--- title: Co-Owner Obligations and Fiduciary Duty description: Persons who own businesses together have obligations to the company and their co-owners. These obligations fall under the general characterization of fiduciary duties. But what are fiduciary duties? --- [Dan's Desk](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer) - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo) - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn) - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law) - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney) - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal) [Subscribe](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/co-owner-obligations-and-fiduciary-duty#) 11/21/2019 # Co-Owner Obligations and Fiduciary Duty - - - - - [mailto:?subject=Co-Owner%20Obligations%20and%20Fiduciary%20Duty&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fco-owner-obligations-and-fiduciary-duty](mailto:?subject=Co-Owner%20Obligations%20and%20Fiduciary%20Duty&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fco-owner-obligations-and-fiduciary-duty) Persons who own businesses together have obligations to the company and their co-owners. These obligations fall under the general characterization of fiduciary duties. But what are fiduciary duties? Fiduciary duties are the legal requirements for an owner to act in the best interests of the company, to refrain from engaging in competition with the company, and to put the company's best interests ahead of the individuals. The Minnesota Court of Appeals opinions refer to the duty as the "highest standard" that an individual must recognize. But, like other obligations, this can be waived. As an owner, you must choose your words carefully. You should not rely on a hindsight characterization of a waiver as having been made in jest. It looks like sour grapes and should fail in court. By waiving the obligations, you are giving your partner a license to go out and compete with your business. Business deputes are like divorces. They are not good, get too involved with emotion, and rarely end up with the partners talking to each other. If your business looks like it is heading for a divorce, call to get help earlier than later. The material contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, nor is it a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. Each situation is unique, and you should not act or rely on any information contained herein without seeking the advice of an experienced attorney. All information contained in links are the property of the linked site. - [business disputes](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/business-disputes), - [duty](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/duty), - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney), - [competition](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/competition), - [divorce](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/divorce), - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo), - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law), - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer), - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal), - [Minnesotan](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/minnesotan), - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn), - [obligation](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/obligation) ![Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/assets-mjfw/site%20images/Dans-Desk.jpg) ## [Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) Dan is a lifelong resident of Minnesota. Born in St. Paul, Dan spent many of his formative years growing up there before moving to White Bear Lake. After graduating from White Bear Lake, Dan spent four glorious years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in two majors. Dan worked as a Senior Investigator at the Minnesota Department of Commerce for several years after graduating from college. During his final years Dan attended William Mitchell College of Law while still working full-time. During this exhausting 3 ½ year period Dan honed his skills in becoming an efficient, to-the-point legal practitioner. While at Madison Dan met his wife, Tonya, and together they moved to Minnesota to plant their roots. Dan and Tonya have two amazing, unique children and reside in Hugo. ### CONNECT WITH ME - ## Related Posts [![Fiduciary Duty Under a Power of Attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/Canva%20images/Canva%20Design%20DAEe-PGebOw.png) 05/20/2021 Fiduciary Duty Under a Power of Attorney Minnesota has specific structure to its power of attorney form. Even minor deviations from the statutory requirements can bring into question its… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/fiduciary-duty-under-a-power-of-attorney) [12/21/2016 Trespass and a Tree - What's a Tree Worth, or Take Out One Tree, Pay for Three? The cause of action of Trespass is pretty simple. You cross into someone else's property, you are wrong. The complexity of the cause of action arises… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/trespass-and-a-tree-whats-a-tree-worth-or-take-out-one-tree-pay-for-three) ### Subscribe Here! ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dan Gallatin", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin" }, "dateModified" : "2020-08-21T18:16:29.627Z", "datePublished" : "2019-11-21T06:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Co-Owner Obligations and Fiduciary Duty", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/co-owner-obligations-and-fiduciary-duty", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/logos/Gallatin-Logo-654x84.png" }, "name" : "Gallatin Law, PLLC" } } ```