Shareholder agreements - How to settle disputes when business partners get 'divorced'

As written in the May 2014 Smart Business News Akron/Canton
By Elizabeth G. Yeargin, Partner and Kate B. Wexler, Associate, Brouse McDowell, LPA

Business partnerships are often compared to marriages and business “divorces” can get nasty if details haven’t been worked out in advance.

Just as couples have prenuptial agreements to protect interests in the event of a separation, business partners can create documents that serve the same purpose.

“If no plan has been put in place, it can get very heated when a separation occurs,” says Elizabeth G. Yeargin, a partner at Brouse McDowell. “It’s usually most heated in family businesses because there’s so much emotion involved. Unfortunately, those also are the situations where business partners tend to think everyone will get along and they don’t need to have an agreement prepared in advance.”

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