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Separate from your business partner

We will help you separate from your business partner in a way that is fair, final, and does not take a year.

Ending a business partnership has more in common with a separation than with a transaction. There are shared assets, shared debts, a shared reputation, and two people who no longer agree. Often there is no partnership deed, in which case state partnership legislation supplies the rules, and they are blunt. We act on partnership dissolutions and co-owner buy-outs. The aim is always a clean end, documented, before the costs exceed what is being divided.

Speak to a lawyer What is included

An end that is actually final

Mutual releases mean neither of you can reopen the separation later.

Liability that stops

Personal guarantees are released and the bank mandate changed, so your partner cannot bind you.

A value you can both defend

An agreed valuation method, with an independent valuer where you cannot agree.

What is involved in dissolving a partnership?

A partnership is two or more people carrying on a business together with a view to profit. It exists whether or not anything was signed, which is why partners are often surprised by what the default rules say. Without a deed, profits and losses are shared equally regardless of what each partner put in. Any partner can usually dissolve the partnership at will.

Separating means dealing with four things: the assets, the liabilities, the ongoing contracts, and the legal relationship itself. There are two routes. A dissolution winds the partnership up and divides what is left. A buy-out leaves the business intact with one partner continuing. Either way, the partnership is not over simply because the partners have stopped speaking. Until it is formally ended, each partner can still bind the others.

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What happens to the partnership assets when we separate?

That depends on the deed, and on negotiation where there is no deed. Assets can be divided, sold and the proceeds split, or transferred to whichever partner continues the business. Goodwill is usually the hardest item, because it is the one with no obvious market price.

How do we value the business if one partner is buying the other out?

The common approaches are a multiple of maintainable earnings, net asset value, or a formal independent valuation. Agreeing the method first is more productive than arguing about a number. Where you cannot agree, an independent valuer as tie-breaker is usually faster and cheaper than litigating.

Am I personally liable for the partnership's debts?

In a general partnership, yes. Each partner is personally liable for the debts of the business, including debts your partner incurred. That liability does not end when the relationship does, which is why the separation has to be documented and guarantees formally released.

What documents are needed to end a partnership properly?

A dissolution or buy-out agreement setting out who takes what and who pays what, with mutual releases. Then the practical steps. Asset transfers, release of guarantees, changes to bank mandates, and notifications to customers and suppliers. Finally the business name, the ABN and the final tax returns.

The longer it takes, the less there is to divide

Tell us how the business is owned and what you have already agreed between you. We will tell you what the default rules give each of you, and what a workable separation looks like.

Until the partnership is formally ended, your partner can still bind you

You and your partner have agreed to go your separate ways. You have not agreed who keeps the customers, or what the goodwill is worth. You have not agreed who takes the equipment and the lease, or who carries the debts already incurred.

There is also the part that makes this harder than a commercial negotiation. You are trying to reach a fair deal with someone you no longer trust, about a business you built with them.

We will advise on whether a dissolution or a buy-out gives you the better outcome.
We will identify the partnership assets, liabilities and contracts that have to be dealt with.
We will advise on valuation and negotiate the split on your behalf.
We will advise on your personal liability for existing partnership debts.
We will prepare the dissolution or buy-out agreement, with mutual releases.

You have agreed to separate and nothing else

It might have been building for a year, or it might have happened in a fortnight. Either way, you and your co-owner have reached the point where continuing together is worse than stopping. One of you may want to keep trading while the other is paid out. Or you both want out, and the business gets wound up. In the meantime it still has customers, staff and a bank account that both of you can access.

What's included in your partnership dissolution service

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Partnership deed review and rights analysis.
Advice on dissolution against buy-out.
Asset, liability and contract identification.
Valuation methodology advice and negotiation support.
Dissolution or buy-out agreement with mutual releases.
Guarantee releases, notifications and registration changes.

What a slow separation costs both partners

Business separations that drift do the same damage every time. Both partners keep drawing from the business while neither is really running it. Customers sense the uncertainty and go elsewhere, and the goodwill being argued over shrinks while the argument continues.

The liabilities are the part that surprises people. In a general partnership each partner is personally liable for the debts of the business, and that does not stop when you fall out. A partner who keeps trading can incur obligations the other is still on the hook for. Personal guarantees given to landlords and banks survive the separation unless they are formally released. If nothing is documented at the end, the tax position, the ABN and the business name all sit unresolved. The two of you stay legally connected for years.

How we get it ended properly

We start by working out what actually exists. Whether there is a partnership deed, who owns which assets, and what the liabilities are. Then whether the business is worth more sold as a going concern than broken up. That usually reframes the negotiation, because both partners have been arguing about a picture neither had fully seen.

Then we get to terms. A valuation method both can live with, and an independent valuer where they cannot agree. Who takes which assets, who takes the lease, and what happens to the staff. A cash settlement or instalments, secured if it is paid over time. We document it as a binding dissolution or buy-out agreement, with mutual releases so neither of you can reopen it. We also chase the practical loose ends. Guarantees released, the bank mandate changed, customers and suppliers notified, and the business name and ABN dealt with.

How the separation gets done

One negotiation, one document, and no loose ends between you.

Work out what exists

We identify the assets, the liabilities, the contracts and whatever deed or understanding the partners started with.

Agree the split

We negotiate valuation, who keeps what, who carries which debts, and how any payment is made and secured.

End it formally

We document the dissolution or buy-out with mutual releases, and close off guarantees, registrations and bank authorities.

Lawyers who end business partnerships without ending up in court

Nobody goes into business with someone they do not like. That is what makes this hard. The commercial argument carries years of history. Underneath the numbers is a quieter question about who was right, and that one is harder to settle.

We have acted on partnership separations between friends, siblings, spouses and people who simply grew apart commercially. We know the difference between a point worth pressing and one that is being pressed for its own sake. Our job is to get you a fair outcome and a final one, quickly enough that there is still a business left to divide.

Our great lawyer guarantee

Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.

Share our knowledge

We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.

Work as one team

Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.

Fair pricing

A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.

It is your show

We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.

End it cleanly and get on with things

Tell us how the business is owned, what has been agreed so far, and where the two of you disagree. We will tell you what the law gives each of you, and what a fair separation would look like on paper.

Speak to a lawyer 1300 654 590