NSW Business Partnership Split - Entitled to Half Profits?

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Kim Garcia

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16 February 2015
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When 1 partner decides not to include the other partner, but continues to use business name and carries on without dissolving the partnership, can the other partner, under commercial law, ask for half the profits made?
 

Rod

Lawyer
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27 May 2014
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This is not a simple question and needs more background information.

Is there written partnership agreement or are you set up as a company?
Is there any correspondence setting our roles/rights/exiting business?
Are there past profits? If yes, how were they distributed?
Are there any profits now?
Does the business bank account require two signatures for withdrawals/cheques?
Do you want to get out of the business?
Is the business worth anything?
Have you been paid any money to leave the business (ie sold your share to your partner)?
 

Kim Garcia

Member
16 February 2015
2
0
1
No there was no written agreement. No correspondence on roles, only set up as partnership ( gentlemen's agreement) the last 3 years we each declared an earning of about $7000.00
the bank account only required one signature
I don't want to get out he has decided he wants to do it on his own.
the business is not worth anything really only the registered name
no I haven't been paid anything to get out.
When he emailed me he stated that he wanted to do it on his own. I replied that we would have to sit down and divide all the things that we had brought together and the name, too which we have not but he went a head and held an event over the weekend which would have given my an income of around the $7000.00 mark.
to which he excluded me from, closed the bank account, etc.
I have not heard from him.
I transferred the business name on the 22/01/2015 into my name after I found out he had cancelled the business account ( bank )Asic informed me that the cancellation from his name would take up to 28 days the name appears twice on asic
1 in both and 1 in mine.
so he traded using the name.
 

Rod

Lawyer
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27 May 2014
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You need to have a talk with your partner to settle all your issues. Send him an email reminding him of the outstanding issues and give a timeline for when you want things to happen.

With not much money at stake it doesn't make a lot of sense to get lawyers involved if you can avoid it.

If he refuses a meeting, try mediation as your first step. Google is your friend :) Check out this info:

NSW Small Business Commissioner - What is mediation and why do it?