Coordinating Your Estate Plan With Your Business

Your personal estate plan and your company's governing documents should not contradict one another.

For example, your will or trust might state that a business interest should pass to a particular beneficiary, while an operating agreement, partnership agreement, or buy-sell agreement places restrictions on that transfer.

That can create unnecessary complications.

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Groce Law Firm helps business owners examine how their wills, trusts, powers of attorney, beneficiary arrangements, ownership documents, and business agreements work together.

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The goal is to create a plan that reflects both your personal wishes and the realities of operating your business.

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Business Succession Planning

Eventually, every business owner leaves the company.

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The transition might happen through retirement, a sale, a transfer to family members, a change in ownership, disability, or death.

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A business succession plan addresses what happens next.

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Questions worth considering include:

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Who should take over the business?
You may want a child, family member, partner, key employee, or another individual to assume ownership or management.

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Does that person actually want the business?
A successful succession strategy should consider both your intentions and the capabilities and goals of the future owner.

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How will ownership be transferred?
Different transfer strategies can create different legal, financial, and tax consequences.

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How will other family members be treated?
If one child inherits the business while others do not, your broader estate plan may need to address how other assets are distributed.

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What happens if the transition occurs unexpectedly?
Succession planning should consider incapacity and premature death, not just a planned retirement.

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Planning these issues before a transition becomes necessary can give you and your family significantly more options.

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Wills and Trusts for Business Owners

Wills and trusts can play important roles in a business owner's estate plan.

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A will can provide instructions for distributing property and identify individuals responsible for administering your estate.

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Trusts may provide additional control over how assets are managed and transferred to beneficiaries.

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For a business owner, these documents should be prepared with the company's ownership structure and succession strategy in mind.

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Your estate-planning documents may need to coordinate with LLC interests, corporate shares, partnership interests, real estate, investment accounts, retirement assets, and other property.

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Groce Law Firm helps business owners consider these assets as part of the overall plan rather than treating the business as an afterthought.

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Planning for Incapacity as a Business Owner

Estate planning isn't only about what happens after death.

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Consider what would happen if an illness or injury suddenly prevented you from making financial or business decisions.

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• Who could access necessary accounts?

• Who would have authority to handle your personal financial affairs?

• Who would make decisions involving the company?

• Would your business partners or employees know what to do?

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Powers of attorney and other planning documents can be particularly important for business owners because an owner's unexpected absence can affect far more than the individual.

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Your personal incapacity plan should also coordinate with the company's existing management and ownership structure.

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Buy-Sell Agreements and Ownership Transfers

Businesses with multiple owners should consider what happens when one owner dies, becomes disabled, retires, or wants to leave the company.

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A properly structured buy-sell agreement can establish rules for these situations before a disagreement or emergency occurs.

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Depending on the circumstances, an agreement may address who can purchase an ownership interest, how that interest will be valued, what events trigger a purchase, and how the transaction will occur.

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These agreements should also be reviewed as part of the owner's estate and succession planning.

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Estate Planning and Business Taxes

Business ownership can make tax planning an especially important part of an estate strategy.

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The way a business or ownership interest is transferred can have tax consequences for the owner, the company, and future beneficiaries.

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At Groce Law Firm, estate planning does not have to occur separately from tax planning.

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Our team can consider how your business structure, ownership interests, estate plan, and long-term objectives interact from both a legal and tax perspective.

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This can be especially valuable for owners of established companies, family businesses, and individuals whose businesses represent a significant portion of their wealth.

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Planning for a Family Business

Passing a company to the next generation can be rewarding, but it can also create complicated family and financial issues.

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One child may work in the business while another does not. Multiple children may have different levels of interest in becoming owners. The business may represent most of the parents' wealth, making it difficult to divide an estate equally without disrupting the company.

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These issues are easier to address before ownership changes.

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A coordinated estate and succession plan can help establish how ownership will transition while also addressing the owner's broader goals for family members and beneficiaries.

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Selling a Business as Part of Your Estate Plan

Succession doesn't always mean passing the company to another generation.

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For some owners, selling the business is the preferred exit strategy.

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If the eventual sale of your company will help fund retirement or provide wealth for your family, that goal should be considered as part of your broader estate and financial planning.

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Groce Law Firm can help business owners evaluate the legal and tax considerations surrounding a potential sale and coordinate those decisions with their estate plans.

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Why Business Owners Choose Groce Law Firm

Business owners often work with several separate professionals: an attorney, accountant, tax professional, estate planner, and business advisor.

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That can make complicated decisions even more difficult when each professional is looking at only one part of the picture.

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Groce Law Firm takes an integrated approach.

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Our experience with business law, estate planning, and tax matters allows us to evaluate how a decision in one area may affect another.

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For a business owner, that means we can consider questions such as:

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• How does my business structure affect my estate plan?

• How should my ownership interest eventually transfer?

• What happens to the company if I become incapacitated?

• How could a transfer affect my taxes?

• How should my estate plan coordinate with my operating or partnership agreements?

• How can I prepare my business for the next generation?

• What should happen if my family doesn't want to continue the business?

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The objective is not simply to prepare documents. It is to develop a plan for you, your family, and the business you have built.

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Estate Planning for Hurst and North Texas Business Owners

Groce Law Firm is located at 1060 W. Pipeline Road, Suite 110, Hurst, Texas 76053.

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We work with entrepreneurs, professionals, small business owners, family businesses, and established companies in Hurst and throughout North Texas.

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Whether you're still growing your company, preparing for retirement, considering a future sale, or beginning to think about passing the business to the next generation, now is a good time to make sure your estate and business plans work together.

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Talk With a Hurst Estate Planning Attorney

You have spent years building your business. Your estate plan should help protect the value you've created and provide clear direction for what happens next.

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Groce Law Firm helps business owners coordinate estate planning, business succession, business law, and tax planning around their long-term goals.

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Contact Groce Law Firm to schedule a consultation with a Hurst estate planning attorney and discuss how your personal estate plan should coordinate with the future of your business.