Strengthening Buy-Sell Agreements from a Business & Valuation Perspective

According to a recent story in USA Today, prenuptial agreements (or “prenups”) may be unromantic, but they may well make sense.
Buy-sell agreements definitely make sense when companies have two or more owners, and virtually all substantial corporations have such agreements.
Prenups are the result of conversations between couples regarding what happens to whose assets and income [...]

We found this and thought it was fun. Take a look at www.ihatemypartner.com.

According to today’s Money cover story in USA Today, prenuptial agreements (or “prenups”) may be unromantic, but they may well make sense.
Buy-sell agreements definitely make sense when companies have two or more owners, and virtually all substantial corporations have such agreements.
Prenups are the result of conversations between couples regarding what happens to whose assets and [...]

Multiple appraiser agreements call for the selection of two or more appraisers to engage in a process that will develop one, two, or three appraisals whose conclusions form the basis for the final prices. If this sounds like it might be time consuming, cumbersome, and expensive, it is. Such processes can also be divisive and foster litigation.

Whether either of the business owners thought about it or not, they each were betting that the other guy would die first. And one of them was right. That meant trouble for the surviving spouse and family. Don’t let this happen to your family.

“I just want what I’m entitled to,” says the grieving widow. She knows the business is worth more than is indicated in the out-of-date buy-sell agreement. Can this happen to you or a loved one?

Both articles point to the need for careful planning with any company’s (or partnership’s) buy-sell agreement.

Buy-sell agreements can provide for reasonable resolutions to future transactions upon the occurrence of trigger events. However, they can also veil the existence of ticking time bombs. May all your resolutions be reasonable.

Virtually every company with two or more shareholders has, or should have, a buy-sell agreement. A quick google search of the term “buy-sell agreement” found the following hits. Listed below are articles that discuss business continuity and one cpirt case in which a buy-sell agreement was a point of contention.