Business Partnerships (LLPs)

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Are you looking for a qualified law firm to represent your partnership? Do you need assistance setting up a small business partnership or drafting operational plans? At BPE Law, we focus on providing high-quality legal services to our clients. Our business law team can provide the legal support that you need to grow and strengthen your enterprise.

Law Services for Partnerships

Under the law, any business enterprise run by two individuals jointly is considered a partnership. While it’s not necessary to create a partnership agreement and file documents with the state in order to become recognized as a partnership, doing so provides a wide variety of protections for business leaders. At BPE Law, we understand the needs of business partners. Our experienced team can take care of both basic and complex legal tasks. No matter your partnership-related legal needs, we can assist you efficiently and effectively.

Choosing A Partnership Structure

One of the first tasks you must take care of when starting a partnership is choosing a business structure. While most states don’t require partners to do so, setting up a formal structure can help protect each partner from legal liability and can provide a strong foundation for your business. There are two main types of partnerships from which you can choose. If you choose not to formalize your business arrangement, you will be referred to as a general partnership.

Limited Partnerships

In a limited partnership, one individual is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business while other partners are responsible only for capital contributions to the business. Some business leaders who wish to provide only financial backing in this way may call themselves silent partners. In a limited partnership, the partners who contribute financially but are not in charge of daily operations face no financial liability beyond their own capital contributions to the business.

Limited Liability Partnerships

In a limited liability partnership (LLP), partners carry liability only for their own actions. These types of partnerships are generally formed by professionals such as accountants, engineers or attorneys. Many states require LLPs to carry very large insurance policies in order to cover general liability suits and professional malpractice issues.

Creating A Partnership Agreement

One of the first steps in formalizing a partnership is creating the partnership agreement. This agreement will become a binding document that explains how your business is run. Your BPE Law attorney can draft a partnership agreement that includes information about all of the following:

Financial Management and Steering

A key part of your partnership agreement will cover how the business’s finances will be managed. The agreement may put one person in charge of overseeing finances or may put regular financial audits and reviews in place. The business attorneys at BPE Law understand the financial management needs of partnerships and will help you choose the management plan that best suits your needs. Remember that having such a plan in place can help to prevent costly litigation between partners.

Creating An Operations Plan

Creating an operations plan for your partnership is just as important as creating a partnership agreement. For a small business partnership, this plan will be especially important because it will distribute tasks and responsibilities among a business’s partners and will provide instructions for what should be done if a partner is no longer able to handle necessary duties. Your attorney will work with you to understand the daily demands of your business and create an operations plan that best meets those demands.

Succession Planning

A succession plan is designed to help business partners decide who will take over a partner’s duties should that person pass away or become unable to fulfill their role. These plans can prevent in-company bickering and debates about who will move into a partner’s position. They are especially essential for family owned businesses where the distribution of a partner’s interest in a business can become a probate issue if no succession plan is in place.

Personnel Policies

Many small partnerships have a handful of loyal employees. It is important to put strong personnel policies in place to protect both the partnership and its employees. Your BPE Law attorney will help you draft personnel policies that make sense for your business and can assist you with all employee issues.

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