A partnership is a business arrangement in which two or more individuals contribute to the company’s operations while equally sharing profits and liabilities. What happens if someone wants to leave the arrangement? Read on to find out how to withdraw from a business partnership in Florida.
How Do I Withdraw from a Business Partnership in Florida? – The Fundamentals
Whether the partnership is falling through altogether or one of the parties simply wants to leave, it is crucial to follow a set of prudent steps to avoid unpleasant “side effects.” In the following topics, you will find the key factors to consider when leaving a partnership in Florida.
Are You Leaving Voluntarily?
The first step is to identify whether you are leaving the partnership voluntarily or non-voluntarily. If you want to live based on personal reasons, retirement, or to pursue a different career, the situation is easier to handle.
Conversely, non-voluntary withdrawals tend to involve complicated circumstances. If the other partners in the business want you gone and they have the right to push a withdrawal, you must leave the business.
Non-voluntary withdrawals often involve bankruptcy, breach of partnership duty, and criminal conduct.
Please note that a partner “forced” to withdraw is not always liable for the situation. For example, if one of the partners of a business dies or becomes incapacitated in Florida, the remaining partners have no choice except for relying on a non-voluntary withdrawal.
Identifying a Proper Withdrawal Strategy
If you are leaving voluntarily, it is crucial to identify a safe exit strategy. Determining the best way to leave a partnership business in Florida requires you to assess the company’s size, scale, structure, and partnership agreement.
Another essential step is to identify whether you are (or could be) liable for any business debts. Simple partnership businesses with no complexity involved in the arrangement require little to no effort to withdraw.
In such cases, a well-written notice of withdrawal is sufficient to leave the company. Partnerships with complex structures, large amounts of assets, or legal complications may require additional effort before one can legally withdraw from the business.
Reviewing the Partnership Agreement
Whether you are leaving a complex or simple partnership business, you must review the terms and clauses of the partnership agreement. A solid partnership agreement has provisions detailing instructions for withdrawals, dissolutions, and what should be done if one of the partners leaves for whatever reason.
Different companies have distinct partnership agreements, which require attention to detail. Some agreements have specific withdrawal conditions, such as requiring partners to spend an amount of time before leaving the company or notifying the other partners in advance.
A well-drafted partnership agreement must protect all partners from the unexpected consequences of a sudden withdrawal. Failing to comply with these terms may result in financial and legal damages.
Dissolving a Two-Member Partnership
If a business partnership has only two partners and one of them wants to leave, the remaining partner cannot keep making business as a “sole-member partnership” in Florida. In this case, the remaining partner can either operate as a sole proprietorship or form another business with a new partner.
In multi-partner arrangements, partnership agreements often require voting before dissolution and detail how the former partner’s share should be distributed.
Withdrawing from a Business Partnership in Florida – Immediately Contact Jurado & Associates, P.A.
Avoid costly mistakes – work with an expert partnership attorney from Jurado & Associates, P.A. by calling (305) 921-0976 or emailing [email protected] for expert legal guidance.
