Do An Initial Exam Before Buying a Dental Practice
Date: March 13, 2012
Co-Author: Philip M. Bogart, Esq.
A comprehensive dental examination is often the first place to start with new patients. The dentist can examine the patient’s teeth and gums, and develop a treatment plan. It's also smart to apply the same approach when considering the purchase of a dental practice. The dentist, his/her accountant and lawyer can educate themselves doing due diligence before signing a letter of intent. While the buyer can continue to conduct due diligence until closing, the initial step should not be “glossed over.”
In reality, however, the lawyer is frequently not brought in until after the deal is made and the buyer and seller have either shaken hands or signed a letter of intent (prepared, in many cases, by the broker). Sometimes, the seller or broker pressures the buyer to sign the letter of intent immediately to take the practice off the market. Too often, the lawyer is not given the opportunity to be involved in the “initial exam” of the target practice to be purchased. Instead, lawyers i are engaged simply to “do the paperwork” and capture the economics of the purchase in writing. At this stage, it can be difficult to convince the buyer to either walk away from the purchase or re-negotiate the terms of the purchase.
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