Our attorneys help preserve and perpetuate your business and your legacy for generations to come.
You have spent a lifetime building your business. Yet, you may not have devoted much time to deciding how the business could continue to operate in the event of your disability, retirement, or death. We can help preserve and perpetuate your business and your legacy for generations to come, while minimizing the effect of estate taxes on your hard-earned assets.
Now is the time to plan how your business will operate in the event of your disability, retirement or death. Naturally, your departure will affect your family, you employees, your business, and various tax responsibilities. You will need a seamless succession plan that spells out how business interests will be divided, as well as the duties and transition of new owners.
We have assisted numerous closely-held business owners in various industries, as well as owners of ag-business and family farms, to pass their businesses on to the next generation, while minimizing the potential for family conflict—taking into consideration how to equitably treat family members who may be involved in running the business and family members who will not.
Our attorneys also develop succession plans designed to reduce your estate and income tax liabilities through myriad tools, including agreements, trusts, and the targeted use of LLCs and partnerships. Knowing that each business is unique, our legal advice will help you avoid potential conflicts among family members, make long-term financial decisions, and plan a smooth strategy that meets your objectives. In this connection, we will also work closely with your trust financial advisors, including your CPA and financial planner.
While business succession planning minimizes the tax burden to your heirs and lowers risk, we also specialize in additional general corporate entity formation and corporate practice services to protect your interests.
- Multi-generational family business succession planning with attention to blended families and families with sensitive or complex relationship and financial issues
- Agricultural/Farm succession planning
- The coordinated use of trusts, management of business assets, buy-sell and shareholder agreements, and insurance planning with irrevocable life insurance trusts (“ILIT”)
- Coordinating the estate plan, so that the estate plan is “equalized” among non-business family members
- Creation of family limited partnerships (“FLP”) and limited liability companies (“LLC”), along with valuation discount planning