Too Old to Own Half
At 36, I was too old to own half of Italy’s simplified limited company. My sister and I built the furniture workshop together. The capital could be just €1. To put both our names on the deed, we would have to spend our timber money—or sign the next supplier’s bill ourselves.
At the notary’s desk, our dates of birth settled the question.
Bologna, October 2012. A hotel had ordered three oak reception counters. It would pay when we delivered them. The timber merchant was willing to wait for his money, but we needed to place the order that week.
The notary looked from my identity card to my sister’s. “She qualifies. You don’t.”
My sister was 32. Under the new rules, she could form the company with little capital and no notary’s professional fee. There were still other charges, but we had enough for those and the timber.
“Let her form it now,” I said. “She can give me half later.”
The notary shook her head. The rule also barred transferring shares to someone my age. We could both own a different low-capital limited company, but its ordinary formation fees would come out of the money waiting for the timber merchant.
That evening, my sister laid his order on our workbench. “We could put the company in my name,” she said.
I looked past her at the counters we had begun together. She picked up the pen before I could answer. We signed the order in our own names.
The hotel could still change its mind. The timber bill would still be ours.
Have you ever accepted a business debt personally to keep a partner’s share of the business?