You’ve worked hard, weathered the storms, and proved yourself to be valuable and trustworthy to your customers. All the time and energy you’ve spent creating something wonderful have put you in a position to take care of yourself and your family.
Now that you have this successful venture to your name, do you know what would happen to your business if something were to happen to you? This is where business succession comes into play. If you have a business you hope will continue on after your death, you need to make sure you have a plan in place.
It is estimated that upwards of 25% of people involved in a family business are entering their senior years without any specific succession set up for their business. What many business owners fail to realize is that a simple will is not going to be sufficient in dictating what should happen to their business in the event of their death.
In its simplest form, a business succession will detail out all of your wishes for your business partners and heirs to follow should you no longer be able to continue with the business. In this succession plan you should include, at minimum, the following:
The final goal of a business succession plan is to have clearly established and documented objectives for your business’s future. You also want to make sure that you provide your successors with a detailed picture of the company’s resources – both financial and human.
When establishing these objectives here are a few questions you can ask yourself to get started:
It is important to keep in mind, however, that while creating your goals and objective is crucial to your business’s succession, it is not everything. You need to make sure that the other key stakeholders are on board and that your plan is documented in a way that will ensure it is followed.
We can help. Working alongside an experienced business succession lawyer will help make sure that there are no gaps in your plan or loopholes that could be exploited. At Stafford Law Firm, we are here to make sure your legacy lives on and your beloved business is in good hands for generations to come.
As a business owner and a successful entrepreneur, you have probably thought a lot about what you will leave behind. Naturally, you want to make sure that your family and the work you have done will live long into the future.
In the event you are no longer able to serve your role at your business, such as in the event of your passing or becoming incapacitated, you will want to be confident that your business and your legacy are in good hands.
Decisive and well-documented business succession planning is a crucial and often overlooked step by many business owners. With the help of an experienced business succession planning attorney, you can be confident that your business will survive the unthinkable.
After you have formed your business entity and you have taken all of the necessary steps to protect your current business operations (such as legal agreements, necessary insurance, and protection of intellectual property) we will then shift the focus towards protecting the future.
Any good business plan needs to take into consideration the eventual exit of the owners and other key stakeholders. This exit could be due to selling the business at a certain point, stepping down due to illness, or passing the business on after your death. Each of these scenarios needs to be considered and well planned out long before the event occurs. This will ensure that when it comes time for the business to be passed on, the succession will take place as smoothly as possible.
We will work together to determine what steps need to be taken right now to protect your business, the work you do, and the wellbeing of your clients no matter what may happen to you down the line. These are important and often emotional considerations but we have the experience necessary to make sure your legacy is fully protected.
The sooner you can begin working on your business succession plan, the better off you will be. The questions you will need to ask yourself during this process are not simple and they will take some careful deliberation. Additionally, many of the pieces of your plan may take some time to put into place. In order to protect your future and the future of your business, you need to start as soon as possible.
Give us a call today for a free consultation to understand more about business succession planning and how you can protect your legacy.
We are here to protect you, your family, and your business. Schedule a free consultation to discuss the best way to protect your future.
Writing a business succession plan is a complicated process and one that should not necessarily be done alone. You will want to make sure that your business succession plan includes details on the current state of the business as well as your wishes for how it should continue to operate if you were to step down or were no longer able to manage the operations.
Businesses need to undergo succession planning in order to prepare themselves for a situation where one of the owners needs to step down or passes away. Without a clearly documented plan, figuring out a company’s succession could cause severe tension and in-fighting.
The owners of a business need to hold themselves accountable for creating a detailed succession plan for what would happen if one of them were to pass away or needed to step down for any reason.
Since each business and organization is unique, no two business succession plans will be the same. In general, most succession plans should at least include a succession timeline, standard operating procedures, ideal successors, and a valuation of the business.
