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Shareholders Family Businesses

Gray Reed

Breaking Up Is Not Always Hard To Do—Consider A Tax-Free Corporate Division

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Disagreements happen.  In the corporate context, one or more shareholders may share a different vision for the company than the other shareholders.  Or, there may be acrimony amongst the shareholders for other reasons, as can...more

DarrowEverett LLP

Adverse Possession in a Closely Held Company? ‘Stash’ This One Away

DarrowEverett LLP on

Imagine for a moment that you’re a shareholder in a closely held corporation. In most jurisdictions, that status as a shareholder obligates you to a heightened fiduciary duty to your fellow shareholders. Now imagine that your...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

Unlocking Tax Savings: Family Limited Partnerships in Estate Planning

As Trump era estate tax cuts are likely coming to an end in 2025, wealthy business owners are increasingly utilizing Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs) to significantly save the family taxes when they are gone....more

Rivkin Radler LLP

Transfers Within the Family Business: Gifts or “Ordinary Course” Transactions?

Rivkin Radler LLP on

It is not uncommon, in the context of a business entity in which a family owns a controlling or substantial interest, for an adviser to encounter intersecting gift and income tax issues. This week’s post will consider one...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

The Family-Owned Business, Stock Options, And Personal Goodwill – a Smorgasbord of Tax Issues

Rivkin Radler LLP on

Many of us have encountered variations of the following scenario: a parent owns and operates a business; one or more of their children are employed in the business; as the children mature and become more experienced and...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Can a Shareholder Suing Derivatively Face Countersuit Individually?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

That was the interesting, infrequently-litigated question addressed in a recent decision by Manhattan Commercial Division Justice Melissa A. Crane. Simon v FrancInvest, S.A. (2023 NY Slip Op 32422[U] [Sup Ct, NY County...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

Chambers V. Gold Medal Bakery: an Illustration of Privilege in Shareholder Suits

Robins Kaplan LLP on

When working well, a closely held corporation can be the model of corporate governance—a shared vision, a united board, and intimate trust between officers and shareholders. However, over multiple generations the growth of...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Divorce Litigation “Outside the Box”

Fox Rothschild LLP on

One of the many frustrations of practicing family law is that there is rarely, if ever, a decisive victory. Divorce is about doing “equity” and that rarely means a result where the Court finds that one side “wins” and the...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

Dividing the Multi-Family Corporation

Rivkin Radler LLP on

Sibling Rivalry- You have probably encountered family-owned corporations in which the founder’s offspring are involved in the business to varying degrees. They may even own some equity, typically having received such equity...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Risk of Personal Liability Despite Incorporation

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on

One of the fundamental principles of corporate law is that the owners, directors and officers of a corporate entity generally are not personally responsible for the entity’s debts. Without this insulation from personal...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

Not Selling Despite Tax Increases? Review the Buy-Sell Agreement Among Owners

Rivkin Radler LLP on

Not Selling Your Business This Year? Beginning shortly before the House Ways and Means Committee released its version of the President’s Build Back Better plan, several posts on this blog have explored the uptick in M&A...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

One Law Firm. Two Clients. Three Times the Complexity.

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Amidst a “bitter family dispute” over future control of a closely held oil company, can the same law firm represent the directors paving the way for their son to take the reins and the company that minority shareholders seek...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Shareholder Oppression in Washington State: How Corporate Actions Can Have Serious Consequences

The closely held nature of a family business means there is often a single controlling shareholder or a controlling shareholding group, making it important for shareholders in family businesses to be aware of the legal...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Summer Shorts: Business Divorce Cases From Across the Country

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Welcome to this 11th annual edition of Summer Shorts! This year’s edition features brief commentary on half a dozen business divorce cases of interest from across the country. ...more

Tonkon Torp LLP

Business Transition Planning In A Pandemic

Tonkon Torp LLP on

It is an open secret that many business owners, no matter how organized, regularly neglect an important task—developing their exit strategy. The right transition plan depends on the nature of the business and the...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Equity Compensation Plans and Alternatives for Family Businesses

To provide long-term incentives to top employees and align their interests with their employers, many businesses offer some kind of equity compensation. However, when a business is owned by a family, the decision to provide...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Business Divorce Nation: A Cross-Country Tour of Recent Decisions of Interest

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

There’s tremendous diversity from state-to-state when it comes to statutory and judge-made law in business divorce cases. The basic fact patterns one sees in cases from across the country, however, don’t vary nearly as much....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Transfer Of Funds between Related Entities – Indebtedness Or Something Else?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

A closely held business may come to our firm for any number of reasons. The owners may be selling the business, for example, or they may be thinking about spinning off a division. In some cases, the owners are considering the...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

A Family Business Purpose Beyond Profits

"Each of our stakeholders is essential. We commit to deliver value to all of them, for the future success of our companies, our communities and our country." This is a statement taken from the Business Roundtable’s August 19,...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The Importance of Dividend Policies for Family-Owned Businesses

In our family business practice, we commonly see conflicts between shareholders who are active in the business and shareholders who are not active in the business. The conflict usually arises from the relatively rich...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

How to Lead a Family Business When You Aren’t Family

In the modern-day realm of family business, it is increasingly common for leadership positions to be filled by individuals who are not family. Like most leadership positions, the benefits of the job make an offer hard to turn...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

All In The Family: The Closely Held Business, The Private Foundation And Indirect Self-Dealing

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Home for the Holidays? Our last post considered the division of a business between family members as a means of preempting the adverse consequences that will often follow disagreements within the family as to the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

IP Disputes Among Private Business Co-Owners Dominate Three Recent Cases

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Last month gave us three noteworthy post-trial decisions in three different cases from three different states, all centering on disputes among business co-owners over the ownership and exploitation of the businesses’s core...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Introducing DWT’s Guide to Governance

Businesses and the families that own them are each “governed” by a structure and set of rules. Often, that structure is informal and the rules unwritten, vague and inconsistently applied. This creates a virtual breeding...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Minority Shareholders Are Fiduciaries Too

Holland & Hart LLP on

Often, a closely-held company comprises a large portion of a person’s wealth. In some instances, the company initially generated much of the person’s wealth. And in others, the company is formed as a vehicle to pass wealth...more

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