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LEGAL EASE / Legal Agreements with Co-Owners
Establishing Legal by Maureen Blaney Flietner M
any multiowner practices have operated for years with no or few written agreements among the owners. Some ventures may have
begun fresh out of college when enthusi- asm and bright plans for the future bound the partners together. Other endeavors could have begun with young veterinar- ians joining long-established practices. Multiowner veterinary hospitals do
have an appeal. They allow for large cap- ital investments, the sharing of manage- ment responsibilities and the ability to draw on each owner’s strengths. A co-owner relationship is akin to a
marriage, however. There is the emo- tional and financial interdependence of partners spending up to 60 hours per week under the same roof. When the first blush of excitement is gone, there has to be something that holds it all together and protects all their interests. Lorraine Monheiser List, CPA, CVA,
owner of Summit Veterinary Advisors in Littleton, Colo., says co-owners need to address issues that are, or will be, impor- tant to the practice, its owners and the practice’s long-term continuity. “Good agreements lead to success-
fully co-owned practices because they force owners to think through various scenarios that may come up in the future and decide in advance how they want to address those issues,” she says. “Veteri- narians are often hesitant to deal with thorny and sensitive issues, but discus- sions in advance when the issues are
Co-owners need to address issues that are,
or will be, important to the practice, its owners and the practice’s long-term continuity.
only hypothetical can result in an agree- ment that will avoid heartache down the road.” Those who do not have the proper documents can face serious problems. She has had to deal with some of these war stories and provided an example. Two veterinarians had known each
other professionally but had never worked side by side for any extended period. As they became co-owners, they opted not to spend the money to have an owners’ agreement prepared because they felt they could work out any differ- ences amicably. However, after a few years, they
found that they had different philoso- phies about work schedules, work ethics, handling finances and more. One owner wanted to maximize the cash paid out to
Trends magazine, November 2012
Agreements with Co-owners Get proper documents now to avoid co-owner problems down the road.
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