Heritage Law

Business Succession Planning Attorney

We specialize in working with families and business owners to minimize taxes, protect assets, and plan for their families and employees.

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An Experienced Business Succession Attorney Serving Omaha, Nebraska and Iowa

As a business owner, you have a million things to think about.  It’s very common to have so much going on in your business, from hiring staff, managing products, or keeping customer relations strong that you haven’t had time to consider the future of your business after you’re gone.  Many business owners do not have an estate plan in place, or those who do often have not updated it to ensure it is current.  

Business estate planning ensures that your business will be handled according to your wishes when you are gone.  Even if this topic isn’t a fun one, it is still an important consideration to protect your lifetime of hard work, protect your family, and ensure your legacy is passed down effectively. 

At Heritage Law we understand the steps needed to help your business be protected for the future, if you have any questions please feel free to give us a call.  We have an expansive knowledge of all areas of estate planning, including planning for Medicaid as well as trust creation and administration.  Based in Omaha, Nebraska, and serving clients across Nebraska and Iowa.  We offer free consultations, so call us today at 1-402-915-1039.

What Is Business Succession Planning?

Business succession planning is an important process to ensure your business will continue operating efficiently and capably after you are gone.

A well-thought-out succession plan guarantees that your company’s goal stays at the forefront. A strategy like this recognizes and prepares the foundation for determining successors while also putting people into order to meet your business goals.

Succession planning is often regarded as the core of any strategic plan. It’s sometimes referred to as replacement planning, estate planning, or future development.

In most cases, it is for the most powerful jobs in a company. But every position needs it. A succession plan can help make sure that there is enough talent in the right positions and that the company can work efficiently.

In a nutshell, succession planning is sourcing the best individual to fill critical jobs as needed. Through turnover strategic planning, organizations may discover and create new people to fill in the gap left by current leaders who retired, resigned, or passed away.

Key Components Of Business Succession Planning

Tips to Avoid Taxes and Avoid Probate

The fundamental method for lowering taxes is to minimize the worth of the estate. This entails dispersing your assets beyond the estate prior to the estate going through probate. Below are six tips to get you started.

Designate a beneficiary for your investments.

Registered investments and life insurance can be distributed directly to specified recipients without going through probate. If no beneficiary is named, the assets will be deemed estate earnings and would be fully taxable. To prevent this, the plans must be wrapped into the beneficiary’s registration policy, double-check that their plan is compliant.

● Allow your assets to be owned jointly.

When an asset goes immediately to a surviving spouse, taxes are typically postponed. However, once your partner dies, the deferral ends, leaving the inheritance with a significant tax burden and leaving less for the descendants. Through this, you may also think about co-owning your assets with your adult child.

● Utilize insurance products to obtain tax-free advantages.

Life insurance is a great method to reduce taxes on capital gains. Conversely, by purchasing larger insurance, the increased payout may be used to offset burial fees or other inheritance obligations. Products supplied by insurance firms, such as separated accounts and annuities, are not taxed and can transfer immediately to the beneficiaries.

● Put assets in a trust.

You can identify your family as beneficiaries when establishing a trust for holding a large asset, including real estate properties. Consequently, taxation on every capital gain generated during the trust’s life will be postponed until the trust sells or transfers title.

 ● Defer taxes by obtaining joint plan last-to-die insurance.

While two persons are covered by a single policy, a joint plan of last-to-die coverage is generally less expensive than individual plans. A joint last-to-die arrangement may also be highly beneficial once a partner has health concerns that exclude them from being eligible for health insurance. The plan would be carried by a competent partner.

● Transfer it while you’re still living.

The easiest route to avoid tax complications is to give it beforehand while you’re still able. Donations of the property could be subject to capital gains taxes.

Curious To Learn More About Business Succession Options?

If you’re still unsure, take the next step and give us a call or schedule a free consult. John Diamantis, owner of Heritage Law has a wealth of knowledge on deciding if this is right for you and can work with you through every turn towards creating a plan that suits all short-term goals as well as long term objectives.

Traditional Approaches to Succession Planning

Leaving Your Business to Your Business Partner

A buy-sell agreement’s fundamental goal is to reduce business interruptions when a triggering event demands the acquisition of one owner’s ownership by other proprietors. These are the proprietor’s death, incapacity, or the voluntarily or involuntarily dismissal of a proprietor’s position.

Buy-sell agreements safeguard both the proprietors and their families. It assists to guarantee that possession stays within the hands of individuals who established the firm and that the previous owner or owner’s successors obtain the fair market value of their share in the firm throughout the case of unanticipated events such as sickness, dissolution, or mortality.

Life Insurance as Your Protection Plan

Life insurance products safeguard your dependents against financial hardship in the event of incapacity or demise. Insurance has become a useful instrument for dealing with any financial consequences of life’s unpredictability.

Life insurance may act as a safety net, presenting you with money set aside once you or your loved ones require it in the future. With this, insurance options can even be tailored to your specific needs based on your stage of life.

Life insurance is indeed a good resource as a protection plan from the financial consequences of life’s challenges. It may now also be used to accelerate your capacity to achieve the objectives of your beneficiaries.

Extra Benefits of Buy-Sell Agreements

  • Allows surviving owners to acquire a deceased owner’s interest as soon as possible, avoiding the deceased’s ownership from becoming tied up for probate and removing the prospect of the deceased’s legal successor becoming a participating shareholder.

  • It drives up the market for the leaving owner’s share of the company when none existed prior to the arrangement, plus establishes each owner’s share of the company.

  • It establishes an agreed value for the acquisition of an owner’s interests, removing the need for expensive and lengthy litigation processes.

  • It prohibits a rupture in administration or voting control in the company.

  • Job stability is ensured for retaining minority owners plus crucial non-owner personnel.

  • Guarantees that a deceased owner’s descendant receives reimbursement for the former owner’s ownership.

Entity Purchase Agreements

An entity-purchase agreement is a form of company succession plan used mostly by businesses with multiple owners. Typically, the plan entails the firm purchasing insurance coverage for each partner within an amount equivalent to the value of their investment. If an owner dies or becomes disabled, the insurance proceeds are utilized to purchase out their part of the firm.

An entity-purchase agreement could also be alluded to as a stock redemption agreement, an organizational purchase deal, or an organization redemption arrangement if the company is really a corporation. The entity-purchase agreement may be referred to as a partnership liquidation plan in the event of a partnership.

A buy and sell agreement is one type of buy and sell agreement. It’s a legally binding agreement applicable to sole proprietorships, partnerships, and limited corporations that specifies how an owner’s interest in an organization may be transferred when that person dies or otherwise exits the company.

The benefit of an entity-purchase agreement succession plan would be that the owners are aware that their separate holdings in the firm will be compensated out from their estates, so the organization will be operated by the remaining owners, guaranteeing a peaceful succession.

Cross-purchase Agreements

A cross-purchase agreement is a legal contract that permits a company’s partners or other stockholders to acquire a partner’s equity or shares if that partner passes away, gets unfit, or quits. Within the case of a death, the procedure frequently depends on the life insurance policy to allow the transfer of property.

A cross-purchase agreement is typically used throughout business succession planning, where the contract describes how the surviving partners’ interests can be split or acquired, including a proportionate distribution based on every partner’s interest in the firm.

A cross-purchase agreement is a form of buy-sell transaction. When interest becomes suddenly available, a cross-purchase arrangement is put into effect. As a backup plan in the event of a partner’s death, partners will most likely purchase permanent insurance products for partners and name themselves as the beneficiaries.

When one of their partners passes away, the proceeds from the life insurance policy can then be used to purchase the deceased’s share. A cross-purchase agreement could be perfect, in most cases, where there are only a few owners of the same age.

When many partners are required to acquire insurance products from each other, the agreement may become complicated. Conversely, if there are several participants of different age groups and health conditions, the agreement may become difficult and costly to enforce.

Hence, in the case of a cross-purchase agreement, a partner or shareholder can purchase the interest of the incapacitated partner.

Get Guidance From a Business Succession Planning Attorney

It’s not easy for business owners to manage the legal, financial, and tax aspects of owning a business. Having a trusted business lawyer available can assist with navigating the maze of business ownership.

It's time to plan for the future of your business

Heritage Law will help you work with your overall estate plan so that your business and personal life are integrated. We consider everything from your business’s legal, financial, and tax aspects to ensure that it’s in line with your estate plan. We are available for a consultation with you to discuss any of your business needs.

We are excited to have you as a potential customer and would love the opportunity to discuss how we can help protect your business. If you’d like, give us a call today at 1-402-915-1039 for a free consultation.

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