When Life Delivers Squirrels – How an Attorney Can Help You Future-Proof Your Business Relationship

Opera singer Florence Hinton wasn't expecting to be paid with squirrels. As the story goes, a young boy wanted to attend one of her performances but couldn’t afford a ticket. Rather than turning him away, Hinton invited him in anyway, and the grateful boy thanked her with the only thing he had to offer: two orphaned baby squirrels.

Instead of finding the squirrels a good home, Hinton kept them. She took them to a children's concert where she was performing and discovered the audience loved them. Curious to see what the squirrels could do, she began training them despite reportedly being told that squirrels couldn't be trained.

Over the next several years, Hinton developed an act unlike anything audiences had seen. The squirrels climbed ropes, balanced on tiny props, swung from miniature trapezes, and even carried little American flags. Eventually, Hinton assembled an entire troupe of squirrels that performed throughout California.

Around the same time Hinton was developing the squirrel act, her singing voice began to deteriorate. Without planning it that way, the squirrels went from an unusual gift to the next chapter of her performing career.

Outsmarted by Squirrels

Hinton’s story reminds me of a much less successful encounter I recently had with squirrels. I bought a bird feeder and mounted it on a tall, narrow pole because I wanted to keep the squirrels away from the birdseed – only to discover the squirrels had no trouble climbing the pole. So, I bought one of those cone-shaped devices called a baffle that's supposed to limit how high squirrels can climb.

As expected, the baffle stopped the squirrels from climbing the pole. However, the squirrels quickly learned they could jump on top of the baffle and use it like a springboard to launch themselves onto the feeder.

Convinced I was close to solving the problem, I adjusted the position of the baffle. But when I looked outside on a rainy day, I saw a very content squirrel was comfortably eating the birdseed that had fallen to the ground while staying completely dry under the “squirrel umbrella” I had unwittingly installed.

Being outwitted by squirrels was no more in my plans than losing her voice was in Hinton’s. Unlike Hinton, I was so focused on solving the problem I could see that I never stopped to think about the problems I hadn't imagined yet.

The same thing happens with business relationships, whether they be a music group, coffee shop, or real estate partnership. People focus on the challenges they can see when they also need to focus on the problems they might face in the future. This article discusses why it’s important to be forward-thinking when preparing business agreements and how an experienced business attorney can help individuals future-proof their agreements.

Balloons and Strings

People are naturally optimistic when starting a new business relationship – and that’s the way it should be. Optimism fuels the energy they need to make their business successful – it’s the helium that helps a balloon soar into the air.

That optimism provides the energy band members need to keep up with daily rehearsals and nightly performances, creating the fan following and financial wherewithal they need for a tour. And it fuels songwriters while they build relationships with bands that give them exposure by performing their music. Optimism also drives business owners to work long hours filling in where needed to grow the business.

Unfortunately, balloons eventually deflate. The band’s lead singer leaves after a successful tour. A songwriter finds themself in a dispute over copyright ownership after the relationship with the band sours. The business owners disagree on whether to stick with the business model that’s working well, making enough money for them to live on, or to risk all that by opening more locations.

These people weren’t unrealistic, but life has a way of changing the circumstances surrounding even the strongest relationships. The reality is that business relationships rarely remain exactly as they were on the day they began. Some changes are exciting, but others present challenges the parties didn’t anticipate.

As a wise person once told me that every organization or relationship needs a balloon that can help elevate it to the highest level with new ideas and a string that can keep the balloon grounded to the earth. Attorneys frequently provide the string that keeps a business relationship grounded while allowing clients to retain their focus on growth.

Contracts Preserve Relationships

Many people are concerned that by engaging in the process of developing a written agreement, they will harm their relationship or impede progress. Musicians may view a band agreement as a way to protect them from each other or that discussing hard topics will interfere with the creative process. Business owners fear that if they bring up “what ifs,” they will be showing distrust in their partners. The opposite is true.

The process of working out a band agreement gives musicians the opportunity to have conversations while they're still excited about making music together. It's much easier to decide who owns the band's name, how original songs will be handled, whether departing members have any continuing rights, or who controls the band's website and social media accounts. At the same time, everyone is energized and working as a team rather than waiting until there’s a dispute or someone has announced they're leaving the group.

LLC or partnership agreements give business partners a chance to talk about how they will divide responsibilities, allocate ownership percentages, and address tax concerns while everyone is excited about the opportunity. If they wait, they might have to discuss these issues when resentment has already started to build because one partner believes the other isn’t carrying their weight.

Those conversations can feel uncomfortable , particularly when the band members or business partners are friends. However, talking through those possibilities early helps preserve the very relationships people are trying to protect. Everyone knows where they stand, expectations are clear, and if circumstances eventually change, there's already a roadmap for working through challenges without having to negotiate during a stressful situation when emotions are high.

While one attorney can’t represent each person’s individual interest, it’s much easier to have an attorney ask these questions before there’s a problem than it is when each individual has retreated to a corner with their own attorney planning how best to turn the situation to their advantage.

Future Proofing Your Relationship

Ironically, it’s the possibility of success that creates the need to future-proof business and music relationships.

A business might begin because two people enjoy working together and decide to see if an idea might make a little money. They trust each other, complement each other's skills, and share the same goals. That's a wonderful place to start a business, but without a written agreement that outlines expectations and anticipates challenges as the business grows, a cordial relationship can lead to resentment and disharmony.

One partner may decide to retire while the other wants to keep growing the company. Someone's family situation may change. One person may want to invest additional money while the other prefers a more conservative approach. Sometimes an unexpected opportunity arrives that requires decisions no one imagined when the business was formed. Other times, the greatest challenge is simply deciding how major decisions should be made when reasonable people disagree about the best path forward.

A band that's playing coffeehouses every weekend may never think about merchandising, licensing, or whether one member is contributing substantially more original material than everyone else. Then the band starts attracting attention, opportunities begin appearing, and questions that once seemed purely hypothetical suddenly become very real. By that point, everyone is also more emotionally and financially invested in the outcome, and the discussions can become more difficult.

Taking the time to address those possibilities early doesn't suggest a lack of trust. it enforces mutual respect and an understanding that over time, circumstances change and memories fade. A thoughtfully prepared agreement not only ensures everyone is going into the relationship with the same expectations but also provides a document to look back on and a roadmap to follow when important decisions eventually have to be made.

Why Not Just Use AI?

Artificial intelligence is an excellent tool for sourcing information in the hands of someone with basic knowledge. And it can provide basic knowledge to someone who needs information. Its cooperative and authoritative-sounding responses can lead one to feel comfortable that it’s an expert providing friendly advice.

The challenge is that AI answers the questions it's asked, and it’s designed to create a sense of security and satisfied customers so people will continue to engage. In the hands of someone who doesn’t know the subject well, AI can provide incomplete or even inaccurate information, while at the same time giving the impression that it’s providing expert advice.

In addition to answering the questions a client asks, an attorney also asks the tough questions that clients don’t want to face or maybe even don’t know they should be asking. An attorney adds value by identifying issues that never made it into the prompt because those issues usually come from experience and intuition rather than information in an AI database. And while attorneys want satisfied clients, they also don’t want to leave their clients with a false sense of security.

Sometimes Life Delivers Squirrels

Neither Florence Hinton's career nor my bird feeder experience turned out the way anyone expected. In one case, two orphaned squirrels unexpectedly became another performing career. In the other, a carefully designed squirrel deterrent somehow became a sheltered picnic area every time it rained.

Whether it’s a band being formed or a business being launched, the future rarely unfolds exactly as anyone expects. New opportunities appear, priorities change, and circumstances that once seemed impossible suddenly become very real.

No agreement can anticipate every twist and turn. But by consulting with an experienced attorney, the parties will have a thoughtfully drafted agreement that provides a framework for working through challenges without losing sight of the relationship that brought everyone together in the first place.

Florence Hinton didn’t anticipate that two squirrels would provide her with job security when her vocal skills faded, nor did I expect the baffle would provide a dry place for squirrels to eat during a rainstorm. Both stories are reminders that the unexpected has a way of finding us.

While an attorney might not predict how squirrels will impact a musician’s future, they can predict and plan for many of the things life might throw at a client, whether they be a music group, business, or investor group. Spending that time upfront, with the guidance of an attorney, can make all the difference when the unexpected calls.

© 2026 by Elizabeth A. Whitman

Any references to clients and their legal situations have been modified to protect client confidentiality.

DISCLAIMER: The content of this blog is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice to any person. No one should take any action regarding the information in this blog without first seeking the advice of an attorney. Neither reading this blog nor communication with Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC or Elizabeth A. Whitman creates an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship will exist with Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC has or any attorney affiliated with it unless a written contract is signed by all parties.