Partnership / LLC Buy-Sell Agreement
Trigger-event buy-sell agreement for partners or LLC members — death, disability, divorce, voluntary withdrawal, deadlock — with valuation method and funding mechanics.
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BUY-SELL AGREEMENT
Entity: Three Rivers Holdings, LLC
Entity type: Multi-member LLC
Governing law: State of Oregon
Effective date: May 11, 2026
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1. PARTIES AND OWNERSHIP
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The Owners of the Entity as of the Effective Date are:
Devon Patel — 40%
Lisa Brennan — 35%
Amir Hassan — 25%
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2. PURPOSE
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This Buy-Sell Agreement (a) provides a market for an Owner's interest
upon a Triggering Event so that the remaining Owners are not forced
into business with strangers, heirs, ex-spouses, or creditors;
(b) establishes a binding valuation method to avoid disputes;
(c) restricts lifetime transfers so that ownership remains within the
agreed group; and (d) coordinates with insurance funding where
applicable.
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3. TRIGGERING EVENTS
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Each of the following is a Triggering Event with respect to the
affected Owner ("Affected Owner"):
____ Death of an owner.
____ Permanent disability (>180 days inability to perform duties).
____ Divorce (any portion of interest awarded to spouse triggers buyout).
____ Voluntary withdrawal / retirement.
____ Bankruptcy or insolvency of an owner.
____ Conviction of a felony involving the entity.
____ Material breach of operating/partnership agreement.
____ Deadlock (defined: 90+ days of unresolved major-decision impasse).
____ Termination of employment (for owner-employees).
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4. PURCHASE OBLIGATION
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4.1 Mandatory Purchase. Upon a Triggering Event of Death, Disability,
or Divorce, the Entity (or the remaining Owners pro rata, if the
Entity does not exercise) shall purchase the Affected Owner's interest
within 90 days at the Purchase Price.
4.2 Optional Purchase. Upon any other Triggering Event, the Entity
shall have the option (with the remaining Owners as backup) to
purchase the Affected Owner's interest within 90 days.
4.3 Allocation. Where remaining Owners purchase, the allocation is pro
rata in proportion to existing ownership unless the Owners agree
otherwise in writing within the 90-day period.
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5. PURCHASE PRICE — VALUATION METHOD
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Valuation method: Annual agreed-upon Certificate of Value, fallback to appraisal
If formula method:
Trailing 36-month average EBITDA × 4.0, less interest-bearing debt, plus cash and cash equivalents on the closing date. EBITDA calculated per generally accepted accounting principles applied consistently.
If annual Certificate of Value method: the Owners shall execute an
annual Certificate of Value within 90 days of fiscal year-end. If no
Certificate has been executed in the prior 24 months at the time of a
Triggering Event, the Purchase Price is determined by an independent
appraiser selected by the Entity and approved by the Affected Owner
(or the personal representative of a deceased Owner). If the parties
cannot agree, each selects an appraiser and those two select a third;
the average of the three appraisals is the Purchase Price.
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6. PAYMENT TERMS
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6.1 Terms. 20% down, balance over 60 months at applicable federal rate
6.2 Promissory Note. Any deferred portion is evidenced by a promissory
note bearing interest at the Applicable Federal Rate (per IRC §1274
and §7872) on the closing date, payable in equal monthly installments,
with the right of acceleration on default uncured after 30 days.
6.3 Security. The note is secured by the purchased interest and by a
personal guaranty of the purchasers (if remaining Owners) or by a
pledge of Entity assets (if Entity).
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7. LIFE / DISABILITY INSURANCE FUNDING
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7.1 Funding Structure. Cross-purchase: each owner owns policies on the others
7.2 Premium Allocation. Premiums are paid by the policy owner. Each
Owner cooperates with applications and physical exams.
7.3 Insurance Proceeds. To the extent insurance proceeds are received
on a Triggering Event, the proceeds are applied to the Purchase Price.
Excess insurance proceeds belong to the policy owner.
7.4 Cross-Purchase Tax Considerations. The parties acknowledge that
cross-purchase structures generally provide a step-up in basis to
purchasers (favorable for future sale) but multiple policies are
required (n × (n-1) policies). Entity-purchase structures use one
policy per Owner but provide no basis step-up. Hybrid structures
allow election at the time of trigger.
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8. LIFETIME TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS
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8.1 Right of First Refusal. Entity first, then remaining owners pro rata
8.2 Process. An Owner intending a lifetime transfer must give written
notice of the proposed terms (price, terms, transferee). The Entity
has 30 days to elect to purchase at the proposed terms. If declined,
the remaining Owners have 30 additional days to purchase pro rata.
8.3 Restriction Period. Lifetime transfers (other than to permitted
transferees defined below) are prohibited for 5 year(s) from
the Effective Date.
8.4 Permitted Transferees. An Owner may transfer to a revocable trust
of which the Owner is the sole trustee and primary beneficiary, or to
the Owner's spouse with the spouse signing this Agreement, without
triggering this section.
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9. CONFIDENTIALITY AND NON-COMPETE OF DEPARTING OWNER
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A departing Owner agrees not to (a) use or disclose Entity
Confidential Information; (b) for 2 years post-departure, solicit
Entity employees or customers; (c) for 1 year post-departure, compete
in the same business in the same geographic market (subject to state-
law enforceability — California, North Dakota, and Oklahoma have
strong restrictions on non-competes; the FTC has issued and litigated
non-compete rules). Where a non-compete is unenforceable, the non-
solicit and confidentiality provisions remain in effect.
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10. GENERAL
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10.1 Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the
State of Oregon.
10.2 Specific Performance. The Owners acknowledge that money damages
are inadequate for breach of this Agreement and consent to specific
performance.
10.3 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with the operating or
partnership agreement of the Entity, constitutes the entire agreement
on this subject.
10.4 Amendment. This Agreement may be amended only by a writing signed
by all Owners.
10.5 Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the
remainder remains in effect.
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SIGNATURES
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Each Owner executes this Agreement as of the Effective Date:
Devon Patel — Managing Member
Lisa Brennan — Member
Amir Hassan — Member
By signing, each Owner agrees to be bound, including spousal consent
where applicable to address community-property and elective-share
considerations under state law.
_________________________________ _________________________________
Owner — printed name Spouse signature (if married)
_________________________________ _________________________________
Owner — printed name Spouse signature (if married)
_________________________________ _________________________________
Owner — printed name Spouse signature (if married)
About this template
A buy-sell agreement is one of the most important documents for any closely held entity with multiple owners — partners in a partnership, members in an LLC, shareholders in a closely held corporation. Without one, the death, disability, divorce, or voluntary departure of an owner can create immediate dysfunction: surviving spouses or heirs may inherit interests they have no business judgment for; ex-spouses can become unwanted co-owners after divorce; departing owners can sell to outsiders the remaining owners do not want. Buy-sell agreements solve these problems by creating a binding mechanism for the entity (or the remaining owners) to purchase the affected interest at a pre-agreed price on pre-defined trigger events. The four core design questions: (1) Trigger events. Standard triggers: death, permanent disability, divorce, voluntary withdrawal, bankruptcy/insolvency, criminal conviction, material breach, deadlock. Death/disability/divorce typically trigger MANDATORY purchase (the entity or remaining owners must buy); voluntary withdrawal and other events typically trigger OPTIONAL purchase. (2) Valuation. Three main approaches. (a) Annual agreed-upon Certificate of Value: the owners sit down each year, agree on a value, and sign a certificate. Pro: simple, reflects current owner judgment. Con: discipline required to actually update annually; if not updated for 24+ months, falls back to appraisal. (b) Formula: typically EBITDA × multiple, or revenue × multiple, applied consistently. Pro: predictable. Con: rigid; may not reflect actual fair market value. (c) Independent appraisal at time of trigger. Pro: reflects current value. Con: expensive ($10K-$50K+), slow, contentious. Most agreements use (a) with (c) as fallback. (3) Payment terms. The buyer typically cannot afford to pay 100% cash for a co-owner's interest, especially if it is large. Standard structure: 10-20% down at closing, balance over 60-84 months at the Applicable Federal Rate (IRS-published rate at IRC §1274 and §7872). For death buyouts, life insurance funding can provide cash at closing. (4) Insurance funding. Three structures: cross-purchase (each owner owns life insurance on the others; on death, surviving owners receive proceeds and use them to buy the deceased owner's interest, getting a step-up in basis); entity-purchase or redemption (entity owns policies on each owner; on death, entity receives proceeds and redeems the deceased owner's interest; no basis step-up to surviving owners); hybrid or wait-and-see (allows the choice at the time of death). Tax considerations are significant: cross-purchase gives surviving owners a basis step-up valuable for future sale; entity-purchase is administratively simpler with fewer policies (n vs. n × (n-1)). For the §101 tax-free death benefit, cross-purchase is generally cleaner; entity-owned policies for life of an employee-owner can trigger transfer-for-value issues if not handled correctly. Lifetime transfer restrictions are also typical: an owner cannot freely transfer to outsiders. The right of first refusal gives the entity (or remaining owners) the option to match any third-party offer. Permitted transferees (revocable trusts of the owner, spouse with consent) are typically excluded. State-law considerations: (a) Community-property states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin) treat ownership interests acquired during marriage as community property, requiring spousal consent for buy-sell to be effective in divorce. (b) Elective-share states (most non-community-property states) give a surviving spouse a forced share of the deceased's estate; spousal consent is needed to override. (c) Non-compete enforceability for departing owners varies dramatically: California (Bus. & Prof. §16600), North Dakota, and Oklahoma broadly invalidate non-competes; most other states enforce reasonable ones. The FTC issued a non-compete ban rule in April 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 38342), partially blocked by federal courts and currently in litigation; the rule excepts non-competes in connection with sale of a business interest. (d) Spousal consent — community-property states absolutely require it; elective-share states strongly recommend it. The Buy-Sell Agreement should always be reviewed alongside the entity's operating or partnership agreement (these documents must align), the owners' personal estate plans (interests should be coordinated with revocable trusts), and the entity's insurance program. Recommended review: every 3-5 years and on any major event (new owner, death, large valuation change, major transaction).
When to use it
- Forming a multi-owner business and want to plan for owner transitions in advance.
- After a death, divorce, or near-miss event reveals gaps in the existing structure.
- When admitting a new owner — buy-sell should be updated to include them.
- Before a sale process — to clean up minority interest issues.
- After a major valuation change (e.g., 2-3x revenue growth, new round of capital).
What to include
- List of owners with current ownership percentages.
- Triggering events (death, disability, divorce, voluntary withdrawal, bankruptcy, breach, deadlock).
- Mandatory vs. optional purchase per trigger type.
- Valuation method (Certificate of Value / formula / appraisal).
- Payment terms with promissory note at AFR.
- Life/disability insurance funding structure (cross-purchase / entity / hybrid).
- Right of first refusal on lifetime transfers.
- Permitted transferees (revocable trust, spouse with consent).
- Non-compete and non-solicit for departing owners (subject to state law).
- Spousal consent signature (essential in community-property states).
- Specific performance remedy clause.
- Coordination with operating/partnership agreement.