Agree how your partnership will work before problems arise.

Make the agreement reflect the relationship

Partners often agree the broad idea of a business before deciding how difficult situations will be handled. One person contributes money, another brings customers and a third expects to work fewer days. Yudey's partnership agreement review helps identify whether those expectations have been translated into clear provisions. The aim is a useful list of decisions and drafting issues, connected to how your business will operate.

We first establish whether the arrangement is an ordinary partnership, an LLP or another structure. We also confirm the relevant UK jurisdiction, since partnership law and procedures are not identical across the country. The official starting guidance distinguishes ordinary partnerships from other forms and explains personal responsibility within an ordinary partnership. ^[1] Your engagement is then scoped for the actual arrangement rather than a convenient label.

Contributions, assets and profit sharing

The review can examine initial capital, further funding commitments and the treatment of money withdrawn by partners. We ask whether contributions are intended as capital, loans or payment for a specific asset. An agreement that uses these ideas interchangeably can leave the partners with very different expectations about repayment when someone leaves or the business needs additional funds.

We also look at assets used by the business: equipment, premises, intellectual property and customer relationships. The practical question is whether the partnership owns an asset, has permission to use it or depends on a partner retaining control of it personally. Your comments report can identify missing ownership evidence and matters to discuss with an accountant, valuer or other professional before changes are finalised.

Authority and everyday decisions

A workable agreement should help people understand who may commit the business and when everyone must be consulted. We review the proposed distinction between ordinary spending and significant commitments, such as borrowing, hiring senior staff or entering a long lease. We consider whether approval arrangements can be followed in a small business without making routine decisions unmanageable.

Your review can also cover management roles, access to financial information, expected time commitments and the procedure for recording decisions. If a partner becomes unavailable, the document should be considered alongside operational continuity. The objective is to make the unanswered questions visible, not to assume that legal wording alone will resolve a difference in trust or commercial expectations.

Joining, leaving and disagreement

Admission and departure provisions deserve attention before the partnership changes. We examine how a new partner is approved, what information they receive and how their financial participation is recorded. For departures, the review can consider notice, valuation assumptions, payment timing, unfinished work and arrangements for customers or confidential information. These issues may need input from more than one adviser.

Dispute procedures should also be realistic about the relationship. We can flag how negotiation, mediation or another agreed process fits the document and what happens if no agreement is reached. If a dispute already exists, tell us before sending the full file. Representing the partnership collectively and advising one partner against another are different engagements, and conflicting interests may require independent representation.

A usable review and a defined revision stage

The agreed output may be a marked-up agreement, a written issues table or a combination of both. Comments identify the relevant clause, explain the business consequence and set out the decision or information needed. We distinguish proposed drafting changes from tax questions and from commercial choices that the partners themselves must make. This keeps the review usable during discussions.

Drafting a replacement agreement, negotiating with other partners and implementing an exit are not automatically included in a review. Where these steps are needed, the proposal or follow-up scope states who will do the work and how fees are calculated. Signing arrangements and interaction with other documents are considered before completion; we do not describe an unsigned revision as a concluded agreement.

Start with the change you want to achieve

Fees depend on the agreement's length, the number of partners, the structure and the extent of revisions or discussion requested. The written quotation explains the included document versions and feedback rounds, the charge in pounds sterling and applicable VAT. A short document with difficult exit terms can require more analysis than a longer routine agreement, so page count is only one factor.

For the initial enquiry, describe the partnership, the jurisdiction and why a review is needed now. Say whether all partners support the instruction or whether you seek advice individually. Include any planned signing date or active disagreement. We will then clarify the proposed professional involvement and agree a suitable method for sharing the agreement and related records.