Lantana Business Divorce Attorney

When two co-owners in a small Lantana company stop agreeing on money, control, or direction, the business usually keeps running on inertia while the relationship quietly collapses. Vendors still need paying, customers still expect service, and one owner may already be moving funds or locking the other out. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business litigation and real estate disputes for owners, investors, and families throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County, and a Lantana business divorce attorney from our firm can help co-owners separate on workable terms or litigate when separation will not happen voluntarily.

A business divorce is not a single legal claim. It is a set of overlapping questions: whether the company should be dissolved, whether one owner should buy out the other, what each interest is worth, whether anyone breached the operating or shareholder agreement, and what happens to the company’s money and property while all of that is sorted out. Which of those questions matters most depends on the entity type, what the governing documents say, and what each side has been doing.

Lantana sits in Palm Beach County, so these disputes are filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Palm Beach County. Many of the companies involved are modest in size, such as marine-related businesses, contractors, restaurants, professional practices, and family-held real estate entities, and that scale shapes the strategy. The cost of a fight has to be weighed against what the business is actually worth.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for a Lantana Business Divorce

The Andrew M. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation, admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, with a career built around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of business and real estate experience in both state and federal courts.

The firm practices as a true legal team, meaning everyone working on a matter knows the file and can answer when a client calls. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when the attorneys are in court or otherwise unavailable. For a business divorce, where a development can arrive on a Friday afternoon, that access matters.

The firm’s trial record is also relevant to anyone weighing whether a dispute will really be fought. After a 5-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit court issued a 32-page final judgment in May of 2024 awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Business divorces often end in negotiation, and the leverage in those negotiations comes from the other side knowing your lawyer can try the case. The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and aims for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Disputes That Lead Lantana Owners to Seek a Business Divorce

• Deadlocked Management: Two 50/50 owners, or an even-numbered board, who cannot agree on a major decision can paralyze a company. Florida’s LLC statute treats a deadlock that cannot be broken and threatens irreparable injury as a ground for judicial dissolution, and many operating agreements contain their own deadlock sale provisions that must be examined first.
• Buyouts and Valuation Disagreements: Most business divorces end with one owner purchasing the other’s interest. The fight is usually over price, including whether minority or marketability discounts apply and which financial records the valuation should rest on.
• Breach of Operating or Shareholder Agreements: Missed capital calls, ignored consent requirements, unauthorized related-party deals, and violations of transfer restrictions are common triggers, and they often turn on the exact wording of the agreement.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: A managing owner who self-deals, diverts opportunities, or runs the company for personal benefit can face claims by the other members or shareholders.
• Missing or Misused Funds: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, and a partner who cannot explain where company money went support claims for an accounting and recovery of funds, sometimes paired with emergency relief.
• Minority Owner Freeze-Outs: Cutting a minority owner out of information, distributions, or decision-making is a frequent pattern, and statutory dissolution and buyout remedies exist for those owners.
• Family Business Splits: Siblings who inherited a company, parents and children with different visions, and in-laws who share ownership present the same legal questions with far more emotion attached.
• Jointly Owned Real Estate: When the business owns property or the owners hold it together personally, a business divorce can include a partition action or a quiet title claim under Florida’s real property statutes.

What to Do Right Now if Your Business Partnership Is Breaking Down

Start with the documents. Pull the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, the articles of organization or incorporation, any amendments, and every buy-sell or deadlock provision. These govern the dispute more than any general rule of law. A deadlock sale clause that one owner initiates before a court finds grounds for dissolution can displace a judicial dissolution order, so what the agreement says about exits can determine your entire path. Do not sign anything new, including amendments, consents, or releases, until a lawyer has read it.

Next, secure the financial picture without breaking any rules. Gather tax returns, bank and credit card statements, general ledgers, loan documents, and payroll records you are already entitled to see as an owner. Do not remove records you have no right to take or access accounts you have been locked out of; that can hand the other side a counterclaim. If you suspect money is leaving the company, document what you can see and raise it with counsel quickly, because Florida courts can issue injunctions to freeze assets and, in dissolution proceedings, can appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing.

Mind the deadlines. A claim founded on a written agreement generally must be filed within five years, while an oral or implied contract claim has four years, and fraud claims run four years from discovery with an outer limit of 12 years. A suit seeking specific performance carries a one-year period. These clocks can start earlier than owners assume, and the choice between contract, fiduciary, and fraud theories can change how much time remains.

Know where the case will be heard. Disputes seeking dissolution or involving significant amounts are filed in circuit court, which handles claims above the county court ceiling. For Lantana owners that is the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, with the main courthouse in West Palm Beach. If the other owner lives or the company operates in Broward County, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit may be involved, and it has complex business divisions for dissolution and large business cases. Federal court in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, can come into play when parties are from different states or federal claims are asserted.

Finally, resist the two common mistakes. The first is confronting the other owner in anger, which tends to end in a lockout, a flurry of emails that later become exhibits, or a pre-emptive lawsuit. The second is waiting, because while you wait the other side may be restructuring, draining accounts, or negotiating with your customers. A short consultation before you act usually costs far less than undoing a bad move.

How Florida Law Handles Dissolution and Forced Buyouts

For an LLC, Florida’s statute allows a member or manager to ask a circuit court to dissolve the company on specific grounds: activities conducted unlawfully, circumstances in which it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the articles and operating agreement, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, misappropriation or waste of assets that causes injury, or a management deadlock that cannot be broken and threatens irreparable injury to the company. In these proceedings the court may appoint a receiver or custodian, or order the purchase of the petitioning member’s interest, after finding sufficient merit.

For a corporation, a shareholder may seek judicial dissolution on enumerated grounds, including when the corporation has abandoned its business and failed to liquidate within a reasonable time. A distinctive feature is the election to purchase: once a shareholder files for dissolution on the statutory grounds, the corporation, or if it does not act, one or more shareholders, may elect to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value, and the corporation must notify the other shareholders of that option within 30 days after the case begins. If the parties agree on fair value and terms within 60 days after the first election, the court enters an order directing the purchase. An election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify or set it aside. This mechanism often turns a dissolution lawsuit into a valuation negotiation, and whoever controls the facts about value controls that negotiation.

During a dissolution case, the court can also issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take other steps to preserve corporate assets while the business continues operating until a full hearing. That interim protection is frequently what a minority owner actually needs, since the final outcome can be months away.

When Business Property Is Part of the Divorce

Many Lantana business divorces involve land, a building, or a shared investment property. If co-owners hold title together and cannot agree, Florida’s partition statute lets the court divide the property or, if division is impractical, order it sold and split the proceeds in proportion to ownership. After a partition judgment, the court appoints three commissioners to evaluate whether the land can be divided fairly, and a sale at public auction can follow if it cannot. Where the court allows a sale on credit for good cause, at least one-third of the price must be paid down unless all parties agree otherwise.

If the property came down through family, Florida’s heirs property act may apply and can change the process significantly, including requirements that the court consider specific factors before ordering a sale rather than a division. Title problems are a separate track: a quiet title action in circuit court can remove a competing claim or cancel an instrument clouding ownership, and the plaintiff must generally trace title back at least seven years. Because the same dispute can include company claims, personal claims, and property claims, they are best planned together.

Lantana Business Divorce FAQ

What is a business divorce?

It is the separation of co-owners of a company, whether partners, LLC members, or shareholders. It can end through a negotiated buyout, a sale of the business, a structured wind-down, or a court-ordered dissolution when the owners cannot agree.

Can I force my partner out of our Florida LLC?

That depends on your operating agreement and what your partner has done. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law provides court remedies for serious misconduct or when the company can no longer function. An attorney needs to read the agreement before you take any step.

Is dissolving the company my only option if we are deadlocked?

No. If the agreement has a deadlock sale provision, that process may apply instead. The statute also allows a court to order a buyout or appoint a receiver or custodian rather than simply liquidating, so dissolution is only one of several outcomes.

What if my partner is taking money from the business?

You may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of the funds. When assets are at risk of being moved or spent, a court can issue injunctive relief while the case is pending.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit over a broken partnership agreement?

A claim based on a written instrument generally has a five-year period, while an oral or implied agreement has four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery with a 12-year cap. Because different theories carry different clocks, do not assume the longest one applies.

Do I have to go to trial to end a business partnership?

Not usually. Many disputes resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and the statutory buyout election often pushes the parties toward agreeing on fair value. But your negotiating position is stronger when the other side knows the case can be tried.

If I am the minority owner, can the majority simply outvote me and cut me out?

Majority control does not erase the majority’s fiduciary duties or the minority’s statutory remedies. Freezing out a minority owner from information, distributions, or participation can support claims for breach of duty, an accounting, dissolution, or a buyout at fair value.

How is a business valued in a buyout?

The standard in a corporate dissolution buyout is fair value, and the dispute typically centers on methodology, adjustments to earnings, and whether discounts are applied. Your agreement may set its own formula, which would control, so check it first.

Will a business divorce case be heard in county court or circuit court?

Disputes above the county court monetary limit are heard in circuit court, and actions seeking dissolution or other equitable relief are generally filed there. For Lantana, that means the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County unless the case belongs elsewhere.

My partner and I are family. Does that change how the case is handled?

The law is the same, but the approach is not. Family business disputes call for discretion and often benefit from early mediation, while still protecting your financial interests so that an emotional negotiation does not become a costly concession.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own part of a Florida company. Can you represent me?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida, handles the local court appearances, and keeps you informed so you do not need to travel for every hearing.

Can partnership disputes involve real estate, and how is that handled?

Often. A business divorce can include a partition action to divide or sell jointly owned property, or a quiet title claim to resolve competing ownership. These can be coordinated with the company claims so one outcome does not undercut the other.

Serving Business Owners Across Lantana and Palm Beach County

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents co-owners starting in Lantana and the surrounding Palm Beach County communities, including Lake Worth Beach, Hypoluxo, Manalapan, Boynton Beach, Greenacres, and Atlantis. Moving north and west, the firm serves clients in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and Belle Glade, and to the south in Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Highland Beach. These are the places where family businesses, marine and trade companies, professional practices, and investment property partnerships tend to hold the disputes this firm handles.

The firm’s reach extends into neighboring Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, and the surrounding communities, as well as throughout South Florida. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who share ownership of a company or property with someone in South Florida are served as well, with local proceedings handled on their behalf.

Speak With a Lantana Business Divorce Attorney Before the Dispute Hardens

The earliest decisions in a business divorce, such as what to sign, what to say, and which records to preserve, tend to shape everything that follows. Whether your goal is a clean buyout, a protected minority position, or a court-supervised dissolution, the right move depends on your agreement and the facts, and it is easier to choose well before positions harden.

Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to talk through your situation with a Lantana business divorce attorney who understands both the courtroom and the negotiating table. We will review where you stand, explain your realistic options, and recommend a path that fits your goals and your budget.