Buy-Sell Agreements
The contract that governs what happens when an owner leaves, retires, or dies. It locks in who can buy the shares, at what price, and on what terms, so a co-owner's exit never turns into a fight or an unwanted new partner.
Succession & Buy-Sell Planning
Plan the handoff before you need it.
Most owners are too busy running the company to plan their exit from it. A succession plan decides who takes over, on what terms, and at what price, so a retirement, a buyout, or a sudden loss never puts the whole business at risk.
Why Plan the Exit Now
The best time to plan is while nothing is wrong.
A succession plan is worth the most on the day you least expect to need it. Built early, it protects the value you spent years creating. Built in a hurry, it usually costs more and protects less.
For a closely-held company, the owner often is the business: the relationships, the know-how, and the signing authority all sit in one place. Without a plan, a retirement, a partner dispute, or an unexpected death forces those decisions on people who are grieving or fighting, and almost always on the worst possible timeline.
Putting it in writing answers the questions before they turn into conflicts:
- Who takes over, a co-owner, a family member, a key employee, or an outside buyer.
- What the shares are worth and how that price gets set, so no one is guessing later.
- How the buyout is funded, whether through installments, insurance, or sale proceeds.
- What triggers the transfer, from a planned retirement to death, disability, or divorce.
The Transition Process
From owner-dependent to transfer-ready.
We move at the speed of your business, not the billable hour. The goal is a plan you can sign, fund, and forget until you actually need it.
Map the Business and the Goal
Introduction
We start with where you want to land: sell, hand to family, or transition to a partner or employee. Then we look at the ownership structure, the other stakeholders, and the gaps that would stall a transfer today.
Choose the Exit Path
Strategy
We match the right vehicle to your goal, whether that's a buy-sell agreement among owners, a gradual ownership transfer, or positioning for an outside sale. We coordinate with your accountant and financial advisor so the tax and funding pieces line up.
Draft and Fund the Documents
About 2 to 3 weeks
We draft the agreements that make the plan binding: the valuation method, the trigger events, the payment terms, and the transfer mechanics. We also confirm the buyout is actually funded, not just promised on paper.
Execute and Revisit
Ongoing
We coordinate signing, then keep the plan current as ownership, value, and your goals change. A plan that fit five years ago can quietly stop fitting, so a periodic review keeps it ready to use.
How We Help
The tools behind a clean handoff.
Succession is rarely one document. We assemble the pieces that fit your business, so the transfer is binding, funded, and priced fairly when the day comes.
Ownership Transfer
Structured handoffs to a family member, partner, or key employee, whether all at once or in phases. We build the transfer so control and value move on your timeline, with the tax treatment worked out alongside your accountant.
Exit Strategies
A plan for the way you actually want to leave, from a third-party sale to a gradual wind-down. We position the company to be transfer-ready so you exit on your terms instead of whatever terms a crisis dictates.
Valuation Coordination
A buyout is only as good as the price behind it. We set a clear valuation method in the documents and coordinate with the appraisers and advisors who put a defensible number on the business, so no one is guessing what a share is worth.
What Triggers a Transfer
Plan for the exits you don't choose.
A good succession plan covers the planned exit and the unplanned one. The trigger events you write down today are the ones your family and partners won't have to argue about later.
Each of these can move ownership overnight. A buy-sell agreement decides in advance who steps in and how the departing owner (or their estate) gets paid:
- A planned retirement or a voluntary sale of an owner's stake.
- The death of an owner, so heirs are bought out instead of becoming partners by default.
- A disability that keeps an owner from running their part of the business.
- A divorce, bankruptcy, or dispute that could otherwise drag the company into someone else's problem.
“You spent years building something worth keeping. A succession plan is how you make sure it outlasts any one owner, including you.”
Business Formation
LLC, S Corp, C Corp, and nonprofit formation. EIN, operating agreements, registered agent: the full package.
Learn more
Compliance
Keep the company legally sound: filings, governance, and regulatory checkups before small gaps become problems.
Learn more
Mergers & Acquisitions
Buy or sell with confidence: due diligence, deal structure, and closings for small and mid-size Ohio businesses.
Learn moreCommon Questions
Succession, straight answers.
A succession plan is the full strategy for moving the business to its next owner. A buy-sell agreement is the binding contract that carries out a key part of it: who can buy an owner's interest, at what price, and on what terms when a trigger event happens. Most closely-held companies need both.
Yes, and arguably more so. With no co-owner to step in, a sudden absence can stall payroll, lose key relationships, and leave your family with a business they can't legally run or sell. A plan names a successor or a path to sale and gives someone the authority to act when you can't.
We set the valuation method in the agreement itself rather than leaving it to chance. That can be a formula, a periodic appraisal, or a process the owners agree to follow. We coordinate with appraisers and your financial advisor so the number is defensible and the buyout is funded, not just promised.
We focus on transactions, not litigation. A well-drafted succession plan is the best protection against a fight, because it answers the hard questions before emotions run high. If a matter needs a litigator, we refer you to one we trust.
Revisit it after any major change in ownership, value, or your goals, and otherwise every few years. The successor or price that made sense before may not fit today, and updates are straightforward when the framework is already in place.
Flat fee, quoted before any work begins, so you're never surprised by an hourly bill. We scope the plan to your business and price it up front. Call (440) 613-0439 for an introduction.