Hello,
My business partner (and sister) has filed Chapter 7. Before filing, when she met with her attorney, she asked the attorney if the filing would affect the business in any way. My sister had told her the business wasn't worth anything & that we can barely pay ourselves. Without any further questioning, the attorney told her it wouldn NOT affect the business.
Fast forward to this week - I received a letter from an attorney representing the trustee. The letter informed me that my sister's shares are now owned by the BK estate and that they would consider an offer from me to buy them back or they could sell the entire business. The problem is that I don't have a dime to my name either & I highly doubt they would find a buyer for the business (it's a personal assistant business) in this economy & considering the debt the company owes (upwards of $135,000). Our liabilities far out weigh our assets. It does pay my bills though & is our only livelyhood.
My questions are:
1. If I do nothing, and they determine they can't sell it - what happens to the shares? Will they go back to my sister and things are as they were? If not, do they just go back to the company (me)?
2. If I were to make a minimal offer and they accepted, would I be able to give sell the shares back to my sister? Is it common for the trustee to accept a ridiculously low offer on a business they don't believe they could sell? $1,000?
3. What can i do?
I would greatly appreciate any insight. This is just making me sick.
My business partner (and sister) has filed Chapter 7. Before filing, when she met with her attorney, she asked the attorney if the filing would affect the business in any way. My sister had told her the business wasn't worth anything & that we can barely pay ourselves. Without any further questioning, the attorney told her it wouldn NOT affect the business.
Fast forward to this week - I received a letter from an attorney representing the trustee. The letter informed me that my sister's shares are now owned by the BK estate and that they would consider an offer from me to buy them back or they could sell the entire business. The problem is that I don't have a dime to my name either & I highly doubt they would find a buyer for the business (it's a personal assistant business) in this economy & considering the debt the company owes (upwards of $135,000). Our liabilities far out weigh our assets. It does pay my bills though & is our only livelyhood.
My questions are:
1. If I do nothing, and they determine they can't sell it - what happens to the shares? Will they go back to my sister and things are as they were? If not, do they just go back to the company (me)?
2. If I were to make a minimal offer and they accepted, would I be able to give sell the shares back to my sister? Is it common for the trustee to accept a ridiculously low offer on a business they don't believe they could sell? $1,000?
3. What can i do?
I would greatly appreciate any insight. This is just making me sick.
