Estate & Business Succession Planning

Why Estate Planning is Important

If you wish to leave behind a lasting legacy, whether it’s for family and loved ones or a charitable institution, then you need to put a well-thought-out Estate Plan in place, so your legacy is established in accordance with your wishes. Without such a Plan, strangers (the State, Lawyers or individuals that don’t have your interests in mind) could determine what happens to your Estate.

If you wish to ensure that you are in control of what happens to your estate, and if you want to guarantee that your estate is handled in accordance with your directives, then having an Estate Plan is paramount.

 

What We Can Do For You

Our Estate Planning service includes:

  • Helping you understand the importance of a will: Your will should be the corner stone of your Estate Plan. We can help you understand why and how you should structure this document so your legal team can create a will that reflects how you want your Estate disposed. From a simple will to a Testamentary Will, or Joint Wills and Living Wills – our experts will help you navigate through the complexities so you won’t need to stress over what’s what!

  • Choosing Executors: The Executors of your Estate wield strong powers that determine how your Estate is finally dealt with upon your passing. We’ll help you understand the importance of choosing an executor (s) for your Estate, and what criteria you should consider when appointing someone to discharge this all-important role – especially if minor children/guardians are involved.

  • Designating beneficiaries: If you don’t choose beneficiaries for your assets carefully (or not at all!), your estate assets might well end up in the hands of individuals that you never intended should benefit from them.

  • Considerations for dependents needs: A well-thought-out Estate Plan will ensure that all of the needs of your dependents (be they minors, adult children, siblings, persons with special needs or aging parents) are taken care of in accordance with your desires.

  • Tax planning considerations (minimizing Estate taxes and reducing probate fees): Without a well-thought-out Estate Plan, a considerable part of your estate could erode through taxes, fees and other levy’s, even before your designated beneficiaries see a cent!

  • Protecting your estate: Though you might no longer be here, many of your assets – like your long-term investments, property and other tangible assets – will likely need care, protection and management until they are finally disposed off, and the proceeds distributed to your designated beneficiaries. In the absence of an Estate Plan, your assets will likely not receive the type and level of protection those assets require.

  • Health and welfare considerations: A comprehensive Estate Plan contains several components, including directives to your Executors and POA-holders about what to do in case your health (mental or physical) deteriorates. In the absence of those components of your Estate Plan, decisions impacting your health and welfare might be made by others (likely medical professionals or state-appointed representatives) whom you do not trust.

  • Distributing your assets/legacy: Without a proper Estate planning, your assets might not be distributed in line with your final wishes. And because creating legally-binding wills and ensuring the Estate Plan are in sync with the Will is essential to ensure proper distribution of your estate, our professionals can support you in this endeavor.

 

 

Why Business Succession Planning Is Important

You’ve built your business through sweat, toil and tireless effort. For most entrepreneurs, their business operations represent a legacy that they’d like to leave to the next generation. And what would happen to the business in the event that you are suddenly incapacitated – is there someone reliable that can step into your shoes? Have you thought about the customers/clients that depend on the goods/services your company provides – who would service their needs if you are not around?

More importantly, given that many loyal employees count on working for the business long after the owner has passed, it makes sense to ensure someone with the proper vision for the business succeeds you.

Without a proper succession plan in place, family strife and internal (company) politics would threaten the future of the firm as a going concern. In some cases, companies without sound succession plans find themselves being pushed into bankruptcy or receivership. 

There are far reaching repercussions for not having a well-thought-out succession plan. Unfortunately, all of them are not too pleasant for the business, the business owner, his/her beneficiaries and the employees working for the company!

 

What We Can Do For You

Simply put, our Business Succession Planning service provides business owners peace of mind – the kind that comes from knowing you are well-prepared to relinquish control of the business on your own terms. And we do that by ensuring that the stewardship of the business passes into hands that are designated and approved by you - the business owner.

But succession planning is not just about designating a particular individual or group to step in after you’re gone. Our Business Succession Planning team lays out a comprehensive process for identifying, screening, grooming, and ultimately transitioning ownership to your designated successor/s when the time comes.    

Here’s a preview of what our Business Succession Planning service covers:

  • Strategizing succession: Helping you identify the ideal succession strategy based upon any number of “end game” objectives that you have in mind: Maximize sales proceeds. Minimize tax implications. Create a lasting legacy. Assure a comfortable retirement.

  • Building succession plans: We’ll consult with you about possible succession strategies: Pass the business on to your next generation? Hand it over to designated/trusted employees? Have professional management teams from outside step in and take over? Sell the business to a competitor and pass the proceeds to your heirs? Go public, leaving it up to the Board of Directors to deal with the company’s future?

  • Understanding the impacts: Together, our Succession Planning experts will walk you through all of the legal, financial and tax implications for each of the various succession scenarios proposed. This impact analysis will help you determine which of the succession approaches makes best sense for you and the business   

  • Identifying successors: Depending upon which strategy you choose, we’ll work with you to identify a list of skills and qualities needed in your successor. This phase of our Succession Planning often results in recommendations for training or mentorship well in advance of your exiting the company

  • Multi-disciplined advice: In the event that the plan involves selling all or part of the business, our experts will work with a team of advisors, including Financial experts, Accountants, Insurance Agents, Realtors and Estate Planners to determine a fair and equitable valuation for the business

  • Relationship-building: Finally, we’ll work with you to establish a comprehensive timeline for key milestones within the plan. And because our service is based on a long-term relationship, we’ll continually monitor and consult with you as your succession objectives evolve or change