Small Business
Small business purchase, sale and startup
Whether your are buying, selling, or starting a new business, there are many minefields to navigate. At Fellen and Fellen, LLC, we have the knowledge and experience you can rely on to achieve your business goals.
Buying or Selling Existing Businesses
We will negotiate and prepare your contracts, and work with you to realize a successful closing. If you are buying a business, we will protect your against any liens or claims against the business or of the seller, and shield you from any of the seller's tax liability. Buyers who do not take the proper steps can find that they are legally responsible for the seller's debts and back taxes.
If you are selling your business, we will help you evaluate the quality of your deal, and negotiate terms necessary to shield your from ongoing liability of the business. If the contract calls for payment in the form of a promissory note, we will prepare the legal documents necessary to maintain a viable lien against the business until the loan is paid off.
Starting Up a New Business or Taking Over Existing Businesses
Before you get your business up and running, you need to take steps to maximize your return and minimize your legal exposure to liabilities. We can help you structure your business to avoid or minimize your personal liability for claims against the business. In addition, if you have partners, we can prepare agreements to define the partners' respective rights and liabilities, and set the ground rules for an orderly and amicable transfer of shares in the event of the death or departure of one of the partners.
It is important to negotiate these agreements at the start of your business relationship, not later on when there may be friction between the partners. Further, the exercise of negotiating these agreements is often useful in flushing out potential problems and misunderstandings between the partners; identifying and resolving these issues early in the life of the business is always preferable to discovering these problems later, after the partners have made a significant investment of time and money. By preparing agreements that specifically define the understanding between the parties, we can help you avoid the pitfalls that result from poor planning.
These are just a few of the legal issues that must be considered when managing a business transaction. Doing so without the proper legal representation is risky, and can cost you a great deal when problems arise. At Fellen & Fellen, LLC, we will guide you through every step of your transaction, so that you can get down to business.