Can equal shareholders receive unequal dividends?

gofigure8

Thankyou @Bookworm225
We certainly did all just pay our tax bill! 😊
Back to the dividends and allocation- if my father says ‘no’ to me but gives them to my siblings, and assuming of course we are all still equal shareholders, do those dividends HAVE to be paid to me by April 2026? 

Bookworm225

gofigure8 said:

Thankyou @Bookworm225
We certainly did all just pay our tax bill! 😊
Back to the dividends and allocation- if my father says ‘no’ to me but gives them to my siblings, and assuming of course we are all still equal shareholders, do those dividends HAVE to be paid to me by April 2026? 

the tax year end date (April) has nothing whatsoever to do with it

Once a dividend has been declared (and assuming it is a "legal" dividend in relation to the amount held in company reserves) then it becomes a debt between the company and the shareholder. If that debt is not paid, ie the cash is not received, then the shareholder could pursue the debt under normal civil law, ie the 6 year statute of limitations would apply.
In practical terms that would however mean a court case against the company to "win" the debt, and on top of that, if debt is not physically paid on winning the court judgement, you'd then need to enforce the payment using court appointed bailiffs 

gofigure8

This is really helpful stuff, thankyou! How do I know when a dividend has been declared, other than ask my father of course; are these in the end of year accounts for that financial year?

Bookworm225

gofigure8 said:

This is really helpful stuff, thankyou! How do I know when a dividend has been declared, other than ask my father of course; are these in the end of year accounts for that financial year?

are the accounts done by a proper accountancy firm or does your father DIY them?

I suggest you start by familiarising yourself with the company you partly own!
Look at its Companies House records, particularly the memo and articles of association, paying attention the classes of shares issued and what rights each one has. 

" we are all still equal shareholders" - changes to share structures (classes and/or number of shares issued) must be shown in the accounts
"when a dividend has been declared" - if it has been declared, but not yet paid, then that should be recorded in the accounts (assuming they have been done by competent people) 

There are plenty of websites you can read that explain the basic facts of how accounts and shares "work" 

gofigure8

Thankyou @bookworm225. The company’s accounts are filed by accountants, they do all of my father’s business interests. I have already been using info online try and learn; and I have seen the M&A online and they’re not very specific, I’ve seen the other publically available  docs on Companies House the share structure upon incorporation, CH was my first port of call. Dividend figures though I can’t see, I don’t think this is public information and don’t know under which document this information would be in and certainly don’t have access to meeting minutes. Thanks for your help