protecting your investment when partnering with other investors

[Steve Jones]

Hi guys,

I'm very new to BiggerPockets and this is my first post! Exciting times :-)

I'm curious to hear about your experiences when going into partnership with other investors. What is the standard protocol when you pull funds together with other investors? Do you have a contract drawn up and checked by the lawyers of all parties involved? For instance, if I was to find a good real estate deal and I convinced another investor to contribute 50% of the  funds, would I have to provide a contract to basically say I wasn't going to steal his money?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Cheers,

Steve