Legal Question in Business Law in California

As a broad, general matter, there aren't any restrictions on transferring property. X can sell his widget to Y, whether Y is employed, whether Y is a citizen, etc. etc.

However, there are major exceptions to the general rule. Some property and some rights are not assignable or transferable; some can be transfered only under certain conditions.

In the case of a restaurant, the first issue that comes to mind is whether the business is a franchise. If we were talking about a McDonalds, for example, you can be sure that a sale of the franchise would have to be approved by Headquarters in all respects, and that a person who was "unemployed" would not be approved. That's assuming by "unemployed" we mean having no money or income. There are plenty of unemployed people McDonalds might approve as franchisees, of course - retired millionaires, for example.

Another possible transfer problem is that if the restaurant business is operating in a leased space or building, the landlord probably would have to approve an assignment of the lease to a new tenant.

A third possible problem that might apply would be that the transfer is fraudulent. One cannot transfer valuable property to a friend or relative (or anyone) below fair market value to avoid creditors.

If a liquor license is involved, the ABC Board would have to approve the transfer. There may be other limitations that I can't think of.