Breaking up a Partnership is NOT hard to do

July 26, 2012 - PRLog -- Neal Sedaka crooned famously that 'Breaking up is hard to do' in one of his all time hit singles. But this needn't be the case when dissolving a business partnership. This was the topic of the most recent podcast episode on the national business podcast - Don't Get Stuck in Your Business.

"Many businesses are established as a partnership between two or more individuals, many times friends and business colleagues." commented Joel Goobich, the host and producer of the podcast. "All too often this partnership is not formed with enough forethought and planning on how to form this business partnership. What then happens is that the partners get stuck in their business with an arrangement that isn't working well?" h continues.

Having a partnership agreement that is properly drafted and vetted by a trained legal professional is critical and a necessary consideration for a good exit strategy. (Many partnerships use a partnership template form that is readily available from companies like Legal Zoom and others. These are good starting point but generally don't include enough specificity about how to dissolve the partnership).

This subject is of growing interest to the millions of small business owners caught in the Great Recession. Many are stuck in their business without a comprehensive exit strategy or exit plan. Dissolving a business partnership and having the partner(s) buy each other out has become one of the ways for business owners to exit their business without having to liquidate the business or sell the assets for a reduced price.

Goobich contends that "Unlike the sale of a business or other common business exit options, the breaking up of a partnership is something that can be and should be pre-planned. Creating a buy-sell agreement is a critical and necessary component of any comprehensive business exit strategy and business partnership agreement." "Think of it as a Pre-Nup for your business he suggests".

Even though the dissolution of a business is generally a traumatic experience, and certainly in the case of a medical situation or death of a partner, it does NOT have to be hard to do in terms of the mechanics of it. Unfortunately it will be much more difficult, costly and draw-out if the partnership agreements are not continually reviewed and revised as necessary to reflect the current business conditions and the anticipated future changes to the business and the partners.

Big Picture Advisors and their associated podcast website http:/www.dontgetstuckinyourbusiness.com are featuring blogs, articles, worksheets, podcasts and other related resources tied to this issue.