Business Succession Planning
Proper business succession planning is vital for privately-held business owners, especially owners of family-owned businesses, to ensure the business survives the death or incapacity of the current owners. Jackson Walker’s Trusts & Estates attorneys work with owners of privately-held businesses of all sizes and in many different industries. There are multiple issues for owners to consider in developing a plan, including future leadership, family dynamics, fairness among family members, estate taxes, liquidity, and provisions for key employees. Professionals who advise privately-held business owners must factor all such issues into their advice.
The Trusts & Estates attorneys at Jackson Walker are able to assist our privately-held business owner clients in structuring their businesses and related estate plans to create a successful succession plan. With our vast experience, we are skilled at providing legal and tax advice to our privately-held business owner clients. We work closely with our clients to plan, design, and implement advanced strategies to enable an efficient transfer of the business ownership at the appropriate time based on the client’s desires. We utilize various strategies to assist our clients in meeting their goals, including buy-sell arrangements, life insurance planning, recapitalizations, employment contracts, and appropriate estate tax planning techniques (such as sales to grantor trusts, GRATs, and family limited partnerships). We understand that each business and family is unique, and we base our advice on our clients’ specific needs and goals.
