In the event of the death or disability of a Cream franchisee, who is responsible for transferring the interest in the Agreement, Shop, or ownership interest?
Cream Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Upon the death or disability of you (or if you are conducting business as an Entity, any of your owners), such person's executor, administrator, conservator, guardian, or other personal representative must transfer such person's interest in this Agreement, your Shop, or ownership interest in you, to a third party that we approve (which may be such person's heirs, beneficiaries, or devisees). That transfer must be completed within a reasonable time, not to exceed 180 days from the date of death or disability, and is subject to all of the terms and conditions in this Section 12, except that any transferee that is the spouse or immediate family member of the deceased will not have to pay the transfer fee described in Section 12.C(10) if the transfer meets all the other conditions in Section 12.C, and the transferee reimburses us for any costs we incur in connection with documenting and otherwise processing such transfer, including reasonable attorneys' fees. The term "disability" means a mental or physical disability, impairment, or condition that is reasonably expected to prevent or actually does prevent such person from fulfilling such person's respective duties under this Agreement, as applicable. In the event of the death or disability of you (if you are conducting business as an individual) or your Principal Owner (if you are conducting business as an Entity), if your Shop is not otherwise being managed by a Shopkeeper, you or your Principal Owner's (as applicable) person's executor, administrator, conservator, guardian, or other personal representative must within a reasonable time, not to exceed 15 days from the date of death or disability, appoint a Shopkeeper who we approve and who has completed our then-current Initial Training Program to supervise the day-to-day operations of your Shop. If your Shop is not being managed properly at any time from and after the death or disability of you (if you
are conducting business as an individual) or your Principal Owner (if you are conducting business as an Entity), in our sole judgment, we may, but need not, operate the Shop on an interim basis (or appoint a third party to operate the Shop on an interim basis) in accordance with Section 14.D.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 61–192)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cream's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, in the event of the death or disability of a franchisee (or any of the owners if the franchisee is an entity), the responsibility for transferring the interest in the Franchise Agreement, the Shop, or the ownership interest falls to the executor, administrator, conservator, guardian, or other personal representative of the deceased or disabled person. This representative is tasked with transferring the interest to a third party approved by Cream, which may include the person's heirs, beneficiaries, or devisees.
The transfer must be completed within a reasonable timeframe, specifically within 180 days from the date of death or disability. This transfer is subject to all the standard terms and conditions outlined in Section 12 of the agreement, which likely covers various aspects of the transfer process. However, there is a notable exception: if the transferee is the spouse or an immediate family member of the deceased, they are exempt from paying the $25,000 transfer fee, provided all other conditions in Section 12.C are met. The transferee is still responsible for reimbursing Cream for any costs incurred in documenting and processing the transfer, including reasonable attorney's fees.
Additionally, in the event of death or disability, if the Cream shop is not already managed by an approved Shopkeeper, the personal representative must appoint one within 15 days of the event. This Shopkeeper must be approved by Cream and have completed the then-current Initial Training Program to ensure the shop's day-to-day operations are properly supervised. If the shop is not being managed properly following the death or disability, Cream has the option, but not the obligation, to operate the shop on an interim basis or appoint a third party to do so, as detailed in Section 14.D.