 I have been blogging about business law and estate planning issues for a few months now and one client asked me " I love your posts but why do you do it? Why do you get out of bed and do this work everyday?" I realized that I have not told my story to too many people so here it is...I am the daughter of an entrepreneur/business owner who, while he may not have known it at the time, taught me so much about business and I have always wanted to do something with what I have learned from him. I also really liked estate planning and tax issues in law school. I never had thought about combing the two until later on. As far back as I can remember my dad had his own business (he did work for others when i was little, but that was before I really had any idea of what he did). I remember what it was like when times were good in the business and I also remember what it was like when we ate Hamburger Helper ... a lot!. I knew how it felt when my mom had to tell me that we couldn't afford something that I wanted and on the other hand I also remember what it felt like to be called a spoiled kid by others. I tried my best not to be a spoiled kid and my parents certainly did not give me everything I wanted. As I grew up I realized how lucky I was to have a dad that had his own business and the flexibility that was allowed him and our family. I remember knowing that I got to do a lot of things that other people did not have the chance to experience. I remember my dad going to work very early in the morning ( mostly because my room was over the garage and he work me up when he left)! I remember him coming home to eat and then go back to the office. How my older sister and brother worked in the business and how we all identified with it. I remember working there while in junior high and high school, and that my dad's partner was /is like a second dad to me, how our families are intertwined still to this day. It was as if I had a third sibling or another member of our family even if I didn't always recognize it. Many years after I had left my parents home, after college and law school ( thanks to my dad and the business I had no student loans) and well into my career as an attorney..... I still can distinctly remember the evening that my father had told us that he sold the business. I remember the feeling of being happy for him and his partner because we had all known that they were ready to be done with the business and move on. I remember the heart sinking feeling and thinking "you did WHAT?!?!". I remember the gift he gave to each of us as a result of that business and that he acknowledged that we had shared in the success and perseverance of this business too. That he knew that it was a part if us as well. I also remember my estate planning lawyer bells going off because the gifting that he had just done after the sale, could have been done before the sale, could have been put in trust, or could have been part of a family limited liability structure or any number of strategic gifting methods could have been used....and at a discounted value which would have subjected my dad to less income tax upon the sale and less or no gift tax upon making the gifts to us. I remember thinking of a way to fix this and coming up with an idea for promisorry notes and a return of the loan funds using my dad's annual gift tax exclusion giving. This is when it became clear to me that this was my niche. That many business owners see their business from one view point - whether it be their eventual retirement vehicle/plan, their income generator, their life's work, their greatest accomplishment, who they are, how they provide for their family, what they do or even as an extension of themselves. There are viewpoints that are often overlooked. The business as an asset, as a tax tool, as a means to accomplish long term goals, as something that needs protection and as part of their estate that needs planning for. I like getting to know a business owner and their business. I like getting to know their families and finding out how everyone is connected to the business. I understand the connection they have to it based on my own life experience. I understand the shift it takes to even imagine an exit from this business. I understand the issues that keep them up at night. I like to know the details and be trusted to help keep them in line, to help a business owner keep their focus on what the business does and its growth rather than the side issues that can complicate things. I like to make owning a business easier for my clients using creative tools to help them be more tax efficient, and to accomplish long term goals as well as short tern tax strategies. |
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