We’ll provide you with a comprehensive personal estate plan combined with a detailed business succession plan so that your death or incapacity will not harm our business or create a burden on your loved ones.

Below are some basic considerations for your estate plan. We will work with you to design an estate plan that is tailored to your individual needs.

1. Business succession planning

Whether you have a single owner or multiple owners makes a big difference in how to plan for death or disability. We’ll review your governing documents and recommend whether a Buy-Sell agreement or other legal document could help protect the interest of all owners.

2. Life insurance

The company should ensure it has adequate life insurance policies on all of the owners. Without life insurance, the surviving shareholders will likely have to find other ways to buy out an owner’s heirs under a Buy-Sell Agreement, and that may come from working capital or a business loan, which places a burden on the business.

3. Estate planning with a revocable trust

We often advise small business owners to include a revocable trust in their estate plan. The revocable trust should be funded, at least in part, with the business interest of the owner and will state how those interests should be distributed in the event of death.

A trust also avoids probate, which typically causes unnecessary delays and expense to the beneficiaries. For the small business owner, probate can also threaten the day to day functions of a business, but establishing a trust will avoid probate and allow the business to continue to operate.

Note: This information should not be construed as legal advice.