Business succession planning is essential to the future of your life’s work – your business. A business succession plan involves issues of ownership, management, and tax savings to create a smooth transition of your business to future owners. The existence of a succession plan sends the message that you’re committed to your business’ long-term growth and assures the confidence of your customers, lenders, employees, and key suppliers.
The concerns facing business owners are unique – we respond by creating plans that will adapt to the changes you will inevitably encounter. Whether your situation is straightforward or complex, our attorneys are able to implement creative and flexible strategies to fulfill your personal and business needs. We will work closely with you to discover your personal goals and objectives, identify potential pitfalls, and develop innovative solutions.
For over 80 years, our attorneys have counseled business owners and families on various succession strategies designed to maximize business value and minimize state and federal taxes. Specific services include:
- Buy-sell contracts (cross-purchase or entity repurchase)
- Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)
- Merger/sales to third parties on a taxable, tax-deferred or tax-free basis through one-on-one negotiations, controlled auction and broader auction
- Stock option and restrictive stock plans for key employees
- Gifting and other techniques with family members, including installment sales, grantor retained annuity trusts, redemptions, installment sales to grantor trusts, insurance trusts and other like arrangements
- Recapitalizations to create preferred or nonvoting stock
- Recapitalizations to extract value with a simultaneous investment by an investor
- Long-term employment arrangements
- Deferred compensation and salary continuation plans
- Ownership of business assets outside the business entity (e.g., intellectual property or real estate)
Our attorneys encourage a team approach and will work directly with your accountant, financial planner, life insurance agent, and other professional advisors to ensure the various components of your succession plan are properly integrated.
Founded in 1920, Ruder Ware provides business, employment, estate planning, and litigation services through its offices in Wausau, Eau Claire, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. A full-service law firm, over 40 attorneys provide clients with a one-stop approach to their legal needs. Ruder Ware, Business Attorneys for Business Success.
Posted on June 24, 2020 by Shanna N. Yonke
Yesterday, the IRS issued additional guidance regarding two hot topics over the last six months: the waiver of the 2020 required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement plans and IRAs, and the change in the required beginning date for RMDs from age 70 ½ to age 72. Extension and Expansion of 60-Day Rollover for 2020 RMDs […]
Posted on May 7, 2020 by Melissa S. Kampmann
On the same day we published the article My Deceased Family Member Received a COVID-19 Stimulus Check, Now What? the IRS provided guidance on how to return stimulus payments that were made under the CARES Act to deceased individuals. If your deceased family member or relative received a paper check by mail, you should follow these […]
Posted on May 6, 2020 by Melissa S. Kampmann
There has been significant publicity surrounding the issue of deceased individuals receiving stimulus checks under the CARES Act. It is far more common than you may think, simply because of the speed in which our government operated to send out the payments. The stimulus checks were issued to individuals that met certain income requirements and […]
Posted on April 29, 2020 by Mark J. Bradley and Jessica A. Merkel
Maybe you were informed ahead of time or maybe you found out when you were first called upon to act. In any event, someone (a parent, a sibling, a friend, a neighbor) named you as their agent or attorney-in-fact under a Wisconsin power of attorney for finances.[1] Now what?[2] What Are Your Rights and Responsibilities? […]
Posted on April 17, 2020 by Shanna N. Yonke
In our recent blog post, The Early Bird RMD Doesn’t Get the Tax Relief Worm, we provided guidance regarding the suspension of required minimum distributions (RMDs) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). We advised that if you already took your RMD for 2020, the CARES Act may allow you […]
Posted on April 15, 2020 by Melissa S. Kampmann and Ashley L. Hawley
As many churches in our area celebrated Easter in their parking lots or over video recordings, we cannot help but think what impact the coronavirus is having on not just churches but other local nonprofit organizations in our communities. Loss of jobs or lowered salaries have left many people cutting non-essential expenses, including club memberships […]
Posted on April 6, 2020 by Shanna N. Yonke and Melissa S. Kampmann
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) into law on March 27, 2020. Ruder Ware’s COVID-19 Focus Team provided a summary of the CARES Act in a previous blog post. In that post, they mentioned that the CARES Act suspends most required […]
Posted on March 31, 2020 by Shanna N. Yonke
In our blog post on estate planning in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Melissa Kampmann and I noted that it isn’t possible to create a valid will in Wisconsin without two witnesses, and it isn’t the best practice to create a will without two witnesses and a notary public. But there’s more to creating […]
Posted on March 20, 2020 by Melissa S. Kampmann and Shanna N. Yonke
In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many people are stocking up on food and other supplies to get them through prolonged periods of quarantine and government-ordered shutdowns. Schools are closed and in some locations, businesses are also closing doors to visitors. Yet people are concerned about planning for a potential incapacity or even […]
Posted on March 20, 2020 by Amy E. Ebeling
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced via Twitter that the tax filing deadline for federal income tax returns has been extended by 90 days to July 15, 2020. Earlier this week, the federal government extended the time for individuals and businesses to pay their federal income tax by 90 days, but did not extend the filing […]
More Insights...
