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For people actively engaged in running a company or other business entity, estate plans can often include a controlling interest or significant stock assets. Even you only hold stock in an investment account, determining what they wish to happen to those assets in the future is vital for both you and your heirs.
Our trusted estate planning attorney can help you can control the future of your business by enacting a business succession plan. These estate planning documents exist as supplements to traditional wills. They can also serve as contingency plans in the event of an unexpected injury or illness. Our Fort Lauderdale business succession planning lawyers can explain your options for future business planning and draft the documents necessary to give those options the required legal impact.
One function that a business succession plan may serve is to divide business assets between your heirs after you pass away. Much like in a traditional will, a plan exists to prevent a probate court from distributing property according to the rules of intestacy.
For instance, Florida Statute § 732.102 states that if a person dies without a will and has a surviving spouse, that spouse will inherit the entire estate, including the business. This could result in someone who had no hand in the company obtaining full control after an owner’s passing.
This statute may apply even if a business owner has a valid will. If that will is silent concerning a person’s business holdings, a probate court may apply this statute. For this reason, it is essential for all wills to make provisions for a party’s business holdings or to enact a separate business succession plan.
Our competent Fort Lauderdale attorney can write the appropriate documents to ensure your business assets go to the parties most likely to run it well after you are no longer around to do so.
While business succession plans can be part of your estate planning for after your death, these documents can also provide short-term protection if you are ever incapacitated. Many business owners have these plans in place in case they are unable to keep a direct hand in running their companies. These plans can nominate a new controlling owner, leave instructions for a board of directors, or even order the sale of your shares or LLC membership.
Finally, you may also use a business succession plan to control an eventual retirement. This can result in a scheduled winding down of your business obligations and dictate what should happen to the company in the future. Let our experienced lawyer in Fort Lauderdale help evaluate the needs of your company and craft strategies that safeguard your company’s future.
Your role as the owner or significant stockholder of a company means that your business assets are a major part of your estate. Any estate plan that you craft must properly distribute these assets. This can involve including this property as part of your will or crafting separate business succession documents as a part of a larger estate plan.
Our Fort Lauderdale business succession planning lawyer is ready to help. They can work to evaluate the extent of your company assets, listen to your desires for what is to happen to those assets in the future, and even draft plans that help plan for eventual retirement or that protect against future potential disasters. Reach out to learn more.
