Lighthouse Point Business Divorce Attorney

The goal in most ownership breakups is simple to state and hard to reach: separate from a partner, co-member, or fellow shareholder without losing the value of the company, and without a fight that costs more than the business is worth. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles that work for business owners, investors, and families across Broward County and Palm Beach County, and a Lighthouse Point business divorce attorney from our firm can help you decide whether to negotiate an exit, force a buyout, or ask a court to dissolve the company.

Lighthouse Point sits in Broward County, so a dispute among local owners will generally land in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. That circuit has complex business divisions that handle, among other things, dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation. Which path your case takes depends on what your operating agreement or shareholder agreement says, what your partner has done, and whether the company can still function while you sort it out.

A business divorce is not the same as a routine contract dispute, and it is not the same as a divorce between spouses. The company is usually still operating, the owners are still bound to each other by fiduciary duties and governing documents, and the leverage runs in unexpected directions. A minority owner may hold more power than the percentage suggests; a majority owner may be exposed by how company money was handled.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in some of South Florida’s most difficult business and real estate disputes, serving Lighthouse Point and the rest of Broward County, along with Palm Beach County, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation, and his career has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has practiced litigation in Florida since then. He holds an undergraduate degree from Emory University (1986) and a law degree from the University of Miami (1989).

He is joined by Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. That federal experience matters in South Florida, where the Southern District of Florida holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach and some ownership disputes end up there.

The firm works as a true legal team: everyone on your matter knows the file, so a call does not start with re-explaining the history. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court or otherwise unavailable. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake. Many business divorces are won by finesse, not volume, and that is how we approach them.

On the trial side, after a 5-day bench trial, a Broward County Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That result involved a contract fight rather than an ownership split, but it reflects the same skill that business divorces demand: building a detailed record around the exact wording of an agreement and the parties’ history of dealing with each other.

Ownership Disputes We Handle for Lighthouse Point Owners

• Deadlocked Management: Two 50-percent owners who cannot agree on spending, hiring, or direction can freeze a company. Florida law lets an LLC member seek judicial dissolution when owners are deadlocked, cannot break the deadlock, and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring.
• Buyouts and Valuation Fights: Most business divorces end with one side buying the other out, and the real battle is over price. We handle disputes over fair value, discounts, and what the company is actually worth.
• Misappropriated or Missing Company Funds: Diverted money, commingled accounts, unpaid distributions, and disputed capital contributions often drive the breakup. We pursue accounting claims, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery, and seek emergency relief when assets are being moved.
• Breach of Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Many disputes turn on buy-sell clauses, transfer restrictions, voting thresholds, and deadlock sale provisions. Those documents often control the exit, so reading them closely comes first.
• Minority Owner Oppression: A minority member or shareholder who is shut out of information, excluded from decisions, or squeezed on distributions has remedies that depend on the entity type and the governing documents.
• Family Business Breakups: Siblings who inherited a company, parents and children with different visions, and in-laws sharing ownership face control and compensation questions with emotional weight. We handle these with discretion while protecting the client’s financial interests.
• Real Estate Held by Former Partners: When the business owned property, or partners co-own it personally, the exit may involve a partition action or a title dispute alongside the company dissolution.

What to Do Right Now If a Partnership Is Falling Apart

Start by getting the documents in one place: the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, articles of organization or incorporation, any amendments, buy-sell agreements, loan guarantees, tax returns, and the financial statements for the last several years. Those papers determine whether you have a contractual exit already built in. Some agreements contain a deadlock sale mechanism, and under Florida’s LLC statute a deadlock sale provision that is started before a court finds deadlock grounds can apply in place of a judicial dissolution order. Moving first, or moving wrong, can change which process controls.

Secure access to company records and accounts, lawfully. Copy what you are entitled to see, note who holds signing authority, and write down dates and details of anything that looks like self-dealing. Do not take property, delete files, or lock your partner out of systems on your own; self-help like that can hand the other side a claim against you.

Watch the clock on contract-based claims. Florida allows five years for an action on a written instrument and four years for contract claims not founded on a written instrument. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. A claim for specific performance has a one-year period, which can surprise owners who wait. Waiting also weakens your position in practical ways, because evidence goes stale and the business keeps changing.

If money is leaving the company or assets are being transferred, ask about emergency relief early. Courts can issue injunctions and, in dissolution proceedings, appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing with notice to the parties. Where the amount in dispute is above $50,000, the case belongs in circuit court rather than county court, and a Lighthouse Point company’s case will usually be filed in Broward County. Broward’s court locations include the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale and the North Regional Courthouse in Deerfield Beach, which is the regional courthouse nearest to Lighthouse Point. Entity dissolution cases may be directed into the circuit’s complex business division through the filing process the circuit has established.

Finally, talk to a litigator before you confront your partner or send a demand letter. What you say in anger can be quoted back at you, and the first move often shapes the settlement posture for the rest of the case.

How Florida Courts Dissolve Companies and Force Buyouts

For LLCs, a member or manager can ask the circuit court for dissolution on several grounds: the company’s activities are being conducted unlawfully; it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the articles and operating agreement; controlling managers or members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently; assets are being misappropriated or wasted, causing injury; or owners are deadlocked with irreparable injury threatened or occurring. If the claim has enough merit, the court may appoint a receiver or custodian or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

For corporations, a shareholder can seek dissolution on the statutory grounds, including where the company has abandoned its business and failed to liquidate within a reasonable time. A key feature is the buyout election: in a shareholder’s dissolution proceeding, the corporation, or failing that one or more shareholders, may elect to purchase all of the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms. The election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside or modify it. The corporation must also give the other shareholders notice, within 30 days after the proceeding begins, that they can avoid dissolution by electing to buy. During the case the court may issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take steps to preserve assets.

The practical point for owners: filing for dissolution is often a lever toward a negotiated buyout rather than the end goal. A petition can force the other side to the table, and the buyout election can turn a threatened shutdown into a sale at fair value. The right move depends on whether you want to keep the business, sell your stake, or end the company, and we help you choose before a filing locks in a direction.

Common Questions About Business Divorce in Lighthouse Point

What is a business divorce?

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

Can I force a business partner out of my Florida LLC?

It depends on your operating agreement and what the partner has done. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law provides remedies for serious misconduct or when the company can no longer function. We review the agreement first and explain which options are open.

What if my partner is taking money from the company?

You may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of the funds. In urgent situations a court can order injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending.

Does a business divorce have to go to court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and some agreements require those steps before a lawsuit. We pursue the path most likely to meet your goals efficiently, and we are prepared to litigate when that is what protects you.

How is the company valued in a buyout?

Value depends on the governing documents and the circumstances. Some agreements set a formula; others leave it to negotiation or appraisal. In a corporate dissolution proceeding the statute uses fair value for the buyout election. Valuation disputes often involve competing financial experts.

What if there is no written operating or shareholder agreement?

Then Florida’s default statutory rules fill the gaps, and the dispute turns more heavily on the conduct and history of the owners. Oral agreements can be enforced but are harder to prove, and a contract claim not founded on a written instrument has a four-year limitations period.

Can a minority owner file for dissolution?

Yes. A member of an LLC or a shareholder of a corporation can petition if the statutory grounds are met, such as deadlock, misappropriation of assets, or conduct that is illegal or fraudulent. Being a minority does not bar the claim, and it often makes the buyout remedy especially important.

How long does a business divorce case take in Broward County?

There is no fixed answer. Cases that settle in mediation can resolve in months, while contested dissolutions with valuation experts and discovery take considerably longer. The complexity of the finances and how cooperative the other side is drive the timeline more than anything else.

Can I keep running the business while the dispute is pending?

Usually yes, unless a court orders otherwise. In dissolution proceedings a court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing if the merit is shown, or issue injunctions to preserve assets. Whether that is likely depends on how badly the dispute has disrupted operations.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own a Florida business. Can you help?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida. We handle the local court appearances and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Will a partition action be needed if we also own real estate together?

Possibly. When co-owners cannot agree on what to do with property, a partition action asks the court to divide it or, if division is not practical, order a sale and split the proceeds. Partition actions are brought in the circuit court’s chancery jurisdiction, and some business divorces include one alongside the company dissolution.

Do you work with other attorneys on these cases?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from referrals by other lawyers, including out of state attorneys whose clients have Florida disputes. We keep referring counsel informed and respect their relationship with the client.

Business Divorce Representation Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

We start with Lighthouse Point and the surrounding Broward County communities, including Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Sea Ranch Lakes, Oakland Park, Coral Springs, Parkland, Margate, Coconut Creek, and Fort Lauderdale. Owners in Wilton Manors, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Hollywood, and Hallandale Beach also bring their ownership disputes to our team, and many of those cases belong in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.

Just north, we represent clients across Palm Beach County, from Boca Raton and Delray Beach through Boynton Beach and Lake Worth to West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, where the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit sits in and for the county. Because we serve all of South Florida, a dispute that spans both counties, such as a company in Broward with a partner or property in Palm Beach, can be handled by a single team. We also take on federal-court matters in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, and we represent out of state owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests here.

Talk With a Lighthouse Point Business Divorce Lawyer

If your co-owner has stopped cooperating, stopped accounting for company money, or stopped being someone you can run a business with, the options narrow with every month of delay. A conversation with a Lighthouse Point business divorce lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can clarify whether your agreement already provides an exit, what a court could order, and what a realistic resolution looks like given your goals and budget.

Call us to schedule a consultation about your ownership dispute. We will review the documents, explain your options plainly, and tell you what we think the best path is.