Refers to a legal structure for a business of two or more individuals; called a general partnership when used without a qualifier such as "limited" or "limited liability." Each owner (partner) is personally liable for all debts of the business, and each partner claims a share of the the business's income or losses on the partner's individual tax return. To form a partnership, each partner normally contributes money, property, or labor in exchange for an ownership interest in the partnership. Most partnerships are created by a formal written partnership agreement, although they may be based on an oral agreement or just a handshake. See also: limited partnership, limited liability partnership (LLP)