Answering Your Questions Regarding Business Succession
When transferring ownership of a business, how will you protect your business interests? Every business owner should have a solid business succession plan in place to guide the handling of a business in the event of retirement, incapacitation or death. Having a thorough business succession plan in place is critical to maintaining the viability of your business and ensuring your successors, whether they are family members or heirs, are in the right position to take over.
The attorneys at Wick & Trautwein, LLC, have been helping business owners in Fort Collins and northern Colorado find solutions to their business needs for more than 40 years. We have extensive experience drafting comprehensive business succession plans for individuals and businesses. We can help you make sure you are prepared for any eventuality.
Tailored Business Succession Planning
What do you want to happen to your business when you retire or leave the business? The right business succession plan will depend on how your business is structured and your individual goals with respect to your business interests. Our clients come to us for help with:
- Partnerships: Cross-purchase agreements give partners the right to buy back a business interest using key man life insurance policies. We also draft redemption agreements to enable businesses to buy back your interest. If a partner plans to leave the business, are there going to be any restrictions on competition?
- Family business: With many family businesses, it is often important to find a way to ensure that family members are able to maintain ownership of a family business. Finding a way to do this while ensuring a fair distribution of business interest is important. We can also work through specific family issues such as spendthrifts or drafting a marital trust to protect the business interest from a spouse in the event of remarriage.
- Franchises: Individuals who own franchises have special considerations to think about. Language in the franchise agreement may restrict how a business is transferred. In multiple franchise situations, there could be different terms governing each contract.
As with any transfer of assets, there are also important tax implications to be considered. Our lawyers can advise you of the best way to handle your business succession to minimize your tax liability. Whatever your business objectives, we can create a business succession plan to meet your needs.
Is Your Business Prepared To Handle An Emergency?
Unfortunately, business succession often takes place after a business owner or partner passes away, becomes disabled or incapacitated in some way. The following are some critical questions that must be answered to prepare for such an event:
- Who will handle the ongoing day-to-day operations?
- How will the successors get up to speed on day-to-day operations?
- What steps can be taken to ensure minimal impact on vendors and other client relationships?
An emergency management plan will ensure the business can continue to function in the event that an owner or partner is unable to continue.
Comprehensive Succession Planning Solutions To Meet Your Needs
Because our practice encompasses many intersecting areas of law, we are able to help you plan for the future with the big picture in mind. To talk to one of our attorneys about creating your business succession plan, call 970-482-4011 or complete our online contact form.