A. Certainlty yes. A deal in writing will help highlight any areas in which you and the seller may not be seeing things in the same. Better to work things out now rather than argue about it later. Second, your agreement can cover how you'll allocate the purchase price among the various assets such as equipment and goodwill. Third, an agreement will protect not only your legal interests and the seller's but may also help preserve your friendship. A lawyer in your town can put together an agreement for you that spells out exactly what you're purchasing, how you'll pay the purchase price (in installments, perhaps), whether you'll be assuming any liabilities of the business and whether the seller is agreeing not to compete with you.
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