Is a spouse of a Ledgers franchisee required to guarantee the franchisee's performance under the Franchise Agreement?
Ledgers Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
All owners of this franchise must guarantee the obligations under the Franchise Agreement. However, your spouse is not required to guarantee your performance under the Franchise Agreement. This means your spouse is not bound by their own personal guaranty, duty of confidentiality or duty not to compete; however, that does not mean you can circumvent your obligations by sharing our know-how with your spouse (or any family member) nor assist them in competing with us. Furthermore, your Business Manager must sign an employment contract with you containing confidentiality requirements and, to the extent permitted by law, a covenant not to solicit customers or compete against you or us.
Source: Item 15 — OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE FRANCHISE BUSINESS (FDD pages 37–38)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Ledgers' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee's spouse is not required to guarantee the franchisee's performance under the Franchise Agreement. While all owners of the franchise must guarantee the obligations, this explicitly excludes the franchisee's spouse.
This means that the spouse is not bound by a personal guaranty, duty of confidentiality, or duty not to compete. However, the FDD clarifies that the franchisee cannot circumvent their obligations by sharing Ledgers' know-how with their spouse or assisting them in competing with Ledgers.
The Business Manager, who handles the day-to-day operations if the franchisee does not, must sign an employment contract with the franchisee. This contract must include confidentiality requirements and, where legally permissible, a covenant not to solicit customers or compete against Ledgers or the franchisee.