North Palm Beach Family Business Dispute Attorney

When relatives own a company together in northern Palm Beach County, the dispute almost never stays inside the business. A sibling who runs daily operations and a sibling who inherited an equal share but never shows up at the office will argue about pay, distributions, and control long before anyone mentions a lawsuit, and those arguments tend to harden at holidays and funerals rather than in conference rooms. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm that serves North Palm Beach and the surrounding communities of Palm Beach County and Broward County, and it handles family business dispute matters for owners, heirs, spouses, and in-laws who share a company or a property and can no longer agree on what to do with it.

A North Palm Beach family business dispute attorney has to work differently from a lawyer handling a standard commercial case, because the legal claims and the family history are tangled together. A parent may have handed a share of the company to a child with a handshake and no paperwork. A brother may have been drawing a salary for years that his sister never approved. A widow may now hold voting rights she never expected to hold. The law treats these people as co-owners, whatever their relationship, and the rights that matter are the ones written in the operating agreement or shareholder agreement and the ones Florida statutes supply when the documents are silent or the owners are stuck.

What separates a family business dispute from its neighbors is worth saying plainly. It is not a probate fight, although probate often sits behind it. It is not a divorce, although the same emotional pressure is present. It is a co-owner dispute in which the entity, its bank accounts, and its real estate are the subject, and the remedies come from business and property law: dissolution, buyouts, accountings, injunctions, and partition. Knowing which of those tools fits your situation is the first real decision in the case.

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

Andrew M. Mr. Schwartz 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 experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts.

The firm practices as a true legal team, which matters in a family case because these matters run long and involve many conversations. Everyone working on your file knows it, calls are answered, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when the attorneys are in court. Mr. Schwartz’s own view, stated in his message to clients, is that people often assume they want the most aggressive lawyer available, when what they usually need is someone who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do. In a family business, that judgment is often the difference between a buyout that preserves the company and a scorched-earth fight that destroys it.

On the litigation side, the firm’s recent work includes a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court that ended in a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That result reflects the kind of detailed, document-driven preparation that family business cases also demand, since they usually turn on the exact wording of an agreement and the history of how the owners actually behaved. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and the firm looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Common Family Business Disputes We Handle in North Palm Beach

• Sibling Co-Owners Who Inherited a Company: One child worked in the business for decades while another received an equal share by will or trust. Disputes arise over salary, retained earnings, and whether the active owner owes the passive owner a buyout, often with no operating agreement that addresses the situation.
• Parent and Child Succession Conflicts: A founder wants to stay in control while a child expects to take over, or a transfer of ownership was promised verbally but never documented. These cases often involve claims on written agreements, which carry a five-year limitations period, versus oral promises, which carry four.
• Spouses and In-Laws Holding Ownership Interests: Marriages end, relationships with in-laws sour, and a family member who is no longer welcome in the household still holds membership units or shares with voting and information rights.
• Diverted Funds and Unexplained Withdrawals: A relative running the books pays personal expenses from company accounts or cannot account for missing money. Remedies include an accounting, claims for breach of fiduciary duty, recovery of funds, and emergency injunctive relief to freeze assets.
• Deadlocked Management: Two equal owners cannot agree on a sale, a loan, or a hire, and operations stall. For an LLC, Florida law lets a member seek judicial dissolution when owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or already occurring.
• Family-Held Real Estate: Siblings or relatives co-own a rental building, a commercial parcel, or a family property through an entity or as tenants in common. When one wants out, a partition action can divide the property or force a sale, and title disputes can be resolved through a quiet title action.
• Minority Owner Freeze-Outs: A controlling relative stops paying distributions, withholds financial records, or pays themselves excessive compensation to squeeze out a minority owner. These claims often combine fiduciary duty, accounting, and buyout remedies.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreement Breaches: Family companies frequently run on form documents nobody has read in years. Disputes over transfer restrictions, buy-sell provisions, and deadlock clauses depend on what those documents actually say.

What to Do Right Now If a Family Business Relationship Is Breaking Down

Start by collecting the documents that define who owns what: articles of organization or incorporation, the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, any buy-sell agreement, capital contribution records, tax returns, and several years of bank and accounting statements. Family businesses are notorious for informal records, so gather what exists, including emails and texts in which owners discussed money, roles, or promises about ownership. Preserving the record as it stands protects you and gives your attorney a clean picture.

Pay attention to deadlines, because they depend on the kind of claim. A claim founded on a written agreement generally must be filed within five years, while a claim on an oral or implied agreement has four years. Fraud is generally four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of twelve years. A claim to enforce a contract by specific performance has only one year, which is why delay in a real estate-related dispute can be costly. None of these clocks should be assumed to be generous in a family setting; the temptation to wait and see whether tempers cool is real, and it is also how claims get lost.

If money or assets are at risk right now, say so at the first conversation. When a relative is moving funds, selling company property, or locking you out of the books, the question is whether to seek a temporary injunction rather than wait for the ordinary pace of litigation. In a dissolution proceeding, Florida courts can also appoint a receiver or custodian for an LLC after notice and a hearing, and in a corporate dissolution case the court can issue injunctions and take steps to preserve assets while the case is pending.

Cases of this size and type are filed in circuit court, and for North Palm Beach that means the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Palm Beach County. Disputes above the county court ceiling belong in circuit court, and the circuit court also handles the equitable remedies that family business cases depend on, such as dissolution, accountings, and partition. If the company or the property also has ties to Broward County, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit has a complex business division for matters like business entity dissolution and large business litigation, and federal court in the Southern District of Florida is available where jurisdiction exists. Which forum fits depends on where the entity is based, where the property sits, and who the parties are.

Avoid the mistakes that families commonly make in the first weeks: confronting the other owner in writing with accusations, cutting off pay or access unilaterally, or signing a “family agreement” drafted in a hurry to end the tension. Each of these can hand the other side an argument. A short consultation before you act lets you decide whether the better path is a negotiated buyout, mediation, or a filing.

Dissolution, Buyouts, and Partition: The Legal Tools Behind These Cases

Florida gives co-owners specific ways out, and which one applies depends on whether the business is an LLC or a corporation. For an LLC, a member can ask a circuit court to dissolve the company on grounds that include deadlock with threatened irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, conduct of affairs unlawfully, or controlling members acting or expected to act illegally or fraudulently, or a showing that it is not reasonably practicable to operate under the articles and the operating agreement. The court may appoint a receiver or custodian, or order the company or other members to buy out the petitioning member’s interest. If the operating agreement contains a deadlock sale provision that is started before the court finds deadlock grounds, that provision generally controls in place of judicial dissolution.

For a corporation, the dissolution statute works alongside a buyout mechanism that often resolves the case before dissolution happens. When a shareholder petitions on certain grounds, the corporation, or if it does not act, one or more other shareholders, may elect to purchase all of the petitioner’s shares at fair value. The corporation must notify the other shareholders within thirty days of the proceeding’s commencement that they can avoid dissolution by electing to buy. If the parties agree on value and terms within sixty 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. Fair value is the battleground, so valuation evidence matters from the beginning.

When the dispute is about real estate rather than the entity, partition is often the answer. All partition actions in Florida are heard in chancery, and the complaint must describe the land, identify the owners and their residences, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners to decide whether the land can be divided fairly. If division would prejudice the owners, the court may order a sale at public auction and divide the proceeds by interest, with at least one-third of the purchase price paid down on a credit sale unless everyone consents otherwise. Family property raises a further layer: Florida’s heirs property provisions apply to tenancy-in-common property where cotenants acquired title from a relative and certain conditions are met, including that twenty percent or more of the interests are held by relatives. In that situation the court must use the heirs property procedure unless every cotenant agrees otherwise, and partition in kind is favored over a forced sale unless it would prejudice the cotenants as a group.

Where ownership itself is clouded, a quiet title action asks the court to determine title and remove competing claims. A plaintiff generally must trace title for at least seven years before filing unless the court orders otherwise, and the action may be filed in any county where any part of the land lies. Quiet title is common when a family property passed informally, when a deed was never recorded, or when a relative recorded something that casts doubt on who owns what.

Questions About Family Business Disputes in North Palm Beach

Can I sue a family member who owns part of the business with me?

Yes. Co-owners owe each other duties under the entity’s governing documents and Florida law, and a family relationship does not shield anyone from claims for breach of the operating agreement, breach of fiduciary duty, or misuse of company funds. Whether litigation is the right step depends on the facts, and many of these disputes resolve through negotiation or mediation first.

What if we never signed an operating agreement or shareholder agreement?

Florida’s default statutory rules fill the gap, and they may not match what the family assumed. Without a written agreement, rights to distributions, management, and buyouts are governed by statute and by the course of dealing among the owners. An attorney can review the filings with the state and the company’s history to determine who actually holds what.

How long do I have to file a claim against a relative over the business?

It depends on the claim. A claim on a written agreement has five years, an oral or implied contract claim has four, fraud is four years from discovery with a twelve-year outer limit, and an action seeking specific performance has one year. The accrual date matters, so do not assume the clock started when you first noticed a problem.

Can a court force a sale of the family business?

A court can dissolve an LLC or a corporation on proper grounds and supervise a winding up in which assets are sold. It can also order a buyout of a petitioning owner’s interest in appropriate cases. Courts generally prefer remedies that preserve value, so a negotiated buyout or a court-supervised purchase is often the outcome rather than a liquidation.

What happens to my share if the family member who ran the company passes away?

That depends on the entity documents and the decedent’s estate plan. An operating agreement may restrict transfers or give the company or remaining owners a right to buy the interest, while a person who inherits an interest may hold economic rights without full management rights. These situations often overlap with probate, and the firm coordinates the business side of the dispute.

What if a relative 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 issue injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending. Gathering bank records and accounting data early makes those claims much stronger.

How is the value of my interest determined in a buyout?

Operating agreements and shareholder agreements sometimes set a formula, and when they do, that formula usually controls. When they do not, the statutory standard for corporate buyouts is fair value, and the parties typically retain valuation experts. Disagreement over value is the most common reason a buyout becomes a lawsuit.

Will a case against my family member be public?

Court filings in civil cases are generally public records. The firm handles family cases with discretion and often looks first at mediation, arbitration, or a negotiated separation, which keep terms private. Where a filing is necessary, the pleadings can be drafted to state the claims without airing unnecessary family detail.

Can I handle this if I live outside Florida but own part of a North Palm Beach business?

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

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the dispute is with a parent or sibling and I just want to keep the peace?

Often yes, especially early. A lawyer can review the documents, tell you what your rights actually are, and propose a buyout or restructuring that lets the family keep relationships intact. Learning your position before you negotiate usually costs far less than litigating after a negotiation fails.

Serving North Palm Beach Family Business Clients Across Palm Beach and Broward Counties

The firm represents family business owners and heirs from North Palm Beach and the neighboring communities of Palm Beach Gardens, Juno Beach, Jupiter, Lake Park, Riviera Beach, and Tequesta, and throughout Palm Beach County, including West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton. The team also serves clients in Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, Plantation, and Hollywood, as well as owners who live in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and hold business or real estate interests in South Florida. Whether the company is a restaurant, a marina-related business, a medical or professional practice, a construction firm, or a family real estate holding entity, the dispute is handled with attention to the agreement, the money, and the people involved.

Talk to a North Palm Beach Family Business Dispute Lawyer

If your relationship with a relative who co-owns a company or property has reached the point where you are asking about buyouts, dissolution, missing money, or a forced sale, speak with a North Palm Beach family business dispute lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team before the situation hardens. The firm will review your documents, explain the options available under Florida law, and recommend the approach most likely to protect your financial interests and, where possible, the business itself. Call today to schedule a consultation.