You have worked hard to build your business.

Many, if not most, small businesses have no succession plan in place to deal with the eventuality that the ownership of the business will change because of retirement, death, divorce, sale or another change in the business. Failure to plan for these events can have disastrous consequences for you, your company, your family, and your employees.

At Curtis Legal Group, we have many years of experience helping businesses plan for and work through these transitions, which can include tax, probate, trust, insurance, and other considerations.

We are highly skilled at evaluating your needs, advising you about the appropriate solutions, and helping you implement the right procedures to ensure that your business changes hands with the greatest benefit to the people who depend on it.

Succession planning can include:

• Transferring the business to family members. We can assist you with estate and tax planning, agreements, business reorganization advice so that there will be a smooth transition of ownership.
• Having your business co-owners or your employees buy you out. We can create the appropriate buy-sell and other necessary agreements.
• Creating a charitable trust to handle a sale can save taxes far in excess of what will go to charity.
• Gifting stock or other company assets to family members. There are complex taxation issues involved in this type of transaction. Proper planning can avoid tax issues that can burden the company and family for years.
• Sale of the business. Sometimes the best strategy is to sell the company outright. While this may seem like an easy thing to do, there are issues to consider, such as valuing the business, tax, contract, employment law, and other issues. You need attorneys who are highly experienced in business law to guide you through the process.