Business Buyout Agreements: Plan Now for All Types of Business Transitions

Going into business with others means taking some risks. Sooner or later, one or more of the owners will want to exit the business (and it may be you). Unless you plan in advance, protracted arguments over the buyout price, payment plans, and outside buyers can threaten the survival of your business. Without an agreement, co-owners may also jeopardize the business by filing for bankruptcy, pledging their business share as collateral, or losing their share of the business in a divorce.

And what happens when you are ready to move on? Can you force the other owners to buy your interest? Who decides the price?

Business Buyout Agreements walks you through the creation of a buy-sell agreement—a sort of "premarital agreement" for your business—that protects everyone's interests. The book includes a fill-in buy-sell agreement that can be tailored for owners of corporations, LLCs, and partnerships.

ISBN-13: 9781413329650

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: NOLO

Publication Date: 06-28-2022

Pages: 336

Product Dimensions: 7.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

Bethany Laurence is an attorney and joined Nolo as a legal editor in 1997. She holds a law degree from Universityof California, Hastings College of the Law, a B.A. degree from Boston University(Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude), and is a member of the California State Bar. Beth is Nolo's disability, retirement, and elder law editor. In addition to editing these sections of Nolo's network of websites, Beth edits the books Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability, drawing on work in a legal clinic helping Social Security disability applicants apply for and appeal denials of disability benefits, The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child, California's Workers' Comp, and Social Security, Medicare, and Government Pensions. Beth has also developed Nolo's online LLC formation application. Over the last decade she has been active on the board of directors of several local environmental and educational nonprofit organizations. Anthony Mancuso is a corporations and limited liability company expert. A graduate of Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, Tony is an active member of the California State Bar. Tony writes books and software in the fields of corporate and LLC law and has studied advanced business taxation at Golden Gate Universityin San Francisco. He also has been a consultant for Silicon Valley EDA (Electronic Design Automation) and other technology companies. He is currently employed at Google in Mountain View, California. Tony is the author of many Nolo books on forming and operating corporations (profit and nonprofit) and LLCs. Among his current books are The Corporate Records Handbook; How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation; Incorporate Your Business; Form Your Own Limited Liability Company; and LLC or Corporation? His books and software have shown over 500,000 businesses and organizations how to form and operate a corporation or an LLC. Tony is a licensed helicopter pilot and guitarist.

Table of Contents

Introduction Your Legal Companion for Creating a Buyout Agreement 1. An Overview of Buyout Agreements 2. Limiting the Transfer of Ownership Interests 3. Providing the Right to Force Buyouts 4. Structuring Buyouts 5. Funding Buyouts 6. How to Set the Buyout Price in Your Agreement 7. Choosing Payment Terms for Buyouts 8. Completing and Updating Your Buyout Agreement 9. Income and Estate Tax Issues 10. Lawyers, Tax Specialists, and Resources Appendixes A. How to Access the Buyout Forms B. Buyout Worksheet C. Buyout Agreement Index