Planning for Succession

Owners of family businesses do not have the luxury deciding not to go to work anymore. Retirement can create some critical and troubling concerns for the business owner.

What would you answer if asked, "What will happen to your company when you no longer make the decisions?"

Or, if asked, "Do you have the assets necessary to retire?"

Family dynamics often complicate the transition, even if no more reason than the simple relationships and emotions involved. Most people aren't eager to discuss such topics as aging, financial affairs, or death, even in the best of times.

Regardless of our comfort level, planning for the transition during succession should be a top priority. In our modern world, more than seven out of ten family businesses fail the transition from founder/owner to the second generation. They fall prey to estate taxes or family discord, or a combination.

A well planned succession is imperative for optimum success and the true survival of your family business going through the generations.

We will assist you with these important areas:

• Do you intend to keep your business in your family or are you going to sell it to a third party? We can assist you with judging your advantages and disadvantages with each option.
• Who will work in your business once you retire? Business management and ownership are two different areas. You can transfer management to one heir, but transfer equal shares of the ownership to all your heirs, regardless of their business involvement.
• How can you minimize any tax bite stemming from the change? Tax burdens due to transitioning a family business can be sizable. A family business is not generally regarded as a liquid asset, but regardless, taxation will be an issue of transference that needs attention.
• How can you make the transition fair to everyone? Transitions of these levels usually add an incredibly amount of stress to the individual heirs. For your comfort, we can council each family individual to ensure their feelings are known and that they are comfortable with an equitable and fair share.

Our Duties to you:

• When we gain an understanding of your feelings on the aforementioned areas, we'll develop your succession plan and focus on 5 specific concerns:
• Business Valuation
• Tax Consequences
• Retirement Projections
• Tax Projections
• Business Restructuring

For more information, contact us