Business Succession Plans: What Are They?

One of The Law Group’s most enjoyable services to provide our clients is setting up a business for them, whether it’s an LLC, a corporation, or a partnership. We help our clients create a new business so that they can pursue their dreams, expand their assets, and provide for themselves and their families. While many people are informed about the values and advantages of setting up a business, fewer people consider what will happen with their business when they pass away; preparing for that eventuality is called business succession.

Do I Need One?

Business succession is related to the practice of estate planning and provides for the distribution of your business assets after you pass away. Business succession can be done in conjunction with estate planning or as a separate matter. Your interest in your business, whether it is a membership in an LLC, shares in a corporation, or interest in a partnership, are assets that have value. As such, planning for what happens to those assets when you pass away will not only allow you to provide for your heirs, but it will allow the business you built to flourish.

How Do I Get One?

The easiest way to make sure that your interest in your business is distributed the way you want is to address their passage in a corporate document, such as your operating agreement, bylaws, or partnership agreement. That way, upon your death, a defined procedure that does not necessitate going to court or going through the probate process is already in place. If directions for what you want are not in place, your assets can be tied up in probate which takes months, if not years, and the operation and ownership of your business will be problematic, complicated, and restricted until your ownership is passed along. The consequences of this delay could be catastrophic, even leading to shutting down the business because it cannot operate normally.

Where Do I Get Help?

At The Law Group of Northwest Arkansas PLLC, we make sure to address succession planning with every business we setup to avoid this problem. Even if you have an existing business, we can assist you by reviewing your corporate documents and making revisions to provide for succession. A straightforward process comprised of finding out what you want done with your business interests and drafting revisions to agreements that will ensure your goals are met, we have done succession planning for multiple clients, and we are ready to do the same for you. And while you are addressing your business, if you choose to look at your estate planning goals as part of a total package to protect what you’ve worked so hard to build, we can do that as well.