Business succession planning is planning for a change of control of ownership and operations of your business.  Business succession planning is not just about avoiding disputes among your heirs.  That transition can be either in preparing for a sale to a third party or preparing for a transition to either family, key employees or another chosen successor.  Our multi-disciplinary approach to solving such a scenario may involve our business lawyers working in conjunction with our estate planning lawyers.  We can help increase the likelihood that your business will succeed through this important transition.

Family or Key Employee Transition

We can assist you in setting up planning tools such as:

• Drafting buy-sell agreements between the generation of ownership in control and the active members of the successor generation, and work with insurance advisors to provide for funding in the event of death;
• Formulating and implementing gifting programs for all or part of the next generation;
• Structuring seller financed sale transitions between the generation of ownership in control and the active members of the successor generation;
• Drafting your estate planning documents to provide for direct bequests to heirs active in the business and life insurance trusts for the payment of estate taxes and cash for the non-active heirs;
• Drafting prenuptial agreements;
• Coordinating and working with tax advisors on the tax consequences of your succession plan; and
• Facilitating group meetings among your children to explain the succession plan.

Preparing for a Sale