Spouses often both own shares in a corporation that operates a family business, sometimes because they are both active participants in the business, and sometimes as part of an income splitting or creditor protection plan.
Tag: shareholdersagreements
Let’s say that you represent a 40% shareholder in a corporation. You are reviewing a shareholder’s agreement which says that in certain circumstances (death, disability, termination of employment) your client is required to sell his or her shares at fair market value. So far, so good.
Over my many years practicing business law I formed some strong opinions. Here are two of them which relate to shareholders agreements:
Death: My favourite topic in a shareholders agreement.
What I like about the death provision is that it is usually not controversial, especially if the shareholders do not have an inkling about who is likely to die first.