What a Buy-Sell Agreement Costs in Georgia
A buy-sell agreement at The Hive Law costs $1,500 to $3,000 as a flat fee. That is the total — not a deposit, not an estimate subject to hourly revision.
Most Georgia law firms that handle buy-sell agreements charge by the hour and do not publish rates. That means you do not know the final cost until the work is done. A flat fee eliminates that uncertainty.
The range exists because agreements vary in complexity. A two-owner LLC with a straightforward valuation method and no existing agreements to reconcile sits closer to $1,500. A four-owner S-Corp with a formula-based valuation, multiple triggering events, and an existing shareholder agreement that needs to be reconciled sits closer to $3,000.
For a full overview of business succession planning options for Georgia business owners, see Best Estate Planning for Business Owners in Georgia.
What’s Included in The Hive Law’s Flat Fee
The flat fee covers a custom buy-sell agreement drafted for your specific business — not a template with your name filled in. The agreement addresses:
Triggering events. The specific circumstances that activate the agreement: death, permanent disability, divorce, bankruptcy, voluntary exit, and involuntary removal. Each trigger requires different language and different timelines.
Valuation method. How the buyout price is determined. The three options are a fixed price (set at signing and updated periodically), a formula (revenue multiple, book value, or agreed-upon calculation), or a third-party appraisal. The agreement specifies which method applies and what happens if the parties disagree.
Funding structure. How the surviving owners actually pay for the buyout. Life insurance is the most common funding mechanism — the agreement specifies who owns the policies, who the beneficiaries are, and how the proceeds are applied. See Funded vs. Unfunded Buy-Sell Agreements in Georgia for a full breakdown of how funding works and what happens when it fails.
Right of first refusal. The mechanism that prevents an owner from selling their interest to an outside party without first offering it to existing owners at the agreed price.
Cross-purchase vs. entity redemption structure. Which type of buy-sell agreement you have affects the surviving owners’ tax basis when the business is eventually sold. The flat fee includes reviewing your entity type and recommending the right structure. For a detailed comparison, see What Is a Buy-Sell Agreement and Does Your Georgia Business Need One?
The flat fee does not include life insurance policy procurement, business valuation by a certified valuator, or updates to existing operating agreements that need to be reconciled with the new buy-sell terms. If operating agreement amendments are needed alongside the buy-sell agreement, that work is quoted separately or included in the full succession package.
The 5 Factors That Determine Where You Land in the Range
Number of owners. A two-owner agreement is simpler to draft than a four-owner agreement. More owners means more triggering-event combinations, more funding policy relationships, and more potential for dispute over valuation. Each additional owner adds drafting complexity.
Valuation method complexity. A fixed-price agreement updated annually is the simplest structure. A formula-based valuation tied to a revenue multiple or adjusted EBITDA requires more precision in the drafting. Third-party appraisal clauses require additional language covering timing, cost allocation, and dispute resolution when appraisers disagree.
Business complexity. An LLC with a single class of membership interests and no real property is straightforward. An S-Corp with multiple asset classes, real estate holdings, or intellectual property requires more careful treatment of what is and is not included in the buyout price.
Existing agreements. If you already have a shareholder agreement, operating agreement, or partnership agreement with buy-sell provisions, those documents need to be reviewed before drafting. Conflicting provisions between documents create legal risk. Reconciling them takes time and moves the price toward the higher end of the range.
Triggering event scope. A basic agreement covers death and permanent disability. A comprehensive agreement also covers divorce (to prevent a co-owner’s ex-spouse from becoming your business partner), bankruptcy, voluntary exit, and forced removal for cause. Each additional trigger adds language and negotiation complexity.
When a Standalone Buy-Sell Agreement Isn’t Enough
A buy-sell agreement controls what happens at the business level when an owner exits. It does not address what happens to the owner’s personal estate, what happens to the business interest inside a trust, or who runs the business if the owner becomes incapacitated but does not die.
For business owners who need all of these layers addressed together, The Hive Law offers a full business succession package at $8,000 to $10,000. That includes:
Operating agreement review and amendment. Updating the LLC or S-Corp’s governance documents to reflect the succession plan, add successor manager designations, and remove any dissolution clauses that would trigger on owner death.
Buy-sell agreement drafting. The standalone scope described above, integrated with the operating agreement rather than drafted in isolation.
Estate plan coordination. A revocable living trust for the business owner, durable power of attorney, and healthcare directive — so the personal plan and the business plan work together rather than creating conflicts at the moment they’re both needed.
Insurance funding review. Confirming that existing policies are structured correctly for the buy-sell agreement (correct ownership, correct beneficiaries, adequate coverage amount) or identifying gaps before they become problems.
For a full breakdown of what the succession package costs and what’s included at each tier, see How Much Does Business Succession Planning Cost in Georgia?
What It Costs to Skip the Buy-Sell Agreement
Georgia law does not require a buy-sell agreement. Your business can operate indefinitely without one. The cost of not having one does not appear until a triggering event happens — and then it appears all at once.
Without a buy-sell agreement, a co-owner’s death sends their business interest into their estate. Georgia probate takes 18 to 30 months for a business interest. During that period, the business may have no clear decision-maker, the deceased owner’s heirs may have legal standing to participate in business decisions, and the surviving owners have no mechanism to force a buyout at a defined price.
The problems that appear most often without a buy-sell agreement are covered in detail in 8 Problems With Buy-Sell Agreements Georgia Business Owners Miss — including what happens when the agreement exists but was never funded, never updated, or has the wrong insurance ownership structure after Connelly v. United States (2024).
The average attorney fees when a Georgia business goes through probate are $27,300. A buy-sell agreement that costs $1,500 to $3,000 eliminates that exposure for a multi-owner business. See Buy-Sell Agreement Review to learn what The Hive Law’s drafting and review service covers.
