Business Exit Planning

All business owners realize they will eventually transition the leadership of their business, but they often don’t know what to expect or how to prepare. They are faced with tough decisions such as whether their management team, family members, an ESOP or a sale to a third party will produce the best outcome.  Our Business Exit Planning process provides education and advice on the following key issues every business owner eventually faces:

 

  • How to exit, who will help, and what needs to be done before the process begins
  • Safeguard the interests of their family, their business, and their ownership
  • Grow their retirement assets and the enterprise value of the business
  • Prepare the management team and the company for the transition
  • Plan and prepare for the income and estate tax impact of the exit

 

Ideally, we start working with businesses three to five years before a planned transition because many of the significant parts of the process need time to materialize. Through financial modeling, our clients are able to pre-experience the results of their plan, giving them confidence in their decision to exit the business and align their personal wealth goals with the goals of the business.

Succession Planning

Business Succession defines how business owners transfer their ownership, typically to an “Internal Candidate” – someone from within the enterprise who is capable of continuing the business and who has experienced the successes and struggles of the business first hand.  Business owners often find they are not well prepared for the complexities of carrying out a smooth transition.  We understand that the needs and strategies for this kind of transfer can differ from other kinds of planning, and we work closely with business owners to prepare well in advance for their eventual succession.

A smooth transition in Family Business situations may require complex structuring to solve the needs of the family. We address the compensation and wealth transfer issues of providing for children and grandchildren of both active and inactive family owners in the business. If there are no family successors, we can advise on the structure of a sale to a third party with the goal of minimizing income, gift and estate taxes while meeting the family wealth goals.

Buy/Sell Planning

Expect the unexpected is a mantra many business owners are familiar with. The unexpected loss of an owner to death or disability can be devastating to the business and its employees. We help business owners prepare for the unexpected to allow for a smoother disposition of the business on their untimely death or disability. Such preparation can help preserve the value of the business they worked so hard to build and can also safeguard their employees in an uncertain time.