Agree on the hard parts
before they happen.
A shareholder agreement is the contract among a corporation's owners — who can sell, at what price, and what happens when someone exits. We draft yours so a death, divorce, falling-out or buyout follows a plan instead of starting a fight.
A buy-sell plan with a valuation method that actually works when you need it.
Get your shareholder agreement drafted
Tell us who owns the company and what you want to happen when an owner exits — we'll draft the buy-sell terms. We'll set up a consultation with an attorney.
Co-owners almost never fall out while things are going well. The damage happens later — when one owner wants to retire, another gets divorced and a court is dividing the shares, a third dies and their stock passes to heirs who've never run a business, or two partners simply stop agreeing. Without a shareholder agreement, there's no agreed price, no agreed process, and often no way to keep an outsider from becoming your new co-owner.
A shareholder agreement settles those questions in advance, while everyone is still rational and aligned. It's sometimes called a buy-sell agreement because its core job is to control when shares can be bought and sold, by whom, and for how much. For closely held Florida companies it is often the single most important document the owners ever sign.
The events a shareholder agreement plans for
The classic triggers — often called the 'five Ds' — are death, disability, divorce, departure and default. The agreement says what happens to an owner's shares in each case: whether the company or the other owners can or must buy them, how the price is determined, and how that price gets paid (lump sum, installments, or funded by insurance).
It also controls voluntary transfers. A right of first refusal stops an owner from selling to an outsider without first offering the shares to the company and the other owners. Drag-along rights let a majority bring everyone into a clean sale of the whole company; tag-along rights protect a minority owner's right to join that sale on the same terms. Together these keep control where the owners intend it and keep the cap table free of unwanted strangers.
Valuation is where most agreements fail
The most common defect we see is a price mechanism that doesn't work. A fixed dollar figure that nobody updated for ten years. A vague 'fair market value' with no method to determine it. We draft a valuation mechanism that actually produces a number — a formula, an appraisal process, or a periodic agreed value — and we pair it with realistic payment terms so a buyout doesn't bankrupt the company. For owner-funded buyouts we also coordinate with life-insurance funding where it makes sense.
A plan for every owner exit.
Buy-sell triggers
What happens to shares on death, disability, divorce, departure or default — and whether a buyout is mandatory or optional.
Valuation & payment
A price method that actually produces a number, plus realistic payment terms and optional insurance funding.
Transfer restrictions
Rights of first refusal and approval requirements that keep shares from landing with outsiders you didn't choose.
Drag & tag-along
Majority drag-along rights for a clean company sale and minority tag-along protection to join on equal terms.
Governance & deadlock
Board seats, protected decisions that need supermajority approval, and tie-breakers so the company doesn't freeze.
Non-compete & confidentiality
Reasonable restrictive covenants and confidentiality terms so a departing owner can't walk off with the business.
From ownership map to signed agreement.
Tell us who owns what
We learn your ownership, your concerns and the outcomes you want for each kind of owner exit.
We draft the buy-sell terms
You get a shareholder agreement with a workable valuation method, transfer rules and exit triggers — explained in plain language.
Align and sign
We reconcile it with your bylaws or operating agreement, revise until every owner is comfortable, and walk you through signing.
Shareholder agreements, answered.
What's the difference between a shareholder agreement and a buy-sell agreement?
We're an LLC, not a corporation — do we need one?
How is the buyout price determined?
What happens if an owner gets divorced or dies without an agreement?
Related practice areas
Settle the hard parts in advance.
Tell us about your owners, or call now to reach an attorney. We'll draft a shareholder agreement that turns death, divorce and exits into a plan instead of a fight — in English or Español.
Get your shareholder agreement drafted
Tell us who owns the company and what you want to happen when an owner exits — we'll draft the buy-sell terms. We'll set up a consultation with an attorney.