Cross-option agreement
An agreement giving surviving owners an option to buy and a departing owner’s estate an option to sell.
Also called a double option agreement, it sits alongside shareholder or partnership protection policies. If either side exercises its option after a death or, on some agreements, a serious illness, the other must complete the sale. It is written as options rather than a binding sale because an obligation to sell from the outset can change how the holding is treated for inheritance tax — a point for a solicitor and accountant to confirm for each business.
