Without appropriate documents, your business may lack legal protection if disputes arise, whether those disputes are internal or external.
- Do not cut corners
- Make sure you have bespoke documentation for your business.
- Make provision for the future in such documentation.
- Keep the documentation under regular review as the law changes.
Growing a family business can be exciting, time-consuming, and challenging. Your focus is often on the demanding commercial aspects of the company and not on prioritising the essential legal start and Continuing your Family Business with the Right Documentation.
Without appropriate documents, your business may lack legal protection if disputes arise, whether those disputes are internal or external.
Ensure you have bespoke documentation for your business, such as partnership agreements, shareholder agreements or employment contracts.
You may think this may not matter when things are going well and everyone is getting on with each other. However, if disputes arise, failure to have proper bespoke documents in place may quickly lead to chaos and huge expense.
You may be spending considerable time and money in resolving a dispute; time and money are not paid to the business. Even worse may be the long-term impact such conflicts may have on morale within the family and workplace.
Many family businesses have been prematurely dissolved because the owners’ focus, drive and energy are absorbed by a bitter dispute.
Short-term off-the-shelf documents will not help you. These are likely to cause you more problems than solutions. They are the equivalent of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. You want to ensure that your documents provide you and your business with maximum legal protection; you need documents drafted with provisions, procedures and policies specifically tailored to meet the particular needs of you, your family, and your business. You need to remember that every family and every business is different.