# ex partner threatening me for money



## bbgcarpentry (Apr 11, 2009)

Had a partner worked with over the summer,nothing written on paper or anything,we made good money all summer then we had one bad job,i cut his wages down and mine as i thought we were in trouble on the price,on the understanding if things came out ok we would increase the money at the end if did ok.well we lost 3 grand,so i assumed 60 % of the loss and him 40 as was our deal with profit.we made a couple of big mistakes on the job one was my fault and his i think as we set out the job together,he never said anything untill i fired him,well told him i wanted to back on my own.now he is threatening me, wont assume any of the loss.He wants to be paid like all the jobs where we made money and holds me responsible for the loses.he enjoyed the profits so ithink he has to suffer the losses.


how do ideal with his aggressive phone calls and threats.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

Lawyer up.



The only ship guaranteed to sink is a partnership.


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## AJAX (Sep 12, 2009)

That's too bad, sorry to hear about that. I would sit down face to face and work it out. Most times people don't know how to manage money but, times are tough and **** happens. Help him understand ya gotta take the good with the bad no matter how many times you have to say it and that your not trying to screw him. 
If he's just belligerent ask him to stop or you'll take legal action.


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## Scribbles (Mar 10, 2009)

When ppl get broke they get stupid. Lawyer up.


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## wyoming 1 (May 7, 2008)

How do you fire a partner? Tell him you are Native American from the SO-SUE-ME tribe and Lawyer up as already stated.


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## lawndart (Dec 3, 2006)

Tell him you would like to straighten out the issues, over a cup of tea.

Then show him this video


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

Agree with all the above. But no partnership papers filed & you could fire him, doesn't sound like a legal partnership.


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Since you didn't do it legally, you need to pay him and chalk it up to experience. Whether it is right or not, you did not treat him like a partner. A partner can not be fired, only an employee. For that matter you really cannot "fire" a contractor. You have to find a breach in the contract before you can sever the relationship. He has a valid case against you. I would pay him before he files an SS-8 and makes you pay for the business side of federal and state taxes. He could make all kinds of trouble for you.


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## bbgcarpentry (Apr 11, 2009)

i never really fired him just told him iwanted to work back on my own,as idont have much work.i brought in all the he never broughty in any jobs.we lost money this was the only job it happend on.he always had a share of the profit,now he should share some of the losss.?????????????????????????????????????/


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

Partnership is like a marriage, especially if money involved and there is a problem, you end up with a big headache. When things are good, everyone is getting Fat and everyone is happy, but when problems arise you at each others throat. Before you started a partnership you should have put everything on the paper and clarify the terms of your partnership, resolve areas where there was uncertainty and allow you to get your business off on the right foot. Because having a partner you must form the partnership and make sure you have an agreement which fully documents your understanding. Now it will cost you if you both cannot resolve this issues in a civil manner. If you cannot offer him some kind of a settlement, or he will not except a settlement, you will end up in court unless someone will make an offer one of you cannot refuse :shutup:


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

So, he wants the advantages of a partnership until the losses start coming up. Sounds like an employee to me. Tell him if he wants to be paid for this job while you take the losses that he owes you 45% of all the money he made previously because obviously he wants only to be an employee. And employees only make so much because they assume no risk.

Lawyer up or just tell him to go screw.


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## Rob PA (Aug 30, 2010)

so he didnt buy into the bussiness he just supplied tools and skill right? if your advertising and such was getting you guys the job and he never complained about the situation before then he has to take both sides of the coin

now telling him you dont have enough work if he never put anything back into the bussiness is your right it sounds like

i just got out of a few agreements with sub contractors kinda went the same way...people dont know how to act so when you tell them no more of the crap they think that means just to chill out for a week then start being an ass again..then when they have no work since they are/were the big bad contractor who knows everything...they start calling


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## Bill Z (Dec 10, 2006)

There are two sides to every story. Even without hearing the ex-partner''s point of view, it makes sense to cut your losses and put all this garbage behind you. 

How much is a lawyer going to cost compared to a man-to-man settlement? 

Do it yourself and it can be over and done with today or tomorrow for a few hundred dollars. (get it in writing with a signature). Hire a lawyer and you've opened up your wallet for months or years along with the negativity. 

You may want to show him some breakdowns on the jobs as evidence you didn't shaft him, but take responsibility for the misunderstanding and offer an immediate payment for his agreement and signature to go away. 

As someone else said, when they are broke, they also get stupid. Putting some immediate cash in his hands will be a temptation he can't resist.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

Perhaps a one-hour discussion with a lawyer, along with a letter, will send him packing.

Have the lawyer send him a letter stating he is representing you, so any and all inquiries, demands, correspondence, etc should be directed towards the lawyer and not to you.




BTW, he doesn't go to on-line contractors' forums, does he?


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## TimNJ (Sep 7, 2005)

So how did you divvy up the the payments? Did you just give him a check for his % of the job? If the business is registered in your name only and all you did was give him a full check for his % then you have a powerful bargaining chip to use against him...."I think we should call us even or I will have to issue you a 1099 in which case you are going to owe the IRS a boatload of money this year."


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Rob PA said:


> so he didnt buy into the bussiness he just supplied tools and skill right? if your advertising and such was getting you guys the job and he never complained about the situation before then he has to take both sides of the coin
> 
> now telling him you dont have enough work if he never put anything back into the bussiness is your right it sounds like
> 
> i just got out of a few agreements with sub contractors kinda went the same way...people dont know how to act so when you tell them no more of the crap they think that means just to chill out for a week then start being an ass again..then when they have no work since they are/were the big bad contractor who knows everything...they start calling


Unfortunately it doesn't matter if we all feel that it is his right to sever the relationship. This is why in CONTRACTING with CONTRACTS that spell out every detail of the relationship. In partnerships you don't have to "buy in" with cash. If you offer a quantifiable service and that service is required by a party, they can agree to partner with you in exchange for a % of the business.

In this case there is no contract, so neither party has a real leg to stand on. However, most of the time a judge will favor in the later parties request for compensation. 60-40 splits rarely go in favor of the majority. Yes he had no problem raking in the $$$, but in all actuality he had no say in the operations of the business. He did not have control of any aspect of spending and the day to day operations of the partnership.

Again, I strongly suggest to settle if you think that he will take you to court. He doesn't need a lawyer to file suit and it is not worth expense depending on what he is asking. Give him a settlement and have him sign off on the acceptance of the agreement. Be FREE and CLEAR of him and never again go into a partnership without a CONTRACT!


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## pcplumber (Oct 12, 2008)

*Get your paperwork perfect and show it to the partner.*

I took on a few partners for a few days at a time about 30 years ago and always had the same problem as you are having. I also have the same problem with salesmen paid on a commission. When I terminate the salesmen their is usually an argument as the salesmen claim they have more money coming. These problems are quickly resolved with accurate records.

When errors are made in a partnership and when salesmen are paid on a commission nobody is to blame for errors and reduction in the price of the contract. The only time a sale is a sale is when the money changes hands and any contract amount that is higher than the amount of money that changes hands does not count. You split only the profit and loss as agreed and not one penny more.

Put every number on paper. Make the breakdown as clear as possible. Sit with your ex-partner and explain the numbers. Allow him to state his case. When you are right stand firm. When you are wrong make corrections.

I would not worry about going to court. Most likely, he will not sue if your numbers are clear, accurate, and you are assertive. He is not going to commit to $20,000 plus to file a superior court action. So, If he sues it will be in small claims court and I think you have a 90%+ chance of winning if you follow the rule above.


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## CGallagher (Apr 20, 2010)

*Partnership not properly designed*

A partnership only works when there are two clearly defined roles. The first role is the money man who provides funding for tools, advertising, insurance, overhead, ect... There may be more than one of these types of partners. This partner really takes an inactive role in the day to day operations of the company. But may review the companies accounting regularly, and may be integral part in soliciting work. This partner in return receives a predetermined percentage of the companies profits. The other role is the active role. This person manages the jobs, employees, day to day purchases, ect... He is also due a predetermined portion of the profits. If everyone does their job, everyone gets along.

It sounds like you had a gentelmans handshake agreement in which you shared the responsibilities of the active role. This is almost always tragic. No two people will agree 100% of the time, and these types of relationships almost always end negatively. In reality this was not really a partnership at all. You were really the integral figure of this arrangement and you were actually paying your partner based on job profits. This may be considered commishion based pay. So actually I think you are correct, no profit on the job, no commishion. But you cannot dock his pay from other jobs to make up for the losses on your one rogue job.


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## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

TNTSERVICES said:


> Since you didn't do it legally, you need to pay him and chalk it up to experience. Whether it is right or not, you did not treat him like a partner. A partner can not be fired, only an employee. For that matter you really cannot "fire" a contractor. You have to find a breach in the contract before you can sever the relationship. He has a valid case against you. I would pay him before he files an SS-8 and makes you pay for the business side of federal and state taxes. He could make all kinds of trouble for you.



Since NOTHING is on paper, what proof does the hostile party have?


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## Schmidt & Co (Jun 2, 2008)

MALCO.New.York said:


> Since NOTHING is on paper, what proof does the hostile party have?


1099 him for what he's already been paid, and be done with it.....


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