Personal guarantees.
See what adds up.
Your lease, your line of credit, the equipment financing. Put your personal guarantees in one place and see the amounts and dates together. Keep anything you have not signed separate.
· Reviewed by Jonathan Kleiman, J.D.
This tool records your entries. It does not review guarantee documents or give legal advice. No account or document upload needed.
Refreshing or closing this page clears your answers unless you choose to save them. Nothing you enter is sent to Kleiman Law. Downloads and anything you choose to email are yours to manage.
Your guarantees
1 of 20 cardsOne card per guarantee. Enter the full amount you may personally guarantee; the tracker does not divide it between owners. If two guarantees cover the same debt, note that overlap for review.
Know what you’re on the hook for.
Send this inventory for a flat-fee review of the actual guarantee documents — enforceability, caps, burn-off and release.
Flat fee quoted before work.
Download your inventory and attach it to your email. Opening an email does not send your answers or attach a file. An inquiry does not create a solicitor-client relationship.
What this is — and what to check
A useful first step is knowing what you have signed. The next step is checking what each document actually says.
- Incorporating does not protect you from a guarantee you signed personally.
- Exposure stacks across leases, loans, equipment and franchise agreements. Each creditor may have its own claim.
- Selling the business or bringing in a partner does not automatically release you.
- Do not treat a verbal “we won’t come after you” as a release. Get the creditor’s release in writing and have it checked.
Read the commercial lease checklist’s offer-to-lease section and personal guarantee section before committing.
Background: BDC’s explanation of collateral and personal guarantees.
Common questions
What is a personal guarantee?
It is a personal promise to answer for someone else’s obligation, usually your company’s debt or contract. If the company defaults, the creditor may be able to claim against you under the guarantee. The wording matters: this tracker cannot tell you whether a guarantee is enforceable or how much a creditor could recover.
Can a guarantee be capped or burned off?
You can ask for a dollar cap, a limit to particular obligations, or a burn-off that reduces or ends the guarantee after agreed conditions are met. The creditor must agree, and the documents need to say exactly what changes and when. A note in this tracker does not create a cap or a release.
Does selling my business end a personal guarantee?
No, selling the business or bringing in a partner does not automatically release you. Check the guarantee and obtain a written release from the creditor. A buyer’s promise to cover the debt is not the same as the creditor releasing you.
Is this legal advice or a review of my documents?
No. This is an inventory of what you enter, for discussion only. It does not read or review your documents, assess enforceability, interpret caps, or calculate what you legally owe. It provides general information and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Have a lawyer review the actual documents before signing, renewing, or seeking a release.
Should I get advice at the offer-to-lease stage or when signing the guarantee?
Get the offer to lease reviewed before signing it. An offer can be binding and can settle the requirement for a personal guarantee before the formal lease arrives. Have the actual guarantee reviewed too; do not assume the later document will match an informal discussion.
For discussion only
General information, not legal advice. This inventory records your entries; it does not review the guarantee documents, determine enforceability or establish what you owe. Using this tool does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Have a lawyer review any guarantee before signing, renewing, or seeking a release.