Book on An Estate Planner’s Guide to Buy-Sell Agreements for the Closely Held Business, Third Edition

Louis A. Mezzullo published a book entitled, An Estate Planner’s Guide to Buy-Sell Agreements for the Closely Held Business, Third Edition (2018). Provided below is a summary of the book:

Providing comprehensive yet practical advice for designing effective buy-sell agreements to be used as both an exit strategy or as part of the succession or estate planning process, this book is accessible to practitioners with varying degrees of experience in the subject and includes invaluable sample agreements ready to customize to your client’s planning requirements.

This guide supplies practical guidance for assisting owners of a closely held business in structuring arrangements to deal with the withdrawal of an owner from the ownership of the business. Author Louis A. Mezzullo explains the benefits of the buy-sell agreement from the perspective of each party that can have an interest in the agreement. Topics include:

• Types of buy-sell agreements
• Choosing the right type of agreement
• Terms of a well-drafted agreement and important modifications that can be employed
• Using a buy-sell agreement to set the value of an interest in a business entity for estate tax purposes
• Tax consequences for both the entity and the departing owner
• Special concerns when dealing with family-owned businesses
• Valuing closely held businesses, and more

Includes downloadable sample buy-sell agreements for a C corporation, an S corporation, and a family-owned business, plus optional provisions for an LLC operating agreement.