Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald & Hahn, LLP - Attorneys at Law

Small business owners dream, plan, worry and work together to insure the future they share together in their businesses.  But inevitably that relationship will come to an end.  Whether it is by death of one of the owners, a falling-out or any of a number of other reasons, there will come a time when the interest held by one of the owners is going to pass to someone else.  Left unrestricted, the interest of the departing owner will continue to be held by him as an often unwilling or even antagonistic outsider, by his spouse or family who will then become totally dependent upon the remaining owners or by a competing interest to whom the former owner wishes to sell.  To protect the company, the ongoing owners and the separating owner the parties will frequently sign agreements that provide that on the separation of one of the owners, or when an owner wishes to sell his interest or at certain other times the business has a right to buy back the interest of the separating owner and/or the separating owner (or heirs as the case may be) has a right to compel the company to buy back that interest.  (more…)