A business owner died and didn't have any will, he has two children respectively 19 and 27. Is it legal and safe to buy the business from the children.
Answer
The business owner's estate would likely need to go through Probate and the Administrator of the Estate may need to seek permission from the court to sell the business. However, there are many variables that could affect the proper answer. What type of business entity is it? (LLC, INC, Sole Proprietorship, etc) How was the ownership interest held? Was the business owner married? Was there a business continuation plan to allow for the transfer of the business in the event of the death of the owner?
The list of questions that need to be answered goes on much longer than this. So I would say the simple answer is that before you buy the business from the children you should do a lot of due diligence to find out what you are buying, who you are buying it from and whether you can buy it.
A consultation with a business attorney and maybe even a probate attorney seems like a good idea. If you are preparing to spend money on buying a business, you should figure in some legal fees into your budget.
Good luck.
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