Palm Beach Gardens Family Business Dispute Attorney

The goal in most family business disputes is not to win a fight against a relative. It is to come out with the company intact, the ownership question settled, and your financial stake protected, whether that means a buyout, a new governance arrangement, or a clean separation. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in business and real estate disputes, and we help people searching for a Palm Beach Gardens family business dispute attorney get to that outcome from the first conversation through the final order.

Family businesses fail differently than ordinary companies. Siblings who inherited a company together, parents and adult children with competing visions, spouses and in-laws holding shares: these owners often run on handshake understandings that were never written down. Then one person stops getting paid, another takes a salary nobody approved, or a parent wants out and a child wants control. By the time a lawyer is called, the paperwork rarely says what everyone remembers it saying.

Our work covers clients in Palm Beach Gardens, throughout Palm Beach County, and into neighboring Broward County. Cases like these are filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County, which sits in the county’s courthouses, including a North County courthouse located in Palm Beach Gardens itself. Where the dispute reaches into Broward, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit comes into play.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business litigation and real estate firm serving Palm Beach County, Broward County, and South Florida. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. His career has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is precisely the terrain family businesses end up on when relationships break down. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989.

Andrew is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. That matters when a family dispute involves out-of-state owners or claims that could end up in federal court. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court or otherwise unavailable.

Recent results show the kind of trial work behind the practice. After a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. We also handle mediation and arbitration, and we look for the resolution that fits your goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake. Many clients arrive expecting to hire the most combative lawyer available. In our experience, what they actually want is someone who acts as the situation demands and uses finesse when finesse will do, especially when the person across the table is a brother, a parent, or a former friend.

Common Disputes Inside Family-Owned Companies

• Deadlocked Ownership and Management: Two siblings each hold half of an LLC or corporation and cannot agree on anything from hiring to selling. Florida’s LLC statute lets a court consider dissolution when managers or members are deadlocked, cannot break the deadlock, and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring.
• Buyouts and Valuation Fights: One relative wants out, or the others want that person out, and nobody agrees on what the shares are worth. In shareholder dissolution cases, the corporation or the other shareholders can elect to buy out the petitioner at fair value, so valuation becomes the central battleground.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: A family member who manages the company pays themselves unapproved compensation, steers business to a side venture, or runs personal expenses through the books. These claims often come paired with a demand for an accounting.
• Missing Money and Commingled Accounts: Unpaid distributions, disputed capital contributions, and accounts that mix company and personal funds are common when family members trust each other too much to keep clean records. Courts can order an accounting, and emergency injunctive relief may stop assets from being moved.
• Inherited Ownership Interests: A founder dies or retires and leaves shares to several children with different levels of involvement. The child running the business and the children who do not work there frequently want very different things.
• Breach of Operating or Shareholder Agreements: Even informal family companies often have an agreement somewhere. These cases turn on the exact wording, including any buy-sell or deadlock sale provision, and on how the family has actually behaved over the years.
• Co-Owned Real Estate Tied to the Business: The building the company operates from, or investment property held among relatives, may be owned as tenants in common. When co-owners cannot agree, Florida law allows partition, and heirs property rules can apply when relatives acquired title from family.
• Oral Promises About Ownership: A parent said the business would eventually be yours, or a sibling agreed to a share in exchange for work. Enforceability depends on proof, and timing rules apply.

How These Cases Typically Unfold and What to Do First

Start by collecting what exists on paper. That means the articles of organization or incorporation, any operating or shareholder agreement, tax returns, bank and credit card statements, capital contribution records, loan documents, and emails or texts that show who agreed to what. In family companies, the informal communications often matter as much as the formal documents. Do not delete anything, and do not start moving money or changing account access on your own, because those moves can be used against you later.

Next, get an early read on timing. A claim founded on a written agreement generally has a five-year limitations period in Florida. A contract claim that rests on an oral or implied agreement gets four years, and so does a rescission claim. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of twelve years. A suit seeking specific performance has a much shorter one-year window. Because family disputes often simmer for years before anyone files, it is not unusual for some claims to be nearer their deadline than the family realizes.

Most disputes begin with a demand and negotiation, and many are resolved through mediation or a negotiated buyout before a judge ever rules. When talks fail, the case is filed in circuit court in the county where the business operates. In Palm Beach County that is the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, and cases in Broward go to the Seventeenth Circuit, which has complex business divisions that handle, among other things, dissolutions of certain business entities. Federal court in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale among other locations, may be an option when the parties are from different states and the legal requirements for federal jurisdiction are met.

If assets are at risk, the first filing may not be the main lawsuit at all. A request for a temporary injunction can freeze a bank account, block a transfer of property, or stop a sale while the dispute plays out. In dissolution proceedings, Florida courts can also appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing, and in corporate cases a court can issue injunctions and take other steps to preserve assets while the case is pending.

The most common mistakes we see are waiting too long, relying on a family understanding that was never written down, and escalating personally before getting advice. A heated email to a sibling can become an exhibit. A calm conversation with a lawyer first often opens a path to resolution that preserves the relationship, or at least the business.

Dissolution, Buyouts, and Court-Supervised Exits

When a family business cannot continue as it is, Florida law offers more than one route. For LLCs, a member or manager can ask a circuit court to dissolve the company on grounds that include unlawful conduct of its affairs, impracticability of operating under the operating agreement, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, misappropriation or waste of assets that causes injury, or an unbreakable deadlock that threatens irreparable harm. The court may also order the purchase of the petitioning member’s interest instead of dissolving the company. For corporations, a shareholder can seek judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or the remaining shareholders can elect to purchase 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. Within 30 days after such a proceeding begins, the corporation must notify the other shareholders that they can avoid dissolution by buying the petitioner out.

An agreement can change the picture. If a shareholder or operating agreement contains a deadlock sale mechanism and it is invoked before the court finds a deadlock, that provision can govern instead of a judicial dissolution order. This is one more reason the documents matter, and why we read them closely before recommending a path.

Where family members also co-own real estate, partition may be the cleanest way out. Partition actions are heard in equity. The court can divide the land, or when division would prejudice the owners, order a sale at public auction with proceeds split according to ownership interests. If the property qualifies as heirs property, a separate set of Florida rules applies, including protections designed to keep relatives who want to stay from being forced out too easily. We also handle quiet title actions when competing claims cloud ownership.

Frequently Asked Questions About Family Business Disputes

What counts as a family business dispute?

It is any conflict among owners who are related by blood or marriage, or who started the company as close friends, over control, money, compensation, or the future of the business. Legally these are handled as partnership, LLC member, or shareholder disputes, but the family dynamics shape how they are best resolved.

Can a family member be forced out of the business?

It depends on the governing documents and the conduct involved. Many operating and shareholder agreements contain buyout or expulsion terms, and Florida law offers court remedies in cases of serious misconduct or when the company cannot function. A lawyer needs to read your agreement before anyone can say what is realistic.

What if there is no written agreement at all?

Then the default rules of Florida’s business entity statutes apply, along with whatever can be proven about the family’s actual dealings. Oral understandings can be enforced in some circumstances, but they are harder to prove and carry a shorter four-year limitations period than written contracts.

How long do I have to sue over a broken promise about ownership?

A claim based on a written instrument generally has five years. One based on an oral or implied agreement has four. Fraud claims have four years from discovery, capped at twelve. Specific performance has one year. Because the right deadline depends on how the claim is framed, speak with a lawyer early.

Does a family dispute have to end in a courtroom trial?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and our attorneys are experienced in each. Litigation remains the backstop when someone will not negotiate in good faith or when assets need immediate protection.

What can I do 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. When funds are actively being moved, a court can be asked for injunctive relief to stop transfers while the case proceeds.

Can a court appoint someone to run the business during the fight?

In a dissolution proceeding, a Florida court can appoint a receiver or custodian once it has held a hearing with notice to the parties, upon a showing of sufficient merit. It is a significant step, typically reserved for situations where the company or its assets are genuinely at risk.

My sibling and I inherited the building our business operates from. Can one of us force a sale?

A co-owner can ask the court for partition. The court may divide the property or order it sold. If the property is heirs property under Florida’s uniform act, additional procedures apply that favor partition in kind and give other cotenants a chance to buy out the petitioner, so the outcome is not automatic.

I live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Can I handle this from out of state?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from those states who own businesses or property in South Florida with relatives or partners here. We handle the Florida court appearances and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the company is small?

Often yes, because small family companies are where undocumented arrangements cause the most trouble. An early consultation can clarify your rights, whether any deadlines are approaching, and whether a negotiated exit makes more sense than a lawsuit, which is frequently the more cost-effective answer.

Can you work with my current attorney?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out-of-state lawyers whose clients have disputes in Florida and Florida lawyers who do not handle business litigation. We communicate with referring counsel throughout and respect that relationship.

Serving Family Business Clients Across Palm Beach and Broward Counties

We represent families and business owners from Palm Beach Gardens through the northern Palm Beach County communities of Jupiter, Juno Beach, Tequesta, and North Palm Beach, and down through Riviera Beach, Lake Park, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, and Wellington. Our work extends into Royal Palm Beach, Greenacres, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton.

Across the county line, we serve clients in Broward County, including Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Hollywood, and the surrounding communities. We also work with owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida, whether the dispute is a partnership in Palm Beach Gardens or a shared property elsewhere in the region.

Talk With a Palm Beach Gardens Family Business Attorney

If a relative, a partner, or a co-owner has put your company or your ownership stake at risk, the sooner you talk with a Palm Beach Gardens family business attorney, the more options you are likely to have. Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to discuss what happened, what the documents say, and which path best fits your goals and budget. We answer the phone, and we return calls within 24 hours when we cannot.