If you have a business, you probably realize that you have to make some kind of plan for what happens to it when you pass away. Your estate plan, the one that you would use to handle all of your personal assets, can actually be quite useful here. When you work with a Washtenaw County estate planning attorney, we can also help you make plans for what happens to your company or stake in one.
What Plans Can You Make for a Business?
When you make your business a part of your estate plan, you can decide what you are going to do with it and your assets when you pass away. Common options include:
Leaving it to a child: If you have a grown child who wants to run the business, leaving it to them is a good choice.
Selling your stake: Maybe this company does not just belong to you. If you have business partners, you might want to give them some way to buy your stake in the company after you pass away.
Liquidation: You do not think that any of your loved ones want to take over your company, so make a provision of your estate plan the complete selloff of your business and any related assets. This can be a nice chunk of change for your beneficiaries.
If you do not make your own plan, the state will decide where these assets go for you. Your company’s assets could end up divided between multiple relatives. This is rarely ideal when a business is involved, so this is why making a plan is a must.
What Should I Do Before Making My Estate Plan?
Before you make an estate plan, talk to your business partners and family members. You want to make sure that everyone is on the same page. If you have a plan for your stake in your company, make sure that your partners are aware of it. Otherwise, they might try to tie your relatives up in litigation after you pass away.
Take the time to talk to your family members too. Is anyone actually interested in taking on the family company? If everyone already has their own career or other obligations, then you do not want to burden someone with a business they simply do not have time to run.
Do I Need an Estate Planning Attorney to Protect My Business?
Making an estate plan is rarely easy, and it only gets more complicated as you introduce more assets and items of value. Trying to make a legally-binding plan of your own can be tough. That is why we recommend working with our attorneys. We will make sure that nothing gets missed or overlooked.
Contact Our Law Firm Today
When you are ready to make a comprehensive estate plan of your own, contact Collis, Griffor & Hendra. We can look at your assets and figure out the best tools to use as a part of your plan. Let’s get to work.
