Splitting a partnership with a lazy bugger

[bigapple]

We have had a biz for the past 10 yrs and my partner has given up work for the past 18 months and moved abroad. She has taken a considerable amount of cash out of the biz over this time, and billed nothing for the past 1 yr.

I have contracts out with my existing biz and fed up putting money into my partners pockets, to be honest I have left it far too long, and shd have done this yr ago therefore can I just set up my new co, and move my contracts over.....

Am restricted to do anything and apart from shared liability on my existing biz, am liable for anything ? The Contracts are contractor charged out on a day to day basis so they are not signed up to the company for a length of time.

Where do I stand !

The reason I have left it too long is that I am niave in this situation, so any advice, from someone who has been there, seen it happen, wd be great and very much appreciated.

 

[RobAtPressDispensary]

Some of this depends on the structure of your partnership. Are you shareholders in a company? And, if so, did you sign a shareholders' agreement? Are you both directors?

Or is it all pretty informal with nothing much in writing?

When I faced this situation a few years ago, I ended up buying out the defaulting partner. But it wasn't cheap as it was effectively a seller's market, and that person held out for the most they could get.

Rob

 

[kulture]

Is it a partnership or a limited company? It will have some bearing on what you can or should do.