MyLifeSpark

Hi! My father passed away last year due to cancer, and all his savings and investments are already used for his treatment and hospital bills. Last month, I heard from my father's sister that he used to have a restaurant business, but due to his sickness, he did not know how to run it very well and now it is only being managed by a business partner. Then I talked to his business partner but she said my father withdrew from the partnership before he became sick.

I don't know if she is telling the truth because she didn't present me with any documents about this matter. Can you help me with this?

Hello, I suggest that you get proof from her, like a contract or a written agreement. If she can't provide any documents or proof it may be worthwhile to have a lawyer assess your situation.

Hello, I agreed with Sophie, In business, all the transactions and agreements need to be documented (black and white). If something happens it can be tracked and there's proof. As far as I know, a verbal agreement is not accepted in court as evidence. Better to talk to an attorney right now.

Hi Nancy, make sure he hasn't left any will.
What i would maybe do first is ask your aunt if she knows the restaurant name, then from there should much easier to find the company under which he has been operating.
Whether he fully owns this company or not will appear in the company ownerships certificate and the conditions between the partners will appear in the shareholder agreement.

Another thing you can probably see is whether he is owning the restaurant as an asset or just operating it :

- if he is just operating with its partner/ alone then see whether their has been any dividend distributed during the years or still to be distributed by the company to its shareholders as they remained within the company> That tells you whether as his heir you are entitled to anything here. (as he was entitled)
- if he is owning it, then in addition to the abpove, you can check whether you own the premises/ the walls land etc, this appears easily in the financial statements yearly of the comoany /balance sheet under "asset" .

most of the above documents as long as you can find the name of the company can be found in the Central register of companies. And I think you should be able to get these if you produce your "heir certificate "

If you do not have a family lawyer or i mean any lawyer you can trust then i would suggest you first understand a bit the situation as per the thoughts above and any other advice you get and then engage a lawyer to do what you ask him to and get suggestions from him.


The fact that your father was sick and didn't operate well isn't relevant as per my thoughts.

I hope you can be relieved about all of that and you find nice surprises. I am happy to give you further advice, but it is only my personal advice and I am not a lwayer or any very knowledgeable person into these matters but if you find it helpfull then grreat.
dont hesitate to ask .
Yvi

Again hi, Yvi!

I'm now looking for any written contract that my late father and his business partner committed to. Furthermore, as you mentioned, I'm looking for other information and documents concerning the business that may be of use to me. Since I can't afford a lawyer right now, I'm going to wait for his response while I save enough for one. Thank you very much for the choices you gave, it is very helpful.