Business partnerships in Minnesota are infamous for leading to lawsuits and contract disputes. You can’t predict the future, but before you and your partner start working together, you can write an airtight contract that reduces the possibility of disputes as much as possible. When you make an agreement from the beginning, you won’t be able to challenge it later except in extreme circumstances.
What should you include in your contract?
Many contract disputes arise because one individual feels like their partner isn’t doing their share of the work. When you write a contract, specify the jobs that you will do and figure out how to divide your workload. If you have questions about your job responsibilities later, you can always refer back to your original contract.
You should also specify how you’re going to divide up the profits. While you might not know exactly how much you’re going to make, you should figure out how much you’ll make and how much you’ll put back into the business. A business law attorney could help you write a fair contract so one individual doesn’t feel like they’re getting a smaller cut of the profits than the other.
If property is involved, you should make ownership clear in the contract. This could include physical properties like office buildings as well intellectual properties like designs and patents. Make sure you clearly divide everything so you don’t get into a lawsuit over property ownership later.
What’s the best way to write a contract?
If this is your first business partnership, you might have never written a contract before. It’s easy to make mistakes that seem insignificant now but create huge problems in the future. An attorney could help you write a clear, legally binding contract that protects both you and your business partner from future lawsuits.