Cooperation in business based on a partnership relationship can bring excellent results, but it can also lead to serious problems. One of them is the divorce of partners, which often results in a crisis in the company.

Divorce of partners is a difficult situation that introduces a lot of uncertainty and changes in the life of the company. Partners have to face many challenges, such as the division of assets, the separation of duties and maintaining financial liquidity. Each of these issues can affect the functioning of the company and, consequently, lead to its crisis.

The division of property is the first and often the biggest problem in the case of a divorce of partners. If the partners are unable to agree on this issue, serious financial difficulties may arise. The division of assets itself is a phenomenon broader than the management of the company itself, and even the issue of its ownership. However, it often happens that the company becomes the subject of blackmail in various ways, which is aimed at forcing the division of assets on certain terms.

An equally negative phenomenon is linking the issue of guilt in a divorce decree with company management, when the divorce process becomes a pretext for forcing property and business decisions. A completely separate and even more dramatic issue is making decisions regarding the company by one of the spouses dependent on the other spouse’s consent to shape the relationship with the children of the parties. In such a situation, children become hostages in a dispute over a company, or vice versa – it is the company that is the object and tool in a dispute over children. Each of these situations is destructive and demoralizing for both family and business relationships.

The separation of duties and responsibilities is no less challenging. Partners often share different tasks among themselves and have specific roles in the company. After parting, it is necessary to separate them, which can be difficult and time-consuming. In the absence of an agreement on this issue, the work of the company may be significantly disrupted, leading to a decrease in efficiency and results. It is worth considering even the temporal division of competences and responsibilities for the duration of the divorce and until the final division of property. In the end, it’s all about having something to share.

Another problem that may arise in connection with the divorce of partners is maintaining financial liquidity. During the breakup of a relationship, spouses often make serious financial decisions under the influence of emotions. Sometimes they try to compensate for their injustice with significant expenses, and sometimes they do it to show everyone around how easily they can handle all the fuss and how good they are. What is involved in such compulsive spending? It can cause serious problems with financial liquidity in the company, loss of trust of employees and contractors, and sometimes even bankruptcy. Of course, no one but the local jeweler or car dealer ultimately benefits from this.

An equally big problem is the lack of communication, arrangements, decision-making paralysis, undermining the spouse’s decision or ostentatious slander against employees or contractors. It doesn’t take much imagination to foresee the dire consequences for the company’s operations, but also for the atmosphere inside and around it, associated with such conduct.

Another cause of disputes may be a paradoxically different vision of how to resolve this dispute. The partners will have to decide whether to continue the business together and separate private from professional matters. If the partners decide to separate, how should it proceed?

You can sell the business and split the money. Another solution is for one of the spouses to buy back the shares of the other and thus leave one of them from the company. Physical division of the company is rarely practiced. It is also possible to transform the company in such a way that one of the spouses manages it and is physically involved in its work while the other spouse limits his share to the role of a capital partner who, having some share in the profit, is not involved in the company’s work.

Most of the hurdles that come with divorce can be overcome. Unfortunately, in many cases there are conflicts that lead to lengthy and costly lawsuits. Public conflicts can lead to a further loss of trust between partners and an escalation of destructive activities, as well as to a decrease in employee motivation and contractors’ trust.

Professional conflict management in the company is very important, which can be helped by an experienced lawyer specializing not only in economic and family law, but also knowing negotiation techniques. You have to act wisely, confidently and strive for an agreement. The best way is to resolve problems through negotiation, rather than allowing them to escalate uncontrollably.

Both interim agreements for the duration of negotiations or court proceedings, as well as the final agreement worked out with the participation of lawyers, should specify in detail all the rights and obligations of the parties and introduce the necessary safeguards for their implementation, so as to give both parties the feeling that their interests are secured and that their observance and the implementation of this agreement is beneficial for both of them and for the entire company.