Strategic Advice When Your Business Relationship Breaks Down
Partnerships can be powerful, but they also come with significant personal and legal risk. When business partners fall out, the dispute can affect not only the business itself, but reputations, clients, and long-term wealth.
At Enterprise Legal, we help Queensland clients navigate partnership disputes with clarity and commercial strategy. Whether the dispute is about decision-making, finances, exits, or succession, we provide clear advice on your legal position and help you move toward a practical resolution, fast.
We act for partners in formal and informal partnerships, joint ventures, family business arrangements and professional practices.
Common Partnership Disputes We Handle
We assist with disputes arising from:
- breakdowns in communication or trust
- unequal contributions or workload
- disputes over profit-sharing, drawings or debt liability
- breach of partnership agreements or informal promises
- failure to disclose conflicts or financial information
- succession issues in family-owned businesses
- exits and forced dissolutions
Some of the most complex disputes arise where there is no written partnership agreement, or where one exists, but is unclear or outdated. In these cases, we assess your rights under Queensland law and help you take strategic steps to protect your interests.
What If There’s No Partnership Agreement?
In Queensland, if no formal partnership agreement exists, the Partnership Act 1891 (Qld) sets out the default rules, including how profits are split, how decisions are made, and what happens on exit or death. However, these default rules often don’t reflect the real-world dynamics of the business or its partners.
We help you understand how the law applies to your situation, identify where the risks lie, and take steps to either resolve the dispute or restructure the business appropriately.
If you’re looking to put proper structures in place or transition to a different legal entity (such as a company or trust), see our Structuring & Entity Advice page.
For help drafting or updating partnership agreements, visit our Business Documents page.
Strategic Dispute Resolution
Our goal is always to avoid unnecessary litigation. We assist clients with:
- negotiating fair exits or buyouts
- resolving internal tensions before external damage occurs
- enforcing compliance with partnership agreements
- managing winding up or restructuring
- protecting your legal rights without escalating unnecessarily
Where needed, we act in Queensland courts to resolve partnership disputes, especially where deadlocks or urgent action is required.
Many of our clients also work with us beyond the dispute phase, through our Business Advisory services, to prevent future disagreements and improve governance.
◈ More Dispute Resolution Services ◈
Partnership Dispute FAQs
In a dispute with your business partner?
Book a consultation with our Queensland-based partnership dispute lawyers today and get the clarity and strategy you need to move forward.
