When one shareholder quits to move to another city or leaves to start another business, without an agreement, who decides whether the remaining owners have to buy out the departing shareholder, and for much? If you don't anticipate and plan for circumstances like these, you're risking serious personal and business discord -- perhaps even court battles and the loss of your business.

In addition, a buyout agreement puts limits on who can buy shares in the corporation. Otherwise, you could be forced to share control of the company with someone you'd rather not run a business with.

Creating a Buyout Agreement

To create a buyout agreement, you can use either a self-help resource or see a lawyer -- or both. One good tool is Business Buyout Agreements: A Step-by-Step Guide for Co-Owners, by attorneys Anthony Mancuso and Bethany Laurence (Nolo). The book contains a disk with a fill-in-the-blank buyout agreement and guides co-owners through a discussion of their options. Even if you plan on using a lawyer, the book can help you decide on your own time -- not your lawyer's -- what you want to include in your agreement.