A: The one thing to make sure with noncompete agreements is that it is reasonable in terms of duration and the area you cannot compete in. Courts use a reasonableness test to determine whether a noncompete agreement is valid. If provisions are deemed to be unreasonable and fail the test, they could be altered or struck out of the agreement.

A: This is a great question to ask. The first step is to register your business with the Florida Department of State on Sunbiz; that will get you legally set up to get rolling. The second step to setting up your LLC properly is to adopt an operating agreement. This agreement tells how the business will run, how it will handle new members and the powers that existing members and/or managers will have amongst other important paragraphs to have. You can be creative as you want with an operating agreement. Before you adopt your operating agreement you should consider topics like: do i want it to be run by members or managers; do i plan on having partners in the future or now; am I going to look for investors at some point? These questions can help you draft an operating agreement that will suit your needs as a business owner and show others that you were strategic in thinking of the future. You can also use an operating agreement for business succession planning incase you are incapacitated or die.

A: The Courts use a reasonableness standard determine if a non-compete is reasonable in time and geographic scope. It would be necessary to see the non-compete to tell you what it says, the areas it would cover and if it would prevent you from taking another position.

A: It is hard to say what your rights and obligations are under that separation agreement without seeing it as all agreements and the obligations contained within them are different and could impact you in various ways.