Selling a business

[Busby15]

We intend to sell my recently deceased brother's (family)business. Although the business isn't worth much the land its on is. There is a complication in that 20% of the shares which should have gone to his nephew have been taken by his wife because his will was revoked due to marriage. My question is, does the land come into the equation? When my father started the business the land was rented , it was only in later years that it was bought. Not sure what name is on the deeds, trying to find them.
any answers gratefully received

[voltr4m4x]

It really all depends on who actually owns the land. In the absence of any clear and concise details on this I cannot give an answer. You would be better advised to consult a Solicitor direct.

[Skyline D]

It's going to be a matter for a solicitor to sort out but, fundamentally it will depend on whether the land was bought personally by your father or brother or whether the business itself bought it. Should be fairly obvious from legal records or old copies of business accounts which will show the source of funds and transactions in the balance sheet if the business bought it.

I am presuming the "business" is a limited company or partnership? If your brother traded as a "sole trader" unincorporated then to all intents and purposes it's irrelevant as in practice his assets and those of the "business" are one and the same.

[themas]

You haven't said whether your brother left a will. If he did then all his assets form part of his estate and are to be distributed in accordance with the will. So if he owns the land it is part of his estate.

Whether you sell the land with the business (which I assume your brother owned) depends on whether he did own the land. If he didn't then clearly you cannot sell it with the business unless the owner agrees. If your brother did own both then you need professional advice from a qualified surveyor or agent on what option will maximise the value. There seem to be at least 4:

1. Sell land and business together. That way the buyer might make an unwarranted gain if the land increases further in value.

2. Sell the two separately, but this assumes the business has a value if it has to be moved from the land.

3. Close down the business and then sell the land.

4. Sell the business and rent the land to the buyer until you want to sell it. With this option you must be extremely careful that you do not inadvertently give the buyer of the business any right to remain on the land. (My knowledge of the law here is possibly out of date, but with commercial transactions it used to be the case that a specific legal process had to be gone through to avoid giving security to a tenant.)