Comparing a 1998 partnership agreement to a modern LLC filing

My dad ran a hardware store in Akron with his buddy for 20 years under a handshake and a 2 page contract. When he finally retired in 2019, they spent 6 months untangling inventory splits and a disputed $14,000 loan. I helped my own LLC setup last month with a standard operating agreement and it took like 3 days. Maybe it's just me, but that old school trust approach really cost them more in legal fees than any paperwork ever would. Has anyone else dealt with a messy old partnership buyout?

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oscarhart9d ago

The real kicker is that your dad's handshake agreement probably didn't have a buy-sell clause, and that's the thing that kills people. My uncle had a similar setup with his brother over a landscaping business, and when one of them wanted out, they had to get a business appraiser involved because the contract just said "split everything fair." That appraiser cost them $9,000 alone, and they still argued about what "fair" meant for another year. Honestly the old school trust approach only works if everyone dies at the exact same time or never wants to leave, which is never how it goes.