What is a general partnership?

A general partnership is where all of the partners are actively involved, to one degree or another, in the control and management of the partnership. These general partnerships, which are the most common type of partnerships, are distinguished from limited partnerships, where some of the partners are silent investors with no actual management or control of the partnership. The major difference that arises from this distinction is that all partners to a general partnership are personally liable for the partnership’s losses and debts, while only the general partners of a limited partnership are liable for the limited partnership (the limited partners are afforded limited liability because they do not actively run or control the business).