Zuidweg & Partners exists 23 years! In this video, Jacqueline therefore answers frequently asked questions from entrepreneurs with financial problems. One of these is "am I liable?"
Suppose you receive a reminder in the letterbox. You first check whether the claim is correct, whether it is intended for you and whether you are personally liable or your partner, if any. This can raise many questions. Zuidweg & Partners can help you with this. We first look at the legal form of your company: do you have a sole proprietorship (often a self-employed person) or do you have a Private Company? (BV) Different rules apply in terms of liability. As a sole proprietorship you are commercially and privately liable for debts, in principle not with a BV, but if you sign privately (which is often requested) you can still be liable. That liability is a huge puzzle, but we are happy to help you solve it. Furthermore, most entrepreneurs are not aware of it, but in the Netherlands you can be liable for your debts for up to 20 years.
How can you properly separate private liability from business liability? That actually starts with marriage. It is important that if you marry under prenuptial agreement, you also follow the rules that apply. Otherwise, if you are married in community property or you do not follow the rules of the prenuptial agreement, you pull your partner into any financial problems. It is also important that you adhere to the rules that apply with regard to liability for the tax authorities and the bank. As a BV owner, you can be tempted by the bank to privately sign for a loan. Sometimes you don't have a choice, but you can negotiate this. At the tax authorities it is important that you, as the owner of a BV, declare your inability to pay on time. This can be done very easily on the website www.taxdienst.nl. Finally, you can also be liable for your product, for example if your product does not comply. And that also applies if you are a service provider and you give incorrect advice, causing damage.
You can find more information about liability on our website: www.zuidweg-partners.nl/