Business Acquisition and Sale Lawyer for Fort Lauderdale Owners

A business acquisition and sale lawyer handles the legal side of buying or selling an existing company, from the first offer through closing and the handoff afterward. If you search for a business acquisition and sale lawyer Fort Lauderdale owners can consult, this page explains what that work covers. KEW Legal is a Florida business law practice with offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach. It serves clients in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, and Miami-Dade County.

What a business acquisition and sale lawyer does for Fort Lauderdale clients

A business acquisition and sale lawyer drafts, reviews, and negotiates the documents that move a business from one owner to another. KEW Legal serves business owners and investors as outside general counsel across Miami-Dade and South Florida. Deal questions often touch the same contracts, leases, and employment issues that come up in that ongoing work.

The service fits four kinds of clients:

• Sellers preparing an exit, whether to a third party, a partner, or a family member.
• Buyers acquiring an operating company or its assets.
• Investors buying into or out of a business.
• Owners planning a partner or family buyout.

Kristina E. Wilson is the lawyer responsible for this page. Support staff handle scheduling and document logistics. The offices are in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach, and clients in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County can work with the practice on their deals.

What services are included in a business sale or purchase?

The service covers deal structure, the letter of intent, the purchase agreement, due diligence, and the closing papers. Each piece affects who keeps the risk after closing.

• Deal structure: An asset purchase and a stock or membership interest purchase move different things. Assets, contracts, permits, and liabilities can transfer in different ways. Tax effects are discussed in general terms, and your tax advisor should confirm the numbers. The IRS guide to business structures explains how legal structure sets federal tax classification.
• Letter of intent and term sheet review: Price, exclusivity, deposit, and confidentiality terms deserve close reading before anyone signs.
• Purchase agreement drafting and negotiation: This covers representations and warranties, indemnification, escrow, and closing conditions.
• Due diligence coordination: Contracts, leases, licenses, litigation history, employment matters, and financial records get reviewed.
• Non-compete and non-solicitation terms: A Florida court will not enforce a non-compete unless it is in a writing signed by the person bound by it. Whether a restrictive covenant can be enforced depends on its specific terms and on Florida law.
• Lease and vendor contract transfers: These are reviewed and renegotiated when they move with the business.
• Closing documents: Bills of sale, assignments, and a post-closing transition checklist.

How does the acquisition or sale process work, step by step?

A typical deal moves through six stages, from the first consultation to closing. Each stage produces specific documents and a list of open issues.

1. Free, confidential first consultation. You review your goals, the business structure, and the deal in front of you. There is no obligation to continue.
2. Document review and structure recommendation. You receive a list of issues to resolve before signing.
3. Letter of intent. Key economic and legal terms are set out and negotiated.
4. Due diligence. Each side gets a written request list, and a log tracks open items.
5. Purchase agreement. The definitive agreement and ancillary documents are drafted and negotiated.
6. Closing. Funds flow is coordinated, and assets, permits, and contracts transfer.

Timing depends on deal size, complexity, and how quickly the other side responds. No closing date is promised.

Which legal issues come up in Florida business sales?

Leases, employees, vendor contracts, and unpaid taxes commonly surface during due diligence. Each one can change the price or the terms.

• Leases: The landlord may need to consent to an assignment. The seller may also have signed personally for the lease obligations, and that needs attention.
• Employees: Accrued wages, benefit plan changes, and whether staff move to the buyer’s payroll all need decisions.
• Vendor and customer contracts: Some contracts include anti-assignment clauses that limit transfer without consent.
• State tax liability: Florida law treats a business as transferred when more than 50 percent of the business, its assets, or its stock of goods changes hands. The way a deal is structured, whether as a stock purchase or an asset purchase, can affect which legal questions arise.
• Registered trademarks: An assignment must be in writing and duly executed. Under federal trademark law on assignments, an assignment is void against a subsequent purchaser for valuable consideration without notice unless the prescribed information reporting the assignment is recorded in the United States Patent and Trademark Office within 3 months after the date of the assignment or prior to the subsequent purchase.
• Stock deals and tax: Under the federal tax provision on qualified stock purchases, if a purchasing corporation makes an election under this section, the target corporation is treated as having sold all of its assets at the close of the acquisition date at fair market value in a single transaction. A stock deal can carry asset-sale tax results.

Why work with KEW Legal on a business sale?

KEW Legal handles business transactions as part of outside general counsel work. The practice covers the sale from structure through closing, not only the closing papers.

• Ongoing legal resource: The practice serves business owners and investors across Miami-Dade and South Florida in an outside general counsel role.
• Full-deal scope: Work covers leases, contracts, and employment questions that surface in the deal, not just the signing.
• Stated office locations: The offices are in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach.
• Named responsible lawyer: Kristina E. Wilson is the lawyer responsible for this page.
• No outcome promises: Each deal turns on its facts, the other party’s position, and market conditions. No result can be promised.
• Free first consultation: The first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.

What do buyers and sellers ask before a business sale?

Most readers ask whether they need a lawyer, how to choose a structure, and what the first step involves. The answers below are short, and the first consultation covers your specific facts.

Do I need a lawyer if the buyer’s lawyer drafts the agreement?

Yes. Each side should have its own lawyer review terms that affect its risk.

Is an asset sale or a stock sale better?

It depends on liabilities, contracts, licenses, and tax goals. The first consultation starts that analysis.

Can you handle a deal in Broward County from Coral Gables?

Yes, clients in Fort Lauderdale and across Broward County can work with the practice. The offices are in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach.

What does the first consultation cost?

It is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.

How long does a sale take?

It varies with deal size and diligence. No timeline is promised.

Will I need to sign a non-compete?

Possibly. Review the terms carefully before you sign.

Talk with a business acquisition and sale lawyer about your deal

If a letter of intent is on the table, or a purchase agreement has lease and employee terms you don’t yet understand, now is the time to talk. Call 305-990-2300 or send a message through the KEW Legal contact page to set up your free, confidential first consultation with Kristina E. Wilson. The consultation carries no obligation to continue.