We provide in-depth planning for clients that facilitates orderly and tax-advantaged intra- and inter-generational succession of family businesses. This planning usually includes:
- Buy-sell agreements
- Funding arrangements that create estate liquidity upon the business owner's death and provisions for family members who are not involved in the business
- Family partnerships
- Tenants In Common Agreements (T.I.C. Agreements)
- Deferred compensation arrangements and
- Tax-leveraged means of transferring an interest in a business such as installment sales, private annuities, sales to grantor trusts, grantor annuity trusts a/k/a GRATS and other estate freeze techniques
We are cognizant of the fact legal considerations should not be the sole “driver” of succession planning. Non-legal issues usually need to be addressed if owners of family business are to be successful in passing their business interests from one generation to the next. Such issues include: building relationships with family partners, the role of non-family executives, management succession, planning for the retiring of the current head of the family business, impacts from possible extraneous events such as divorce, training of the next generation, and compensation. We are sensitive of these issues and regularly bring them to our clients attention and we then act to facilitate discussion of these critical subjects. We can host family business retreats to address these issues outside the business environment. In succession planning it is often helpful to work with clients to create boards of advisors who can bring outside views to to the table.
We also understand the unique issues inherent in administering estates of a closely held business owners. We have successfully addressed issues such as the valuation of privately held business interests for estate tax purposes, the impacts of a lack of marketability and minority interest discounts. Qualifying for special estate tax deferral and installment payments are available to closely held business interests, as are the use of postmortem income and estate planning opportunities. Our estate administration experience aids us in planning with our clients during their lifetimes. A client may determine at some point that it the time has come to take advantage of the value of the closely held business. We are ready to assist in the areas of borrowing against the business, selling the business to insiders or third parties, or in finding a strategic investor
