If you own a family business, retirement isn't simply a matter of deciding not to
go into the office anymore. You are probably asking yourself some critical questions like...
"What happens to the business when I am no longer running it?" and
"Will I have enough money to retire?"
The family dynamic complicates the whole transition because of the relationships and emotions involved. Most
people are not comfortable discussing topics such as aging, death, and financial affairs.
Comfortable or not, succession planning should be a priority for any family business considering that more
than seven out of ten family-owned businesses fail to survive the transition from founder to second generation,
typically falling prey either to estate taxes or family discord - or both.
Developing and implementing a well-designed succession plan is essential to the survival of a family business
from one generation to the next.
We work with you and your other
trusted advisers to help you with these key issues -
- Keeping
it in the family.
Are you going to pass the business on to your family or sell it to a third
party? We help you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each of these
options.
- Who's
going to run the business when you're gone? Management and ownership are
not one and the same. You may decide to transfer management of your
business to just one of your children, but transfer equal shares of
business ownership to all your children, whether they're actively involved
in the business or not.
- Minimizing
the tax bite. The
tax burden when transitioning a family business can be significant. The
challenge is that a family business is not generally a liquid asset, but
taxes are typically due when ownership is transferred.
- Making
it fair.
Transferring family ownership often adds a tremendous amount of stress to
individual family members. We talk with each of the family members to
ensure that they feel they a getting an equitable and fair share of the
pie.
What we do for you...
Once we understand how you feel
about the key issues above, we will work with you and your team of professionals
to construct your succession plan focusing on these five issues...
- Business
Valuation
- Business
Restructuring
- Tax
Consequences
- Retirement
Projections
- Tax Projections
