The paperwork, and what usually goes wrong with it.
Nine editable documents, each with the fields on the left and the page on the right. Every one marks which clauses a court actually enforces and which it does not — because the clause people rely on most is often the one carrying the least weight.
9
Documents
96
Fillable fields
9
With print to PDF
US
Federal and state practice
Selling the business
4 documents
In the order you meet them. Each one assumes the last has been signed.
Ownership and governance
3 documents
Written years before a sale, and read for the first time during one.
Running the business
2 documents
Everyday documents that a buyer will nonetheless ask to see.
What these are, and what they are not
A template is a starting point for a conversation with a lawyer, not a substitute for one. Every document here carries an enforceability map marking what holds, what depends on drafting, and what is routinely set aside — including, in one case, the central label of the document itself.
Where a template is the wrong instrument, it says so on the page rather than in the footer. The contractor agreement will tell you the classification fails before you send it; the buy-sell will tell you a book-value formula is the one most likely to be disregarded for estate tax.