Retirement Watch Lighthouse Logo

Business Ownership and Succession

Found 10 Articles.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.

Shrewd Strategies for Shifting Ownership of a Small Business

April 24, 2019

One of the more difficult estate planning problems is transferring a small business in a way that maximizes after-tax value. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t handle the transition well. Planning for a small business transition should begin at least five years before the transition might occur. You should take the key steps that make a […]

estate planning

Two Estate Planning Tax-Wise Ways to Shift a Business

January 1, 2013

Many business owners scrambled to sell their businesses before the end of 2012 to avoid potential tax increases. If you didn’t sell, don’t worry. There are a couple of other Estate Planning tax-wise ways to transfer business ownership that don’t require you to rush. In one recent case, a taxpayer owned 100% of a corporation. […]

estate planning

Estate Planning Smart Transitions for Small Businesses

June 1, 2012

Including the exit strategy from your small business in your Estate Planning strategy is critical, but most business owners do it horribly wrong. You need to get this right, because most of your wealth, and perhaps your family legacy, are tied up in the business. Your net worth can drop substantially when the planning and […]

Timing is Right for Transferring a Business

January 1, 2010

The economic decline doesn’t have many positive effects, but it can increase the benefits of estate planning strategies, especially for business owners. The current environment allows you to transfer business interests to your loved ones at a low estate and gift tax cost. Business owners should meet with estate planners and consider accelerating plans to […]

Estate Planning

Making the Business Last Generations

May 1, 2009

What is the key to making a family business last beyond the first generation? If you are a business owner you likely are familiar with the statistics that only a small percentage of businesses last much beyond the first generation, and a tiny percentage make it through the second generation to the third. The fate […]

five-myths-of-business-succession

Five Myths of Business Succession

November 1, 2007

Few small firms survive past the first generation of owners. That is well-known. Most people assume the business failures are due to the inadequacies and mistakes of the succeeding owners and managers. At least an equal share of blame goes to the founding owners who do not properly develop and implement succession plans. With proper […]

how-to-reap-more-from-selling-a-business

How to Reap More From Selling a Business

January 1, 2005

Business sellers often leave a lot of money on the table. They pay extra taxes on the sale, because they do not use some key tax breaks. We’ll look at one of those strategies in this visit. There are two problems a business seller must solve. One is liquidity. The seller wants cash for the […]

estate planning

Estate Planning to Make a Family Business Last Generations

October 1, 2004

Why do only 10% of family businesses reach the third generation? Perhaps one reason is that only 28% of family businesses have a succession plan. Yet, 40% to 60% of current owners say they want their businesses to stay in the family. Unfortunately, few have a plan to make that happen. Estate lawyers and financial […]

pixel

Log In

Forgot Password

Search