Understanding shares

Piggypoos

I own a share ( he says one share but I don’t know) in my ex partners Ltd company but know nothing about shares. I was put on the books and made a shareholder purely for his tax purposes.When we split he demanded the share back and his accountant sent me a form via email to sign and it said I own one B share worth a nominal £1 . My MacMillan advisor told me not to hand it back until I knew exactly what this share was worth as I could be hit for a huge tax bill and it could affect my disability benefits. I’ve asked the accountant for my share details and any other information about dividends. He said I’d been paid dividends for three years but I haven’t and when I questioned this he blanked me. I’ve had no share certificate, no reports and my ex just says speak to his accountant. I’ve tried looking on Companies House but don’t understand anything. I mentioned dividends to my ex and he said his accountant said it’s at his discretion if I get any and he’s choosing not to. When I looked for information online I came across a shares site that said that in his company there’s two shareholders , him and me, he having 1A share and me 1B share and we had 50% each. I’ve asked a couple of companies that deal in shares for advice and one said to contact a solicitor but he did say on companies house it says my share is with dividends. So is he meant to pay dividends or is it at his discretion ? It doesn’t make sense owning shares and getting absolutely nothing from it. I feel I’m being lied to. Considering this share is only worth £1 he’s making a heck of a lot of fuss about it and said that while I own this share if the company goes under I will  have to pay any debts. I’d appreciate it if anyone has any advice please . I can’t afford to speak to a solicitor sadly 😒

wmb194

Piggypoos said:

I own a share ( he says one share but I don’t know) in my ex partners Ltd company but know nothing about shares. I was put on the books and made a shareholder purely for his tax purposes.When we split he demanded the share back and his accountant sent me a form via email to sign and it said I own one B share worth a nominal £1 . My MacMillan advisor told me not to hand it back until I knew exactly what this share was worth as I could be hit for a huge tax bill and it could affect my disability benefits. I’ve asked the accountant for my share details and any other information about dividends. He said I’d been paid dividends for three years but I haven’t and when I questioned this he blanked me. I’ve had no share certificate, no reports and my ex just says speak to his accountant. I’ve tried looking on Companies House but don’t understand anything. I mentioned dividends to my ex and he said his accountant said it’s at his discretion if I get any and he’s choosing not to. When I looked for information online I came across a shares site that said that in his company there’s two shareholders , him and me, he having 1A share and me 1B share and we had 50% each. I’ve asked a couple of companies that deal in shares for advice and one said to contact a solicitor but he did say on companies house it says my share is with dividends. So is he meant to pay dividends or is it at his discretion ? It doesn’t make sense owning shares and getting absolutely nothing from it. I feel I’m being lied to. Considering this share is only worth £1 he’s making a heck of a lot of fuss about it and said that while I own this share if the company goes under I will  have to pay any debts. I’d appreciate it if anyone has any advice please . I can’t afford to speak to a solicitor sadly 😒

£1 is just its paid up value, it could be worth far, far more e.g., every Unilever ordinary share has a paid up value of 3.111111p but yesterday they were changing hands on the stock exchange for £38.63.

Dividends by their nature can be discretionary but it depends on the rules of the share class e.g., there could be a situation where 'A' class shares receive a dividend whilst the 'B' class shares do not.

When you look on Companies House, probably under 'Filing History', can you find the company's Articles of Association? It should lay out the rights of each share class. Another option might be to ask the accountant for it but it sounds like they're being obstructive. 

When the accountant says you were paid dividends for the last three years could it be that the money was actually paid to your ex and he was using your tax allowances to minimise the tax he would have otherwise paid himself?

I suspect the problem will be that 'A' class shares will essentially have all the rights to direct the company and the 'B' class will have very few rights. Definitely don't give it away, though.

If it's a limited liability company you shouldn't be liable for any of the company's debts unless you've e.g., agreed a personal guarantee for a bank loan given to the company.

DullGreyGuy

Piggypoos said:

I own a share ( he says one share but I don’t know) in my ex partners Ltd company but know nothing about shares. I was put on the books and made a shareholder purely for his tax purposes.When we split he demanded the share back and his accountant sent me a form via email to sign and it said I own one B share worth a nominal £1 . My MacMillan advisor told me not to hand it back until I knew exactly what this share was worth as I could be hit for a huge tax bill and it could affect my disability benefits. I’ve asked the accountant for my share details and any other information about dividends. He said I’d been paid dividends for three years but I haven’t and when I questioned this he blanked me. I’ve had no share certificate, no reports and my ex just says speak to his accountant. I’ve tried looking on Companies House but don’t understand anything. I mentioned dividends to my ex and he said his accountant said it’s at his discretion if I get any and he’s choosing not to. When I looked for information online I came across a shares site that said that in his company there’s two shareholders , him and me, he having 1A share and me 1B share and we had 50% each. I’ve asked a couple of companies that deal in shares for advice and one said to contact a solicitor but he did say on companies house it says my share is with dividends. So is he meant to pay dividends or is it at his discretion ? It doesn’t make sense owning shares and getting absolutely nothing from it. I feel I’m being lied to. Considering this share is only worth £1 he’s making a heck of a lot of fuss about it and said that while I own this share if the company goes under I will  have to pay any debts. I’d appreciate it if anyone has any advice please . I can’t afford to speak to a solicitor sadly 😒

When did you split up, relative to the 3 years of dividends?