Partnership

Tom & Jerry are friends who have known each other many years. Tom is married with two
children, and Jerry is single with no kids. His only family is a sister in Chicago who Tom dated in
college (but Jerry does not know that, and the breakup was not smooth).
Tom & Jerry want to open a hot dog truck and run the business as a partnership. They think this
is best because they trust each other, do not know any lawyers, and do not want to worry about
complicated tax and corporate issues every year.
Tom’s wife is not happy about the idea, and wants him to continue working his fulltime job and
work on the truck on the side. Jerry is gung-ho and already quit his job to do this. It turns out
the venture will cost more than they thought, so they ask their friend Frank to join the
partnership. Frank agrees, but only if he can be protected from liability. Frank will contribute
money, but will not work on the truck. Tom is contributing more money than Jerry, but Jerry is
in for all the cash he has. All three want to be equal partners.
Although the three friends are not about a lot of formality, they have seen enough episodes of
Law & Order, Judge Judy, and CSI to know they may want to put some things down on paper.
Without worrying about the “legalese” draft a partnership agreement for the friends doing
business as T & J’s Franks, reflecting their intent and their issues. You may wish to address
issues such as getting paid, profits, selling out, death or dissolution of the business, decision
making, and other topics of importance you may see.
(Disregard any licensing issues regarding selling food).

Sample Answer