About Documenting Partnership Expectations

Sadly, the ugly reality is that if your partner complains but doesn’t offer solutions, he’s no longer a partner. A wise lawyer once taught me this important lesson when he was drawn into a nasty partnership dispute that I was working on. One of the partners was always complaining that the other was never bringing ideas to the table. The lawyer, after listening to the whining for 15 minutes said, “Tom, you need to learn to deal with the partner you have, not the one you wish you had.”

This Page is a searchable index of all posts pertaining to Business Partnership Mediations. This page is an excellent resource for articles about partnership mediation. Find all categories including Partnership Disputes, Family Business Mediation, and Partnership Agreement.

As Moderator to many family businesses, I have helped with succession planning, compensation planning, and resolving of key questions around the operation of the enterprise. It can be difficult for an adult offspring to talk with Dad about a raise.

As you see, a contract can be legal yet not binding. And, the most important take away is that a promise, even if written up and signed, is not binding. If an agreement is not binding, it isn’t enforceable. I assume you want your agreements between you and your partner(s) to be legal, binding, and enforceable. Let’s look at the pieces that must be included to make a valid, binding contract.