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.
To be fair, many Operating Agreements have at least minimal language regarding a Partner’s voluntary exit from the Partnership. But, most of the time, those clauses are so vague they make the situation worse.
Partnerships are much like romantic relationships. When it’s all new and exciting, we can easily become infatuated to the point of overlooking differences. After all, don’t the differences make the partnership stronger? Sometimes. Most often differences magnify with time and become triggers to arguments. As time goes by, the differences you ignored become important. What do you do when the differences break the partnership?
Somebody puts up money with someone who agrees to contribute labor as their contribution to an equal Partnership. Once things are set up, and a lot of money is spent, the other Partner fails to perform, and the troubles begin. I get 2-3 calls like this every week.