Writing a Letter to Dissolve a Business Partnership

Jonathan Lister reports:

"Any partner can dissolve a business partnership regardless of the desires of remaining partners. A partner intending to dissolve a company should approach a letter informing other partners like a legal document similar to the original partnership agreement. Focusing on the legal aspects of the company's dissolution maintains a professional air about the process and limits the abilities of other partners to stop the process...Name the business partner you're addressing in your letter by the full legal name used in your original partnership agreement. This helps avoid any legal ambiguity later on that may slow down or block your intention to dissolve the company. Using the partner's full legal name also creates an air of formality about the letter and conveys the seriousness of its content. A business partner seeing her full legal name on an official document is less likely to dismiss the letter than a note addressed to her nickname...Specifically name the key events triggering the dissolution of your business partnership...Name the chapters and sections in your partnership agreement where other partners can find the triggering events your letter invokes to dissolve the company. This is important because it gives your letter legal backing in the form of the partnership agreement. Courts across the country recognize this document as legally binding. Invoking measures contained in the partnership agreement to dissolve your company leaves little room for legal argument...Avoid emotional or potentially inflammatory statements in the letter to your business partners. Maintaining a professional tone throughout the letter can mitigate any feelings of anger that your fellow partners may feel at your intent to end the working relationship. Additionally, emotional statements can cloud the intent of your letter and may provide some legal wiggle room for your partners to contest the company's dissolution. A protracted legal battle over your business can drag out the dissolution process from months to even years...As the dissolving partner, attending to any open business contracts with other companies or vendors is your legal responsibility. Name these vendors and businesses in your letter to let your partners know you're aware of the existing contracts and intend to close these agreements as part of the dissolution process. Including the value of all open contracts in the letter isn't mandatory, but the mention of these numbers can add to your credibility and reassure the other business partners that you're properly attending to matters."