Legal Question in Business Law in Tennessee

paying for my brother's mistakes

My brother, who has had lengthy credit problems, wanted a ''fresh start'' with his own business. He could not get a business license in his own name, so my mother got the business license for him. She did not share in the profits. My brother lived with us, so she did ask him to pay the electric bill and help with groceries. All of the business dealings were all his own doing from then on. She was not involved. My brother told her he would take her name off of the license soon, but never did. My brother has since gotten into trouble with the business (not paying contractors, not doing jobs, etc). My mother had no knowledge that he was doing this. Now my brother has essentially ''ran away from home'' (he is almost 40), and we don't know if he'll come back to pay his debts or not. Now people are threatening to sue her, since her name is on the business license. We are a low-income family with lots of medical bills already, so this is a scary proposition. We have a $20,000 dollar mortage on our house that we took out last year to help my brother out of another mess he was in. What can we do so that we won't lose our home? We don't have anywhere else to go and my mom has medical problems. Thanks and God bless you. :)


Asked on 2/09/06, 6:58 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James R. Becker, Jr. Becker Law Firm

Re: paying for my brother's mistakes

It is unlikely that merely having a name on a business license could create the type of liability to contractors, etc. that you describe. However, depending on the nature of the business (partnership, corporation, LLC) there may be some issues that need to be considered. I would recommend that your mother gather together the pertinent business records and set up a meeting with a business lawyer to discuss her potential liabilities and options.

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Answered on 2/10/06, 11:09 am


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