners should revisit this agreement regularly as the partnership grows and matures, updating it as needed and ensuring that it represents any changes to the relationship since the last review.
Counseling
When disagreements unavoidably emerge, the accurate measure of a relationship or marriage becomes questionable. Many married couples seek advice and assistance from a third party: a marriage counselor.
You could say the same about business collaborations. Counselors, advisory groups, and special committees can help establish workable solutions.
They also set mutually advantageous goals by producing new, impartial views, a situation with which your Pennsylvania business attorney can also assist.
These third parties can act as mediators in the case of a dispute, a third party while brainstorming, or a tiebreaker in the instance of a standoff for the partnership.
The Separation
There are ups and downs in all long-term partnerships. Some people can handle them, while others cannot. Business partnerships are no exception.
When a business becomes successful, one partner may desire to leave to pursue a new challenge. On other occasions, antagonism has grown to the point where the company’s capacity to operate becomes jeopardized.
Regardless of the cause, the result is the same: the marriage must come to an end. Couples who might have observed the suggestions in this article will have an easier time dissolving their relationship than those taken by surprise.
Many difficult decisions, such as how to distribute asset custody, client lists, and copyrighted material, or how to assess shares, would have already been decided.
How a Business Attorney PA Can Help
Our PA business attorneys at Braverman Kaskey Garber can deal with business divorce, snatched corporate opportunity, violation of fiduciary responsibility, and shareholder oppression trials.
Our PA business lawyers devote a significant amount of time to reviewing all of the business and accounting concerns to design a thorough strategy for pursuing and defending the allegations that arise in your case.