FINANCE WELLNESS COACH: Plan ahead for ownership after the death of a business partner
You need a structure to ensure that the remaining shareholders give you a fair price for the shares that were owned by your spouse.
When a business partner dies, their shares in the company may need to be bought out by the remaining shareholders. To ensure a fair price for the shares, a buy-and-sell agreement can be established between the owners. This agreement specifies the terms for purchasing the deceased partner's shares. In many cases, the surviving shareholders may not be involved in the business or want to take over its management, making a buy-and-sell agreement necessary.
Assume a business is worth R15 million, and the deceased partner owns one-third of it, worth R5 million. If the shareholder passes away, the estate would receive about R5 million in cash instead of inheriting a share in a business they don't understand or have no interest in running. To facilitate this, life insurance policies can be purchased on the deceased partner's life. The proceeds from these policies can be used to buy out the shares of the deceased shareholder.
It is essential to regularly review the business valuation and life insurance cover to ensure they match the current value of the business. Structuring buy-and-sell arrangements correctly is crucial, as they can have tax and estate-duty consequences. Therefore, it is advisable for business owners to establish a proper buy-and-sell agreement while they are alive and healthy, and inform their spouses about the arrangement.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
