The purpose of a written Shareholder Succession Agreement is to achieve a predictable and certain outcome for the business, shareholders and their families in the event of death or disability, resignation or retirement.
This enables fair value to be achieved for all parties in the event of a share transaction.
The lack of documentation of shareholders intentions and objectives often creates a potential time bomb.
Our experience is there is generally a high degree of agreement amongst shareholders as to their expectations.
Unfortunately when circumstances change these undocumented intentions often lead to disagreements. When other parties such as Trustees, estates, spouses and legal advisers become involved then it can set the scene for potentially lengthy litigation.
Shareholder Agreements can be wide ranging and our focus is on the key areas of:
These can be either incorporated into an overall Shareholder Agreement or a stand alone Agreement which may be complementary to your existing Shareholders Agreement.