22 November 2025
Buy-sell clauses before the crisis
Death, divorce, and desire to exit are predictable. Waiting until they arrive is optional.
Most family shareholders can name a relative whose divorce, sudden death, or wish to cash out would scramble ownership overnight. Fewer have a buy-sell mechanism everyone understands and trusts.
Agree principles before numbers
Valuation methods become weapons when first discussed in a crisis. In calmer times, agree how value will be determined, who pays whom, and over what period. Your solicitor drafts; the family must first agree what “fair” means in their context.
Triggers worth naming
Death, permanent disability, divorce where shares become marital property, voluntary exit, and prolonged underperformance as a working owner — each deserves a clear path. Silence on any of them is a future argument.
Facilitation helps
These conversations are emotionally loaded. A neutral facilitator keeps the room on principles rather than personalities. Legal precision comes after the family can still look each other in the eye.
Do the unglamorous work now. Crisis is a poor editor of shareholder agreements.