A Simple Partnership Agreement
Nolo noted that since you and your partners are also responsible for the business as well as the results of each other`s decisions, creating a partnership agreement is a great way to structure your relationship with your partners in the way that best suits your business. A partnership agreement is a contract between two or more people who want to manage and operate a business together in order to make a profit. Each partner shares a portion of the partnership`s profits and losses, and each partner is personally liable for the company`s debts and obligations. A partnership agreement is the key agreement between partners that defines the general aspects of how the partnership is conducted. This document is important to describe the ownership shares and the role of each partner in the company. It also defines the initial capital contributions of the partners, as well as the procedures for selling a stake and exiting the company. There is no state that requires a partnership agreement, and it is possible to start a business without one. Some partners only have a verbal agreement or quickly write something in a notebook to establish their partnership (remember all the movie scenes “on the back of the towel”?). We recommend starting a business only after all partners have signed a written and comprehensive partnership agreement.
You must register the signed agreement with other important business documents. Every company experiences changes over time, and new partners may want to join the company while the old partners leave. The Partnership Agreement should take account of both situations. For example, an individual may become a partner by investing capital in the business or by purchasing the ownership shares of an existing partner. As a general rule, the admission of a new partner also requires a majority vote of the current partners. You must decide whether a minimum contribution is required for someone to become a partner, as well as the partner`s share of profits and losses and their right to distributions. Partner departures can be just as complicated as the entry of new partners into the company. Let`s take the example of a partner who dies. The partner`s will could bequeath his share of ownership to an heir, but the heir may not be suitable for the company. A partnership agreement often includes buy-back provisions that allow the remaining partners to acquire the shares of an outgoing partner in the company.
Outgoing shareholders (or their estate in the event of death) are entitled to a return on the capital they invest in the company. This is perhaps the most important section of your partnership agreement. Here you present the participation of each partner in the company and its profit shares. These can, but do not necessarily have to be, the same. For example, a partner can contribute up to 70% of a company`s resources. Another partner can only contribute up to 30% of a company`s resources, but brings with it most of the knowledge and skills of the market. In this case, the partners might find it fair to establish a roughly equal distribution of profits. It is important to have a partnership agreement, regardless of the type of partnership you have – partnership, limited partnership (LP) or limited liability company (LLP). In some states, there is another type of company called a limited liability partnership (LLLP). You need to specify the type of partnership, as the structure and functions of each partnership are very different.
Federal tax audit rules allow the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to treat partnerships as taxable businesses and audit them at the partnership level, rather than conducting individual audits of partners. This means that depending on the size and structure of the partnership, the IRS is able to verify the partnership as a whole, rather than looking at each partner individually. After all, you need to decide on the reasons for the dissolution of the company, although this is of course not an issue that the partners like to discuss. If a certain number of partners leave the company, will it dissolve the company? Do all partners have to agree to the dissolution or is a majority decision sufficient? This is an important section of your partnership agreement. .