- 30 - Revised Agreement were designed to serve such a testamentary purpose. First, the purchase price set forth in the agreements was fixed at $11,333.30 per share. It was not subject to any periodic reevaluation in order to account for an increase in CamVic's value. We find it unrealistic to assume that decedent, as the majority shareholder, would have negotiated a fixed price for the agreements if he had been bargaining with unrelated parties.21 Petitioners argue that the Buy-Sell Agreement was not a testamentary device because real estate values fluctuate and decedent had personally experienced these fluctuations in his own business. We fail to see how concern about the fluctuation in the value of real estate or CamVic's shares could have been a nontestamentary purpose for decedent to have agreed to a fixed price per share. The Buy-Sell Agreement granted a purchase option; it did 21We note that decedent was a general partner in the Oak Hills Investment Co. The partnership agreement, dated May 25, 1983, contained a similar restrictive transfer provision, which generally required the partners--if they desired to sell their interests in the partnership--to offer their interests to the partnership and then to the other partners pro rata. However, unlike the provision in CamVic's Buy-Sell Agreement, the partnership agreement's provision provided: the purchase price for said sale shall be the transferring Partner's pro-rata share of the appraised value of the net assets of the Partnership which shall be equal to that percentage of ownership of the withdrawing Partner times the fair market value of the assets owned by the Partnership at the time notice is given minus all debts and liabilities of the Partnership. * * *Page: Previous 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011