Partnerships
Rod Stumbles
Commercial Lawyer and Mediator: Providing assistance to small and medium-sized businesses, including start-ups
Contracts as Communication
Not having an adequate written partnership agreement in place, or any at all, can lead to misunderstandings and disputes, and serious financial downside.?
Before going into partnership, parties should develop and enter into a well drafted partnership agreement, and ideally attach an agreed business plan to the agreement.??(Of course, before deciding on a vehicle for a proposed business relationship, it is advisable to obtain structuring advice).
A partnership is a relationship, and relationships require effective and regular communication.?An agreement is a part of communication and relationship-building.?It helps to ensure that the partners have a common understanding and expectation, to air and address areas of concern and to build trust.?
An agreement helps the parties to consider what types of issues might arise in the future and to deal with them calmly and dispassionately while the relationship is good and when the shoe could be on any partner’s foot (so to speak), rather than wrangling in the heat of a dispute about what the (implied) "understanding" was or what is “fair”.?(It’s remarkable what different views people have about what is “fair”, and how an appeal to “fairness” often seems to coincide with the appellant’s interests).?And importantly an agreement helps to provide certainty, so that the parties can readily ascertain an answer, quickly “move on” and avoid getting bogged down in a time-and-money-wasting dispute, which often destroys the relationship (and can have serious repercussions in the personal lives of the parties).
The Partnership Act 1958 (Vic)
Partnerships are regulated by the Victorian Partnership Act 1958, the Common Law, the Rules of Equity and the partnership agreement (whether written, verbal and/or implied).?
More Information
For more information on the Act, see:
领英推荐
For information on business relationships and structuring, see:
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DISCLAIMER
This article provides general information only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.?No lawyer-client, solicitor-client or attorney-client relationship has been created between us.?You must not rely on the contents of this article, whether as an alternative to legal advice from a lawyer or other professional legal services provider or otherwise.?You should not take, discontinue or refrain from taking any action because of your understanding of the contents of this article, including without limitation delay seeking legal advice or disregard legal advice.?If you have any specific questions about any matter, you should engage us or other lawyers or other professional legal services providers to provide you with the necessary advice.?Keep in mind that you may be facing important deadlines so you should not delay in engaging someone to provide you with the advice.