Ownership Agreements
This area of infrastructure deals with relationships between multiple owners of the business. Anytime a business has more than one owner, there needs to be an ownership agreement that sets out the structure of their relationship. Having a structure for the ownership of the business helps create confidence, security, and definition for how that relationship will work. The structure is set out in an ownership agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of ownership agreement do I need?
People often refer to an ownership agreement as a “partnership agreement” but they actually have different names depending on the type of business structure. Below are the types of agreements with their corresponding business structures:
- Shareholders Agreement – for Corporations
- Operating Agreement – for Limited Liability Companies
- Partnership Agreement – for Partnerships
- Buy-Sell Agreement – for any type of structure – only contains Buy-Sell Provisions
What are Buy-Sell Provisions?
Buy-sell provisions are those that deal with ownership changes in certain situations. For example, if an owner wants to leave the business and sell his or her ownership interest, how can that be done? The buy-sell provisions will tell you. They also deal with other situations where there may be a change of ownership such as divorce, death, disability, and bankruptcy. Often owners like to include provisions that can address long-term absences from the business and extreme misbehavior by an owner so that there are options for restructuring the ownership in those situations.
What other provisions should my agreement include?
The agreement should describe the authority of the owners to act on behalf of the business, the employment and retirement of the owners (if applicable), the tax treatment of the business and how it can be changed, allowance of loans to the business by the owners, major decisions that require unanimous approval, procedures for handling disagreements, and many other provisions that can help to prevent major discord among owners. The goal is to create a structure that will provide stability and processes for avoiding conflict.
Am I required by law to have an ownership agreement?
No. The law does not require any business structure to have an ownership agreement in place. But it is always good business practice to have one.
When is the best time to do an ownership agreement?
Now! Of course, the best time to do one is at the beginning of the business partnership. The process of putting the agreement together allows for each of the partners to ask questions and understand how their future relationship will work – before they start. If a business has already started, the best time to do an ownership agreement is when the partners are getting along and optimistic about the future. Once disagreements start, it’s too late to put an agreement in place.
Focus on these specific areas in your business to build stronger legal infrastructure:
Entity Structure
The type, organization, structure, and governance of your business is the most basic aspect of your foundation.
Regulatory Compliance
Many service professionals are governed by specialized rules and regulations in addition to general regulations.
Client Relationships
Having direct, honest relationships with your clients is the key to repeat business, referrals, and long-term success.
Vendor Relationships
When you’re the client, understanding the agreement and how the relationship should work is critical.
Worker Relationships
Relationships with an employee or independent contractor need to be defined to protect your business and clients.
Owner Relationships
Without structure or guidelines to establish expectations and accountability, business partners can pose a high risk.
Trademarks
An important part of protecting your brand is making sure your trademark rights are in place.
Copyrights
Copyrights capture a broad range of things you create for your business or for your clients.
Check out our journal posts below for more information on this topic:
Here’s what our clients are saying:
“Laurie Lee gave us counsel, had us do exercises to ensure that we thought of everything and then gave us comfort in knowing that we were fully prepared.”
“Laurie Lee helped us set up our partnership and was able to answer every question, no matter how small, and made the whole process really easy.”
“Great advice and knowledge of business law. They helped us setup our company and were always ready to answer any questions that came up along the way.”
