Tucson Business Succession Planning And Estate Planning For Business Owners
As Tucson estate planning attorneys, we treat succession as the next chapter of an estate plan and as a way for a legacy to pass to the next generation. When you call our firm at Benavidez Law Group, P.C., one of us answers the phone, not an automated system.
Southern Arizona has thousands of family-owned businesses, entrepreneurs and professional practices in medicine, dentistry, veterinary care, law and accounting. Most of them do not have a succession plan. Without a plan, the business and the estate can collapse.
What Business Succession Planning Is And Why Owners Skip It
Business succession planning decides who will own and run your company, when and on what terms. Many owners skip it, assuming it is only for large corporations or can wait. Yet, if a sole owner becomes disabled tomorrow, the business may freeze – no one has authority to sign checks or make decisions, and heirs may be forced into a discounted sale. As Tucson business succession planning attorneys, we build the plan to work alongside your personal estate plan.
How Tucson Owners Can Transfer A Business
A dental practice, a family farm and a downtown hotel each call for a different exit. As business succession lawyers, we help you weigh three common routes:
- Family transfer: A family business succession plan moves ownership to the next generation, often through gifts, a trust or an installment sale.
- Sale to employees: An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) lets the people already running the business buy it.
- Third-party sale: An outside buyer will expect a defensible valuation and clean records.
A buy-sell agreement sets the triggers and price. In an entity purchase, the company buys a departing owner’s interest; in a cross-purchase, the remaining owners do. A limited liability company (LLC) needs an operating agreement succession clause with member withdrawal and death provisions.
Funding The Buyout And Planning For Taxes
Life insurance on each owner usually funds the buyout, so the money for a deceased partner’s share is there when needed. A current business valuation sets a fair price and lets us plan around capital gains and estate tax so the transfer does not force a sale.
Keeping The Family And The Business Intact
In healthcare, agriculture, real estate and hospitality, where Tucson succession planning is most urgent, the hardest questions are about people, not paperwork. Which child takes over? What do the others receive? Deciding now, in writing, prevents disputes that split families and businesses.
Get Started With Your Succession Plan Today
Whether you plan to sell next year or want to prepare for the unexpected, we are business exit planning lawyers who serve owners throughout Tucson and Southern Arizona. Call us at 520-314-8954 or schedule a planning meeting before a health event decides the timing.