Plantation Family Business Dispute Attorney

A company that two siblings, a parent and child, or a married couple built together can stall the moment they stop agreeing on who controls it, who gets paid, or what it is worth. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles Plantation family business dispute attorney matters for owners in Plantation and across Broward County, including partner and member disputes, buyouts, dissolution, and the claims that surface when money goes missing from a company that relatives own together.

Family business cases differ from ordinary commercial fights in a practical way. The ownership documents are often thin or were never updated, compensation was set by habit rather than contract, and decades of informal dealings now have to be reconstructed to show who was promised what. Florida’s statutes for LLCs and corporations still govern, but the facts that decide the case usually live in emails, bank records, tax returns, and the testimony of people who share a last name.

Plantation owners also have a local reason to care about forum. Broward County cases are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which maintains a complex business division for matters such as dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation, and a West Regional Courthouse operates in Plantation itself. Knowing how a family dispute gets routed, and whether it belongs in that complex division, shapes both the cost and the pace of the case.

Where Family Ownership Disputes Actually Break Down

Most family business conflicts trace back to one of a handful of pressure points, and each calls for a different legal tool. Identifying which one you are dealing with is the first real decision in the case.

The first is control without a tiebreaker. Two siblings each hold half of an LLC, neither can outvote the other, and neither will yield. Florida’s LLC statute lets a member ask a circuit court to dissolve the company when managers or members are deadlocked, cannot break the deadlock, and the company faces irreparable injury. The same statute lists other grounds: it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement, controlling members are acting or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, or assets are being misappropriated or wasted to the company’s injury. A court asked to dissolve may instead appoint a receiver or custodian, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest, after a hearing on notice to the parties.

The second is the corporation. A shareholder in a family-held corporation can petition for judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, and the statute builds in an escape valve: the corporation, or other shareholders if it does not act, may 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 on those terms. The election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify it. Within 30 days after a dissolution proceeding of this kind begins, the corporation must notify the other shareholders that they can avoid dissolution by buying out the petitioner. Those deadlines move quickly, and a family that misses them can lose leverage.

Third, a deadlock sale provision in the operating or shareholder agreement can change everything. Under Florida’s LLC statute, if the agreement contains a deadlock sale mechanism that is initiated before the court finds deadlock grounds exist, that mechanism applies in place of judicial dissolution or a court-ordered buyout. For corporations, filing a dissolution action on certain grounds does not cut off a shareholder’s right to start an available deadlock sale under a compliant shareholder agreement. Whether to pull that trigger, and when, is a strategic call that depends on who can afford to buy and who can afford to sell.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm representing business owners, investors, and families in Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, and throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County, as well as clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation, admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 after earning his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. His career has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders.

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 spills past a single forum, for example when an out-of-state relative’s claims or a federal question put the case in the Southern District of Florida rather than the state circuit court.

The firm practices as a true legal team, meaning everyone working on a file knows it, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court. Family clients tend to want two things at once: discretion and a result that does not consume the business. The firm is experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and it looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

On the courtroom side, the firm’s record includes a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court that ended in a 32-page final judgment, issued May 15, 2024, awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Cases like that turn on the precise wording of an agreement and the history of the parties’ dealings, the same skills a family business dispute demands.

Common Family Business Disputes We Handle

• Sibling and Heir Ownership Fights: Brothers and sisters who inherited a company together often disagree over salaries, reinvestment, and whether to sell. Claims typically include breach of an operating or shareholder agreement, breach of fiduciary duty, and requests for judicial dissolution or a court-supervised buyout.
• Parent and Child Succession Conflicts: A founder who promised the business to one child, or a child who stayed and built it while others did not, can face disputes over equity, compensation, and what was actually agreed. Oral promises raise a separate limitations period than written ones, which makes early review important.
• Spouses and In-Laws as Co-Owners: When a marriage ends or an in-law relationship sours, shared ownership of an LLC or corporation becomes entangled with personal grievances. The company’s governing documents, not the family relationship, decide who can vote, manage, or be bought out.
• Diverted or Missing Company Funds: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, undocumented withdrawals, and relatives who cannot account for company money support claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of the funds.
• Deadlock and Buyout Valuation: Even when everyone agrees to separate, the price is contested. Fair value, discounts, and the treatment of family compensation all become litigation issues, whether the buyout is negotiated or elected under the corporate statute.
• Shared Real Estate Held by the Family Business: Property held in the company or in co-ownership between relatives can end up in a partition action, where the court divides the land or orders it sold at public auction and splits the proceeds. If the property qualifies as heirs property, a separate statutory framework governs how partition proceeds.
• Emergency Asset Protection: When a relative is moving, spending, or encumbering company assets, temporary and permanent injunctions can freeze the situation while the dispute is pending.

What to Do and Where to Go When a Family Business Dispute Surfaces

Start by getting your documents in one place before tensions rise further: the articles of organization or incorporation, the operating or shareholder agreement and every amendment, buy-sell agreements, capital contribution records, tax returns, bank and credit card statements, and any written communication where compensation, ownership, or future plans were discussed. If you suspect money is leaving the company, preserve account access and records now. Do not delete messages, and do not confront the relative in a way that prompts them to move assets before you have a plan.

Read your governing agreement for three things: whether it contains a deadlock sale or buyout mechanism, whether it requires mediation or arbitration before suit, and whether it limits who can vote or expel a member. These provisions can dictate your first move, and starting the wrong process can forfeit an option.

Deadlines depend on the claim. A claim founded on a written instrument carries a five-year limitations period in Florida, while a contract claim not founded on a written instrument carries four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of 12 years. An action for specific performance carries a one-year period, which surprises owners who assume they have years to act. Because family businesses often run on handshake understandings alongside written agreements, a single dispute can implicate more than one of these clocks, and the safest course is to have the facts reviewed early.

For forum, a case worth more than the county court ceiling belongs in circuit court. In Broward County that is the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County and handles complex business matters through a dedicated division. Plantation owners will encounter the West Regional Courthouse in Plantation and the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale as the county’s civil hubs. Cases involving diversity or federal claims may be heard by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach among other places. In Palm Beach County, the equivalent state court is the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit.

The most common mistake is waiting. Owners hope a family conversation will fix things, keep paying themselves and others from the same disputed accounts, and let the relative with the books control the narrative. Another is assuming blood relation overrides the documents. Courts apply the operating agreement and the statute, and the relationship matters mostly as context. A third is jumping to litigation when a negotiated buyout or mediation would end the dispute faster and keep the business intact.

Remedies a Court Can Order Between Family Co-Owners

The range of outcomes is broader than “win or lose.” In an LLC dissolution proceeding, a court may appoint a receiver or custodian to run or preserve the company, or order that one side purchase the other’s interest instead of winding the business up. Corporate dissolution proceedings let a court issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian during the case, take other steps to preserve assets, and carry on the business until a full hearing. These tools matter when a family business employs people, holds leases, and depends on customers who will leave if the company freezes.

Where the dispute includes shared property, a partition judgment can be entered in kind or by sale. Florida procedure has the court appoint three commissioners, chosen by the court unless the parties agree, who report on whether the land can be divided without prejudice to the owners. If it cannot, the court may order a public auction with proceeds shared according to ownership shares, and in some cases a sale on credit with at least one-third of the price paid down unless everyone consents otherwise. For heirs property, a partition in kind is not entered unless the court is satisfied the commissioners weighed the statutory factors and found that dividing the land would prejudice the cotenants as a group.

Where title itself is contested, a quiet title action allows a court to determine ownership and remove clouds on title, and the plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years before filing unless the court orders otherwise. These actions can be filed in any county where part of the land sits.

Frequently Asked Questions About Family Business Disputes

What is a business divorce when the owners are relatives?

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

Can I force a sibling or parent out of our LLC?

It depends on your operating agreement and the conduct involved. Many agreements include buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law provides court remedies when a member has acted illegally or fraudulently, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when the company can no longer function. An attorney can review the agreement and tell you which paths are open.

What can I do if a family member is taking money from the business?

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 dispute is pending.

Do we have to go to court, or can we resolve this privately?

Many disputes settle through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and some agreements require it. Our attorneys handle alternative dispute resolution as well as trials, and the right path usually depends on how entrenched each side is and what the governing documents say.

Does a family relationship give me more rights than the operating agreement?

No. Courts apply the governing documents and Florida’s business entity statutes. Family history and informal promises can matter as evidence, but they do not replace ownership percentages, voting rights, or buyout terms written into the agreement.

How long do I have to sue over a broken agreement with a relative?

A claim founded on a written instrument has a five-year period, and a contract claim not founded on a written instrument has four years. Fraud runs four years from discovery, capped at 12 years, and specific performance has a one-year period. The right deadline depends on how the claim is framed, so confirm it early.

What happens if the shareholder agreement has a deadlock sale clause?

If the clause is initiated before a court finds that deadlock grounds exist, it can take the place of judicial dissolution. Whether to invoke it depends on who is positioned to buy, how the price is set, and whether you want to be the one buying or selling.

Can a court order one relative to buy out the other?

Yes, in appropriate cases. In corporate dissolution proceedings, the corporation or other shareholders can elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value, and in LLC proceedings a court may order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest. These remedies often let the business survive.

My relative and I co-own the building the business uses. Can I force a sale?

A co-owner may ask a Florida court for partition, which divides the property or orders it sold and the proceeds split. If the property is heirs property, the court must follow a specialized statutory process that includes commissioners and valuation steps before ordering a sale.

I live outside Florida. Do I have to travel for every hearing?

No. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with South Florida business interests, handle local court appearances, and keep you informed throughout the case.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer before the dispute becomes a lawsuit?

Often, yes. Early review can preserve evidence, identify the right deadline and forum, and open a negotiated exit that costs less than litigation. Our general counsel program also gives businesses regular legal access before disagreements harden.

Do you take referrals from other attorneys?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from other lawyers, including out of state attorneys whose clients have Florida disputes, and we keep referring counsel informed and respect their client relationships.

Serving Family Business Owners Across Plantation and Broward County

Our work begins in Plantation and extends through the neighboring Broward County communities of Sunrise, Davie, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Tamarac, Margate, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Parkland, Pembroke Pines, Weston, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Cooper City. Family-owned companies in these communities range from retail and restaurant ownership to medical practices, contracting, property management, and real estate holding companies.

We also serve clients throughout Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, along with out-of-state families whose partners or co-owners are here in South Florida. Wherever the company or the property sits, the goal is the same: resolve the dispute on terms that protect the business and the owner’s financial interest.

Talk With a Plantation Family Business Dispute Lawyer

When relatives who own a company together can no longer agree, early decisions about forum, deadlines, and strategy often determine how the dispute ends. If you are looking for a Plantation family business dispute lawyer, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your governing documents, explain the remedies available, and recommend whether negotiation, mediation, or litigation fits your goals.

Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to schedule a consultation. We answer the phone, and if we are in court, we return your call within 24 hours.