Business Succession Planning
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 100 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. A full-service law firm, over 45 attorneys provide clients with a one-stop approach to their legal needs. Ruder Ware, Business Attorneys for Business Success.
Posted on January 9, 2024 by Ruth M. Ross
As people begin to think about passing on their assets to the next generation, some consider gifting to their children during their life, rather than passing their assets by inheritance at their death. Possible motivations for this type of transfer include transferring ownership of a business to a child or the protection of assets in […]
Posted on December 28, 2023 by Linda M. Danielson
There is a lot of confusion about estate planning. This is understandable. Most people don’t deal with these issues on a regular basis, and planning for what happens when we die or become incapacitated isn’t something most of us like to think or talk about. Common misconceptions about estate planning include: 1. Having a will […]
Posted on October 23, 2023 by Mykayla A. Dado
When your days are consumed with running a business, it can be hard to look ahead towards tomorrow’s to-do list, much less towards a to-do list for something far in the future, like estate planning. If you’ve pushed off putting in writing what will happen to your business once you’re gone, it’s time to tackle […]
Posted on April 11, 2023 by Shanna N. Yonke
Many clients wonder who is responsible for planning their funeral, selecting burial or cremation, and making other arrangements after their death. Some clients ask what happens if family members disagree about these matters. In Wisconsin, there is a default law that dictates who has the authority to make these decisions after your death. The default […]
Posted on December 15, 2022 by Ashley L. Hawley
When I meet with new clients I have them fill out what we refer to as our estate planning “questionnaire.” Basically, a form that asks them to insert personal information on the first two pages and financial information on pages 3-5. Page one asks about marital status and page two asks the potential client to […]
Posted on November 15, 2022 by Shanna N. Yonke
In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote a blog post on how to create a valid will in Wisconsin. At the time, we were all stuck at home by government order, and many clients signed their wills without a notary public. Signing a will without a notary public was a short-term fix during […]
Posted on September 22, 2022 by Ashley L. Hawley
My husband just recently opened a new account at one of those online, do-it-yourself, investment companies. He promises that with the tiny amount of money I was willing to allow him to experiment with that he will make us tons of money. After he got the account set up, he asked me to sit beside […]
Posted on June 21, 2022 by Shanna N. Yonke
One of the most common questions asked by our clients is, “What is the difference between a will and a trust, and which is right for me?” Last week, I provided a brief summary of the differences between these two common estate planning tools in a vlog. You can view the vlog here. In this […]
Posted on February 23, 2022 by Shanna N. Yonke
Spring officially begins on March 20th – less than one month away. In Wisconsin, that means wedding planning is in full swing. One important item on many wedding planning to-do lists is a pre-nuptial agreement. We hear a lot about “pre-nups” in pop culture. One of the most iconic pop culture references is in the […]
Posted on February 22, 2022 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Wendell knew he needed a financial power of attorney document in order to make sure he named someone to manage his finances and take care of his business if he was ever unable to do so on his own. However, Wendell was busy and didn’t want to take the time or spend the money to […]
More Insights...
