A closely held corporate client had previously established a sophisticated shareholders agreement that provided for the purchase and sale of the entity’s shares upon certain triggering events. The purchase price was funded with large insurance policies on the lives of the shareholders. Unfortunately, instead of naming the third-party trustee as the owner, the insurance agent named the entity as the owner of the policies, which caused a myriad of tax and valuation issues for the entity and its owners. DeAngelis Legal created a new limited liability company to hold the policies and provide liquidity to the surviving shareholder upon the death of the deceased shareholder.
