Business Services
Employee Benefits Programs
Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits programs include Dental, Vision, and Health Insurance.
Short Term / Long Term Disability Income Insurance
Disability insurance plans are designed to help meet your income requirements and pay bills, should you become disabled and unable to work.
Business Succession Planning
One primary concern the business owner faces is how to ensure that their business continues to succeed after retirement or death of the owners/partners.
Business succession planning ensures a smooth transition of the business, through preparing for estate taxes or the funds for a buy-out by other partners. They detail the who, what, when, why, and how changes in ownership and management will be implemented.
A succession plan can minimize tax liabilities to heirs, preserve the strength of a company, provide security for heirs, and leave a legacy by keeping the business alive after the death of the business founder. The failure to create a business succession plan can result in the loss of the business, or large monetary loss. For example, estate taxes that can take 18-55% of a taxable estate can result in a business having to liquidate or take on debt following the owner’s death.
A typical succession plan considers these two elements:
1) the transfer of leadership and power over the business operation.
2) the transfer of assets, where the wealth in the business is given to family members (who may or may not be assuming leadership of the business)
It’s recommended that business owners start planning 5-10 years before the age of retirement. Developing a succession plan begins with the reorganization of equity, updating wills and trusts and reviewing existing insurance policies.
Business succession planning involves the following steps:
1) Obtaining a valuation of the business.
2) Deciding who is on the succession team – are they family members? Are your succession team members being tutored in how to run the business?
3) Identifying key employees, and discuss the succession plan with them.
4) Deciding: Is the succession plan part of the estate plan? Who will inherit the business?
5) Considering incorporating disability income insurance and life insurance in to the business succession plan.
6) Reviewing the completed plan annually and/or as circumstances change.
Buy-Sell Agreements
One strategy used in succession planning is the buy-sell agreement. A buy-sell agreement is a legal contract that arranges for the sale of your business interest between you and a willing buyer, in the event of your retirement, disability, or death. Other events like divorce can be included as triggering events under a buy-sell agreement. When the triggering event occurs, the buyer identified in the buy-sell agreement, is obligated to buy your interest from you or your estate at the fair market value. The buyer can be a person, a group (such as co-owners), or the business itself. The sale terms are prearranged in the buy-sell agreement, which eliminates the need for an urgent sale or sale below the fair market value in the even of the owner’s disability or death.
Business Indemnification
The sale of a business sometimes includes an indemnification provision. Indemnification is simply a promise by one person to make good certain losses that may be suffered by another person. Thus, a business seller will “indemnify” (protect) the buyer against any liabilities or losses that the buyer faces which are contrary to the buyer’s expectations. For example, the business may be asked to pay for taxes or product liability claims which arose during the time that the seller owned the business.