Business Divorce

Running a business with others can be like a marriage. When it’s good, and everyone works together, everyone thrives.

But just as spouses sometimes need to divorce, sometimes business partners, relationships, and shareholders simply can’t stay together any longer.  When it happens, the breakup of a business can be as emotionally fraught and legally difficult as the breakup of a marriage.  If this happens to you, Cornell Dolan, P.C. has the know-how to guide you through even the messiest business divorce.

Business divorces are required when partners split up, a key partner refuses to abide by an agreement or has a critical dispute with others, or even worse—a partner or employee leaves and takes vital business information and property.

Business divorces can also be in order when different businesses, working together under a contract, realize that they no longer want to work together and need to break off. No matter the cause of the split, Cornell Dolan, P.C. has likely seen something like it, helped unwind it, and brought a client through it.

Business divorces can be difficult—partners often look for loopholes in their agreements, claim that clear terms are ambiguous, allege financial irregularities, and sometimes try to drown their former business “spouse” with litigation tactics. 

Making peace is the best way forward, and we can help make that happen. But if no peace is in sight, we act as both shield and sword for our clients, fending off improper attacks while ensuring that our clients’ rights are vigorously pursued.

Splitting off can be tricky. Here are a few areas to look out for:

• Handling Business Property and Assets

Throughout Boston, and across Massachusetts, business partners typically invest money, time, and ideas in their businesses. When they decide to divorce from their partnerships, they want to get out what they put in and a fair share of what the business has gained.

A Boston business divorce law firm like Cornell Dolan, P.C. can help owners and partners gather the documents they need to substantiate their claims. But if another business partner’s illegal or unethical actions leads to the business divorce, the injured business partner can pursue added compensation as the law allows.

• Physical Property

Many businesses own or lease real estate such as manufacturing centers and office space for their operations. They may also own equipment, vehicles, computer hardware, and other business property. In a business divorce, this property needs to be divided fairly. A Boston business divorce firm such as Cornell Dolan, P.C. can make sure their client gets a fair share.

• Digital Property

Data is vital to many modern business operations. From the start of a business, data is collected and used so that the business grows more valuable over time. That data belongs to someone, though. So when Massachusetts business owners divorce from their professional relationships, the law governs what happens to digital assets such as customer data, financial data, and other data. A Boston business lawyer can help clients make sense of their property rights over business data and other digital assets.

• Buy Out

One clean way of doing a business divorce is to have one business owner buy out another’s share. All of the partners will need lawyers to ensure that the split-up is a fair, legal transaction. That will include obtaining a fair market valuation of the business, and a method to pay for the party’s share, perhaps over a period of time.

Some Things You Should Do If You See Yourself Heading For a Business Divorce

Some of our suggestions below are simply good business practices. But if you see trouble on the horizon, you should pay particular attention to these ideas, because they can go a long way toward heading off trouble down the road:

• Keep careful records of your interactions with your partners and others in the business. Do not throw away documents or delete them from your inbox. If possible, have other witnesses around when you discuss issues. Or, after your meeting, send a follow-up email, summarizing what you understand were the key points. If you have any outstanding issues or disputes, put them in writing, so that you can document the response and show that you tried your best to work through the issues.
• From time to time, get out your foundation documents out and read through them. That includes the article of incorporation, partnership agreement, corporate bylaws, and any other corporate documents you have signed. That way, you can know everything you have the right to, and make sure that you are doing everything you are required to do.
• Call a lawyer early, just to get the lawyer up to speed with any issues. The lawyer will become familiar with the business so that you will have a headstart if a crisis should hit.

Finding Legal Assistance for Business Divorce

A business divorce can take many forms. The law allows business partners to agree to divorce from their relationship, for one business partner to buy out another’s share with consent, or for a business owner to take legal action against another business partner due to illegal or unethical activities.

The law is broad and flexible when it comes to handling the dissolution of a business. But anyone involved in a business divorce needs shrewd legal counsel. It’s essential to have legal guidance that can bring Massachusetts and federal law to bear on your behalf when it comes to a Boston business divorce.

Cornell Dolan, P.C. works hard for our clients, and our track record proves it. We go to bat for our clients and make their cause our own. We enjoy winning for our clients, but even more, we love the chance to see our clients able to leave a bad situation behind and step out into a new life. Our business divorce practice is geared toward accomplishing exactly that.

We understand the sensitive nature of business relationships, and business assets, how these pertain to business divorce, and how to ensure that a business divorce happens in the best way for our clients. Contact the Cornell Dolan, P.C. team today for a legal review of your situation and assistance with a business divorce in Boston, and throughout Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester counties.