Sunrise Business Divorce Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, LLC members, shareholders, and family co-owners in Sunrise and across Broward County when the people who built a company together can no longer run it together. A Sunrise business divorce attorney is often brought in after months of unanswered emails, locked-out accounts, or a partner who has stopped sharing financial records, and the first decisions made at that point tend to shape everything that follows.

A business divorce is not one lawsuit with one outcome. Depending on how the company is organized and what the operating or shareholder agreement says, it can end in a negotiated buyout, a sale of the whole company, a structured wind-down, or a court-ordered dissolution. Which path is available turns on the entity type, the paper the owners signed, and what the other side has actually done. Sunrise sits in Broward County, so contested disputes of this kind are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which has a complex business division that handles, among other things, dissolution of certain business entities and large commercial cases.

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

The Andrew M. Founder Andrew M. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. The firm serves clients in Sunrise, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County.

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 in ownership fights, where a claim can move between circuit court and federal court depending on the parties and the claims asserted. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when the lawyers are in court.

The firm’s results are in the courtroom. In a recent matter, after a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Cases that turn on the exact wording of an agreement and the history between the parties are the core of this practice. The attorneys are also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and they look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Disputes That Lead Sunrise Owners to Seek a Business Divorce

• Deadlocked Management: Two equal owners, or two blocs of members, cannot agree on a decision and the company stalls. Florida’s LLC statute lists deadlock as a ground for judicial dissolution, but only where the deadlock cannot be broken and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring.
• Buyouts and Valuation Fights: One owner wants out, or wants the other out, and the real argument is price. Disagreements over fair value, discounts for minority interests, and which financial records to rely on are where many of these cases are won or lost.
• Breach of the Operating or Shareholder Agreement: Missed capital calls, unauthorized related-party deals, ignored voting requirements, and violated transfer restrictions all fall here. These cases turn on the precise language of the agreement.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: A manager or controlling owner who self-deals, diverts opportunities, or freezes out a minority holder can face claims for damages and for an accounting.
• Missing or Diverted Funds: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, and partners who cannot account for company money support claims for an accounting and recovery of funds, sometimes with emergency relief to stop assets from being moved.
• Minority Owner Freeze-Outs: Owners shut out of meetings, books, and distributions often have remedies under both the entity statutes and the agreement, including a court-supervised buyout in some situations.
• Family and Friend Co-Owners: Siblings who inherited a company, parents and children with different visions, and spouses or in-laws sharing ownership face the same legal questions as strangers, with far more emotion attached.
• Jointly Owned Real Estate: When the business owned property and the owners cannot agree on its fate, a partition action or a title dispute often runs alongside the company dispute.

What to Do in the First Weeks of an Ownership Dispute

Start by getting the documents in one place: the articles of organization or incorporation, the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, any amendments, buy-sell terms, capital contribution records, tax returns, bank statements, and the company’s financial reports. Before you do anything else, read the agreement for a deadlock sale provision, a buyout formula, a dispute resolution clause, or an arbitration requirement. Under Florida’s LLC statute, a deadlock sale provision that is initiated before a court finds grounds for deadlock dissolution controls instead of a judicial dissolution order, so the order in which steps are taken can matter. Under the corporate statute, filing for dissolution on certain grounds does not take away a shareholder’s right to start an available deadlock sale under a compliant shareholder agreement.

Do not wait on the limitations clock. A claim founded on a written instrument, such as an operating agreement, has a five-year period under Florida law. A contract claim that is oral or implied has four years, and a fraud claim has four years from discovery, capped at twelve. If you are seeking specific performance, the period is one year, which is short enough to catch owners off guard. Negligence claims were cut to two years for causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023, and professional malpractice claims, such as those against an outside accountant or lawyer, carry two years from discovery or when discovery should have occurred with due diligence.

Avoid the common self-inflicted wounds: moving money to “protect” it, deleting emails, cutting the other owner out of systems unilaterally, or making statements in writing that you would not want read aloud in court. At the same time, do preserve everything, including texts and messages on personal devices. If you suspect funds are being diverted, tell your lawyer early. A court can issue injunctions and, after a hearing with notice to the parties, appoint a receiver or custodian when assets are being misappropriated or wasted. Time matters most in those situations.

Disputes of any size can start in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit’s circuit court, which sits for Broward County at courthouses including the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale and regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. Circuit court generally hears disputes above the county court ceiling, while smaller claims go to county court. Where a dispute meets the criteria, a case can be filed directly into a complex business division using the Broward clerk’s designated form, and the clerk assigns it randomly to a division. Federal claims, or cases between citizens of different states, can land in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

How Florida Law Ends a Business Relationship

For an LLC, the Florida Revised LLC Act lets a manager or member ask the circuit court to dissolve the company on specific grounds: the company’s affairs are being conducted unlawfully; it is not reasonably practicable to carry on activities in line with 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 managers or members are deadlocked, cannot break the deadlock, and irreparable injury is threatened or occurring. When the court finds sufficient merit, it may appoint a receiver or custodian or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest instead of dissolving the company.

Corporations follow a parallel but distinct path. A shareholder can seek judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, including where the corporation has abandoned its business and failed within a reasonable time to liquidate, distribute assets, and dissolve. Once a shareholder files on the qualifying grounds, the corporation must notify the other shareholders within 30 days that they may avoid dissolution by electing 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. An election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify or set it aside. While the case is pending, the court may enter injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take other steps to preserve corporate assets.

The practical point is that dissolution is often leverage rather than the goal. Many clients want to be paid fairly for what they built, or to keep the company and pay out a partner, and the statutory buyout mechanisms exist for exactly that. A strong filing, combined with a credible valuation, frequently produces a settlement at mediation without a final trial.

When the Company Owns Real Estate or the Owners Co-Own Property

Ownership disputes often include land. If co-owners of property cannot agree, Florida’s partition statute lets an owner ask the court to divide the property or, when division cannot be done fairly, to order a sale and split the proceeds. Partition actions are heard in equity, and the complaint must describe the land, name the owners and their residences, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners, unless the parties agree on them. If they report that division would prejudice the owners, the court may order a public sale, with the proceeds divided in proportion to each owner’s interest. Sales on credit are possible for good cause, but at least one-third of the price must generally be paid down unless all parties consent otherwise.

Where the property came down through a family, Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act can change the process. If the court finds the property is heirs property, which generally means tenancy in common without a binding partition agreement, at least one cotenant who acquired title from a relative, and another listed condition such as 20 percent or more of interests held by relatives, the court must follow the heirs property procedures unless all cotenants agree otherwise. Partition in kind is not ordered unless commissioners considered the statutory factors and found that partition in kind would prejudice the cotenants as a group.

Competing claims to the same parcel can also be resolved through a quiet title action. Florida law gives circuit courts jurisdiction over suits by anyone claiming legal or equitable title, including cases where multiple parties claim under a common title, and allows a complaint to cancel a conveyance or remove a cloud on title. The suit may be filed in any county where part of the land is located, and plaintiffs must generally trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise.

Business Divorce Questions From Sunrise Owners

What is a business divorce?

It is the separation of co-owners of a company, whether partners, LLC members, or shareholders. It can be resolved through 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 the operating agreement and on the partner’s conduct. Many agreements include buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law provides remedies where a member has engaged in serious misconduct or the company can no longer function. An attorney needs to read your agreement before telling you which options are available.

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.

How is a minority owner treated in a buyout?

Under the Florida corporate statute, the price in a statutory buyout is fair value, and the parties first try to agree on value and terms within 60 days of the first election. If they cannot, the court sets the price. Valuation methodology is usually the central battleground.

Does my operating agreement control, or does Florida law?

Both matter. Florida’s statutes supply default rules and a set of court remedies, while the operating or shareholder agreement controls many day-to-day governance and exit questions. A deadlock sale provision in the agreement can take priority over a judicial dissolution order if it is initiated before the court finds grounds for deadlock dissolution.

How long do I have to file a claim against a partner?

A claim on a written agreement has five years, an oral or implied contract claim has four, and a fraud claim has four years from discovery with a 12-year outer limit. A claim for specific performance has only one year. Because different claims in one dispute can have different deadlines, the earliest one should drive your timing.

Will a business divorce case go to the complex business division in Broward County?

Not automatically. The Seventeenth Judicial Circuit’s complex business division handles, among other things, dissolution of certain business entities and large business and construction litigation. A case can be filed directly into that division if it meets the criteria set out in the circuit’s administrative order, and the clerk then randomly assigns it. Whether your case qualifies depends on its claims and size.

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

Yes. In both LLC and corporate dissolution proceedings, a court can appoint a receiver or custodian, but it must hold a hearing with notice to the parties before doing so. This remedy is generally reserved for cases where assets are at risk or the company cannot function.

Do I have to give up my ownership if I sue a family member in business with me?

No. Filing suit does not by itself end your ownership. Many family disputes resolve through a negotiated buyout, a restructured governance arrangement, or mediation, and the outcome depends on the documents and the facts. The firm handles family-owned company cases with discretion while protecting a client’s financial interests.

Do I need to go to court every time if I live out of state?

No. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida, handling the local court appearances and proceedings while keeping the client informed.

Do all business divorces end up in a courtroom?

No. Many resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, particularly when an agreement requires it. Litigation is still often necessary to preserve leverage or stop harm, so the firm prepares each matter as though it may be tried.

Serving Business Divorce Clients Across Sunrise and Broward County

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents owners in Sunrise and the surrounding Broward County communities, including Plantation, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Weston, Coral Springs, and Pembroke Pines.

The firm’s reach continues north into Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, and extends to clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida. Whether the dispute involves a Sunrise retail operation, a professional practice, an investment property, or a family-held company, the same questions of control, value, and exit apply.

Talk to a Sunrise Business Divorce Lawyer Before the Dispute Hardens

When a partnership reaches the point where one owner is locked out, a buyout is being demanded, or money is unaccounted for, the choices made early often determine what is left to fight over later. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is ready to review your agreement, your records, and your options and tell you plainly where you stand. Contact the firm today to speak with a Sunrise business divorce lawyer about your case.