Estate Planning For Business Owners Requires Special Considerations

It is important for everyone to have an estate plan in place that will detail how their assets should be distributed to their heirs and how other issues will be handled following their death. Estate planning can be especially important for business owners, but it can also be more complex. In these situations, a person may own a variety of different types of assets, and they will need to think about the future of their business while also providing for the needs of their loved ones. 

Estate Planning Issues to Address as a Business Owner

When creating an estate plan, a person will make decisions about how ownership of their assets will be handled after they die, and they can also make sure they and their family members will have the financial resources they need throughout their lifetime. Legacy planning can be especially important for business owners, and they will likely want to take steps to ensure that their accomplishments will stand the test of time and that their heirs or successors will be able to continue their work. Some issues that business owners may need to address during the estate planning process include:

• Business succession planning – Making sure a company will be able to continue operating successfully is likely to be one of a business owner’s primary concerns. A succession plan may decide how ownership of business assets will be transferred to partners or family members, ensuring that those who have been involved in the business will be able to continue the owner’s efforts in the future.
• Charitable giving – A business owner may wish to support causes they believe in, and making donations can also have some tax benefits. Using an estate plan to make charitable bequests, establish charitable trusts, or set up other types of donations can ensure that a person’s assets will be used for positive purposes both during their life and after their death.
• Asset protection – When a person has worked to build wealth, they will want to make sure the assets they own will be protected so that they can be passed down to future generations. Multiple types of strategies may be used to ensure that business assets and other types of property will be used correctly while safeguarding them from creditors.
• Tax planning – Depending on the amount of assets a person owns, federal or state estate taxes may apply following their death, and gift taxes or capital gains taxes may need to be paid if ownership of assets is transferred during a person’s lifetime. By using the proper strategies, a business owner can take steps to minimize the taxes that will apply in these cases and ensure that the value of their assets will be preserved.

Contact Our DuPage County Estate Planning Attorney for Business Owners

Business owners can make sure matters related to their business and other assets will be handled correctly by working with an attorney who has experience in both business law and estate planning. The Gierach Law Firm serves as a “one-stop shop” for business owners, and in addition to helping address legal issues that may affect a business, we work to help our clients fully understand the best ways to protect their assets and make plans that will provide for the needs of themselves, their businesses, and their families in the years to come. Contact our Naperville estate planning lawyer today by calling 630-756-1160.

Sources:

Fundera

Fidelity

Kiplinger