Additional Information:

I am in charge of an estate and I put the will in probate on 2/2010 and the estate was left 45% of a company and the other 55%.  The man who is running the company was left the 55% and we asked him to buy us out and he said no and is not willing to negotiate a purchase price.   How do I go forward with this situation ?

Also he has not done anything to take over the company legally. The 55% was left to him by the deceased and 45 to his family he was an employee of the company prior to the owners death.

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

An operating agreement is the document which governs how the shares of a company can be transferred and if there are any restrictions on the transfer. You should review the operating agreement, if there is one, carefully. You may be able to sell the shares to an outside investor.

The majority owner is not obligated to purchase the shares from you. If he refuses and you can find no other buyer, you will be left with having to distribute the shares to the heirs of the estate.

Margaret L. Cross-Beliveau, Esq., LL.M.Legal

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on since each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship. A lawyer experienced in the subject area and licensed to practice in the jurisdiction should be consulted for legal advice.

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The attorneys at The Beliveau Law Group provides legal services for estate planning (wills and trusts), Medicaid (planning and applications), probate (estate and trust administration), business law (formation and operation), real estate (residential and commercial), taxation (federal and state), and civil litigation (in connection with these practice areas). The law firm has offices and attorneys in Naples, Florida, Waltham, Massachusetts, and Salem, New Hampshire.