November 29, 2021

Many sad stories about celebrities highlight the importance of estate planning. Many of them leave behind complex assets and high value items. Without estate planning, this leaves their loved ones coping with probate problems for months or even years.

A similar situation applies to those entrepreneurs who don’t look at their personal and professional estate planning as worthy of effort. Consider the estate of Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO, who passed away suddenly in a fire at age 46. With an expected net worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars, his family was shocked to learn that he passed away without a personal estate plan.

It’s believed that over 60% of Americans don’t have an estate plan at all. Without a personal estate plan, your loved ones might struggle to receive the assets that you intended them to have. As a company owner, however, you can’t ignore the related challenges with your business.

Your business requires considerations and questions like:

• What happens if I become disabled or unable to make decisions within the business for a period of time?
• Are there any other owners or key employees who need to be included in the planning process?
• What existing documents do we already have in place with a succession plan?
• Do we have insurance policies in place on key employees to allow us to hire new help and weather the storm if they were to suddenly exit?
• What does the future of my business look like?

Most business owners want to know how their company will expand and grow in the coming years. It’s equally as important to have the support of an experienced business succession lawyer to guide you through the process and help you figure out answers to the questions above.

If you need help defining what your succession plan is and the key people involved in that process, now is the right time to document and implement that plan.

Reach out to our office today to learn more about estate planning, business planning, and how to make sure these work together.