April 14, 2022

If you own a business, you need business succession planning and careful consideration about how to craft your estate planning to support your individual and company needs. Many business owners might only have the most basic of estate planning tools of a last will and testament.

If your estate plan only has a will in it, your estate, including all of the assets inside your business will have to go through the court supervised process known as probate when you pass away. It can take a few months for someone to appoint a person on behalf of you and your company to take action. This can significantly disrupt cash flow and operations. Furthermore, many people who have worked hard to establish a business want to maintain control over that and benefit from privacy. Remember that probate is a very public process, meaning that the affairs of your business could be open to your competitors or your neighbors.

Having the insight of an experienced estate planning lawyer is strongly recommended for every business owner who is looking forward to the future. Creating a business succession plan is one of the cornerstones of your estate plan because it allows for the transfer of the business based on decisions that you make now.

It can also include important documents, such as a buy-sell agreement, which allows certain other people to be able to step in and purchase your portion of the business if needed. Having these options is instrumental for keeping your company operating after you have stepped away, and it ensures that the right people have been tapped to step into leadership roles as necessary. Do not hesitate to contact an experienced business succession planning lawyer to discuss this option more.