 The other day I was at my mother's house with my sister and my mom pulled us into her bedroom and sat us down. It was a little scary, but then she pulled out all of her jewelry and said its time to have some fun! She wanted us to tell her which pieces we wanted when she was no longer here and to tell us what she had already set aside for my niece. I reminded her that she also needed to put something aside for my brother even though he was not there with us. It brought her joy to hear the stories that we associated with the jewelry, hear her stories of pieces that had been handed down to her and peace of mind for her to know that her prized jewels were going to be in good hands.When you are a business owner, you do not often think of your business as an asset or the same way as you would a family jewel that needs to be passed on, cared for and stewarded. It is often assumed that the business will just be taken over by your children, your management team ( if they are not one and the same) or that it will be sold. Your business is so much more than an entity that defines what you do for a living. As the child of an entrepreneur I know that my family's business was a very special part of my growing up and was a member of our family just as much as I or any of my siblings. It unified us many times and was something that were all proud of even thought it was really my Dad's business. It was also a source of many family stories and lessons as well. Business owners put so much into the business and its success that they often "forget" to or avoid planning for the longevity of the company beyond their time there. What happens to it when they can no longer do that or be there? It is important to consider whether the business will go to your children and if so, which ones or all of them? Do all of your children work of have an interest in the business? only some of them or none? What about children-in-law? How will you equalize assets between the children who work in the business and those who do not. Do you want it to go to your children at all? What about loyal management employees who are not family members? Who knows the history of the company and its origins and original values and stories? The history of your company and how it has handled its ups and downs often says a lot about it's values and the value proposition that the business brings to its customers. Speaking of customers, who has the relationships with them? Who will take care of them in your absence? Succession planning is about more than just a life insurance policy to make sure that the lights stay on and the workers get paid. Your Business attorney should be helping you with this type of thinking at least once a year until you have a plan in place and then even after that - keep up with you to make sure that it is up to date. Long term planning will make your business more valuable when you are ready to pass it on Crown and all! |
 |
||||||||||||||||
 
Categoriesaging parentsAnnuity asset management Attorney bankruptcy Business Business law' business taxes business valuation buy sell agreement caregiver charitable annuity Charitable lead trust Charitable Remainder Trust Charity compassion compliance contracts copyright corpoation corporation criminal disability dissolution divorce DIY Legal employment Estate Planning exit strategy Family Business Family Foundation financing foundation fraud guardians Insurance Insurance products intestate leases Legal Zoom Life Insurance Limited liability LLC LLP married minor children no will partnership patent power of attorney real estate regulations retirement Revocable trust Rocket Lawyer sale of business service mark single succession planning tax savings taxes trade secret trademark Trust trust distributions trusted advisor trustee Uniform Gifts to Minors Act vendor Virtual Law Office Wills
|
|
 |
||||||||||||||
    |
||||||||||||||||
