Pasadena Business Succession Planning Lawyers Help Small Companies
Helping small businesses develop a strategy to prepare for retirement or loss
In California and across the United States, most businesses are small. Many of these companies are family operated. Many others are partnerships. The loss of a partner or business owner through death or retirement can cause turmoil when the organization has not adequately prepared. Business succession planning is the use of estate planning tools to help guide and secure your business’s future when you retire or die unexpectedly. At Alkana Law, we have been helping companies create succession plans for more than 40 years. Attorney Eugene Alkana provides experienced service to partnerships and organizations in the Pasadena area.
How can a business succession plan help you?
Proper succession planning is crucial for family-owned businesses. When the head of the company leaves or passes away, there should already be a plan in place to pass control to a family member or, alternatively, to sell the business or bring in management personnel. Organizations are most likely to succeed when planning starts early and decisions are based on business needs rather than emotion. Our firm can help you create a plan that works for your family and update that plan as situations change.
What goes into an effective succession plan?
Your attorney will help you look within your business to identify employees with the right skills to lead in the future. These employees should be groomed for leadership by allowing them to work in each critical area of the business. Your attorney will help you set a timetable for your departure and shifting the control of the business to its next leader. When the owner of a company installs his or her successor during their own lifetime, the organization is more likely to survive upon the owner’s death or retirement. Our next step will be to plan your departure and your own financial future. Your Pasadena estate planning lawyer can help you understand how your decisions will impact your family and your business.
Offering alternative solutions to business owners
Not every small business will be passed down to a family member. Depending on your circumstances, this option could be impossible, inadvisable or unnecessary. Other options include:
- Selling your business interest. You can sell your business, or your share of a business, in exchange for money or other assets.
- Buy-sell agreements. This planning tool allows for the automatic sale of your ownership, triggered by chosen events such as death or retirement.
- Family limited partnerships. This method requires establishing a partnership and then transferring the business to that partnership. Attorney Eugene Alkana can help you understand whether this is the right tool for your family.
- Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) and grantor retained unitrusts (GRUTs) allow you to transfer your interest in the company while still receiving an income for a certain amount of time.
- Private annuities. This tool transfers your business interests to someone else in exchange for annual payments for as long as you live.
- Self-cancelling installment notes. SCINs involve a promissory note, allowing for the immediate transfer of a business, followed by a series of payments.
No matter which option you choose, planning is key to success. We help families and businesses make the right choices for a smooth transfer of power and an equitable transfer of business interests.
Trust the future of your business to an attorney with experience
When it comes to the future or your family and the future of your business, planning is essential. At Alkana Law, we understand how hard you’ve worked to build both your family and your company, and we are dedicated to making sure they are taken care of once you are gone. Our team serves clients in Pasadena and throughout the eastern Los Angeles County area. Call us now at (626) 796-8170 or contact us online to plan a free phone consultation.
