Dental Partnership Agreement: How to Start a Dental Partnership

If you are a dentist who is in business with another dentist, you may want to form a dental partnership agreement to keep track of your expenses and income. While you can choose to form various entities to form your practice, two dental partners often choose this type of set-up to make things easy.

You can learn more bout a dental partnership agreement and how to establish it by contacting me at sam@mollaeilaw.com for further details. I will do all that I can to assist you in forming and establishing your dental practice.

The information below will give you further details on how this type of business formation works for dental partners. 

 

How Does a Dental Partnership Agreement Protect My Interests?

You can weigh the benefits and drawbacks of establishing a dental partnership agreement. I can help. To understand how and why a dental partnership may be right for you, you will need to define it first.

A dental partnership is formed when two or more dentists serve as co-owners.

 

Accidentally Forming a Partnership – It Can Easily Happen

You have to be extremely careful when you work with another dentist and share costs, as doing so can be interpreted, legally, as being in a partnership.

You might ask, “Why should I be careful?” 

Accidentally entering into a dental partnership without any agreement can cause you to incur the expenses of the other partner or even be liable for the costs associated with malpractice. 

 

Why You Need My Help

To overcome this type of problem, you should enter into a dental partnership agreement. I can help you draft the agreement so you can clearly understand your obligations as partners. I can also include an indemnity provision.

In addition, I might suggest that each dental partner form a professional corporation so his or her personal assets are protected should the partnership incur a liability.

To begin the process, you need to contact me at sam@mollaeilaw.com for all the details. This type of formation can become quite complex and must be established with respect to the individual needs of the co-owners of the practice.

 

Why a Dental Partnership Agreement Will Enhance the Professional Reputations of the Dentists Who Agree to the Contract

You will find that a dental partnership agreement is a preferred type of set-up for a dental practice for the following reasons:

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• Your dental partner can manage the practice and pay for the overhead if you choose to go on vacation (after all, everyone needs a break every now and then).
• Your partner may have strengths he or she can use that you do not possess, which supports growth and expansion.
• When two dentists work together, each one gives the other partner an incentive to expand the practice or generate innovative ideas.
• If you are older having a younger partner can help you, as he or she will bring energy into the practice. On the other hand, if you are younger, you can learn and expand on your dental knowledge by working with an older partner.
• The practice can grow more quickly if it has access to two sources of investment capital.

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As you can see, you can reap some beneficial rewards, legally and professionally, if you choose to enter into a dental partnership agreement. 

 

What Name or Names Should I Include in the Dental Partnership Agreement for the Practice?

When you enter into a dental partnership agreement for your practice, you also need to make sure that it includes the last names of the partners. If it does not include the partners’ last names or in any way, suggests that there are additional owners, you must apply for a fictitious business name. 

In this case, the partnership must apply for a fictitious business dental name by way of the dental board and through the locale where the dental business is located. The cost is dependent on when your dental license expires.

You can see that you will need legal guidance in this respect. Let me show you the steps for applying for a fictitious dental business name. Direct any questions along these lines to me at sam@mollaeilaw.com today.

 

How a Written Dental Partnership Agreement Can Help Your Practice

While a dental partnership agreement can be implied or oral, it is best to establish a comprehensive written agreement – one that will cover all aspects of the partnership. Otherwise, state law will intervene where certain sections are not covered.

When a partnership is established inadvertently, the law will dictate the responsibilities and obligations of each partner by default. That is why you should make sure you have control over the operations of your practice by forming a dental partnership agreement.

If you should ever disagree with your partner, having an agreement in place can make the difference between getting embroiled in a costly legal battle or continuing to operate. Below are the advantages of forming the agreement.

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1. By establishing a written agreement, each dental partner will understand his other rights and responsibilities before beginning the business.
2. An agreement will clear up any misperceptions or ambiguities associated with running a dental practice.
3. The agreement can help calculate how a business will be valued if a partner decides to leave.
4. The establishment of a contract can establish the rules concerning removing a partner and/or replacing him or her.

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As you can see, you can make your dental practice operations easier to understand and follow when you have an agreement in place. Few terms or additions should also be included in a dental partnership agreement.

They are covered in the following section. Ask me about further details about the benefits of establishing an agreement. Contact me anytime at sam@mollaeilaw.com.

 

What Should Be Included in a Dental Partnership Agreement?

There are certain terms/conditions or legal sections that should be included in a dental partnership agreement. These terms / inclusions are presented below.

 

The Purpose of the Dental Business or Practice

The partnership agreement should include the type of dental practice that the partnership covers. Define the purpose of forming the partnership in the agreement. In this case, you should be as specific as possible. 

This type of provision is helpful in dental partnerships where each partner must devote a certain amount of time to the partnership. One of the partners, for instance, may have to introduce certain dental business opportunities to the partnership.

 

The Duties and Rights of Each Dental Partner

This provision lays out the duties or rights of each partner in the practice. It permits dental partners to enter into other agreements, such as a lease, or pay bills for the practice and partnership.

It also describes any limitations placed on each of the partners, as follows:

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• The amount of time each dentist can practice dentistry
• Who manages the partnership and practice
• What business or dental decisions need majority acceptance
• What business or dental decisions need unanimous consent

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In addition, this section should provide a covenant not to compete or not to obtain income, or solicit. It may extend to a partner exiting a partnership as well.

 

Management of Dental Patient Records

This part of the dental partnership agreement covers who will take care of dental patient records and should elaborate on each partner’s duties with respect to HIPPAA compliance and state and federal regulations.

 

Capital Contributions, Profit and Losses, and Distributions

This part of the agreement enables the dental partners to determine just how much capital will be invested in a new practice. The agreement will also detail the ownership percentages, usually which collaborate with the number of capital contributions. 

By Default Profits and losses are usually divided, according to ownership percentages. For this part of the contract, you should consult with a CPA.

This section also covers how each partner will pay the costs. Partners may divide the expenses, based on the percentage of ownership or the amount of production and ownership.

 

What To Do Next

If you are ready to establish a dental partnership agreement, now is the time to do so. Get your business off to a good start. I can help with all the paperwork and filing.

I can also answer further inquiries. Shoot me an email today at sam@mollaeilaw.com.