Business partnerships, from forming one to getting out

For owners of small and mid-sized businesses who are setting up a partnership or fixing one that is going wrong. Each stage below answers the question owners ask at that point, with the guide to read first, the posts behind it and the calculators that do the arithmetic.

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1
Stage 1: Forming

Should we be partners at all, and as a general partnership, an LLC or something else? What the law makes of two people sharing profits, and what each form costs.
Read first
How to Start a Business Partnership How to start a business partnership: choosing a structure, the state filing each one needs (often none), the EIN, the agreement, and the first Form 1…
Then
Do the numbers
- Structure quiz
- State cost
All 10 posts in Forming
2
Stage 2: The agreement

What our agreement has to settle before we sign, clause by clause, and what state law decides for us if it says nothing.
Read first
What to Include in a Partnership Agreement What a partnership agreement has to cover, the default rule it overrides, and sample clause wording for each, with a full template to download.
Then
Do the numbers
- Agreement checklist
- Agreement generator
All 6 posts in Agreements
3
Stage 3: Equity and pay

Who owns what when one brings the money and the other the work, how profit is split, and how partners take money out and pay tax on it.
Read first
Co-Founder Equity Split by the Numbers and How to Agree on Yours How co-founders split equity, from Carta's data on 45,000 startups: the medians, when 50/50 works, vesting, the 83(b) deadline, and LLC splits with n… How Business Partners Pay Themselves How partners and LLC members take money out: draws, guaranteed payments and distributive share, how each is taxed, and the S-corp alternative, worked.
Then
Do the numbers
All 9 posts in Equity & Pay
4
Stage 4: Disputes

What partners legally owe each other, and what to do, in order, when one stops pulling their weight, takes money or will not budge.
Read first
Why Business Partnerships Fail and the Behaviors That Destroy Them Why business partnerships fail, the behaviors that destroy them, what partnership law says about each, and the red flags of a bad partnership before … Fiduciary Duties Business Partners Owe Each Other What partners owe each other under the law: loyalty, care and good faith, what an agreement can and cannot waive, and the usual breaches.
Then
Do the numbers
- Shotgun clause
All 15 posts in Disputes
5
Stage 5: Exits and buyouts

How one partner gets out, what their share is worth, how the buyout is paid for, and what happens when a partner dies.
Read first
How to Buy Out a Business Partner Valuation, payout structure and SBA financing, in the order they happen. Plus where these deals stall and the buy-sell clause that prevents the next … Buy-Sell Agreements for Business Partners What a buy-sell agreement has to fix: triggers, cross-purchase vs entity redemption, valuation, insurance funding, and what Connelly v. United States…
Then
Do the numbers
- Partner buyout
- Buy-sell insurance
All 11 posts in Exits & Buyouts

Alongside the path

Joint ventures and referral partners

Working with another company on one project, or paying each other for referrals, without becoming partners by accident.
Read first
What a Joint Venture Agreement Needs to Cover What a joint venture agreement should cover: scope, contributions, IP, the management committee, deadlock, profit sharing, exit, and a full template.
Then
All 17 posts in Joint Ventures

Reference

The facts the guides lean on, gathered state by state and case by case, each with its source.

State by state tables

Partner dispute cases

20 real partnership and co-owner disputes from the opinions: what happened, what the court held, and sample clauses that would have prevented each one.

Glossary

More than fifty terms a business partner meets, from the 83(b) election to winding up, each defined in two sentences with the rule behind it.

Business Partnership Questions Answered

Short, sourced answers to real questions about forming a partnership, the agreement, equity splits, disputes and getting out, linked to the full guide.

What changed in the law

A dated, sourced log of the federal and state rules that changed for partnerships and LLCs since 2023: newest first, what matters most, and what to check.