Succession Plans – DougFreemanCPA.com

Solving the riddles of succession planning for family businesses

(GRAT) Grantor-Retained Annuity Trust, Family Business, Gift Tax, Succession Plans, Trust / Douglas Freeman

Every established company will encounter challenges when confronting the thorny issue of succession planning. Family-owned businesses, however, often face particularly complex issues. After all, their owners may have to consider both family members who work for the company and those who do not. If yours is a family business, you may run into some confounding […]

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Look carefully at three critical factors of succession planning

Estate Planning, Merger & Acquisition, Small Business, Small Business Owners, Small Business Tips, Succession Plans / Douglas Freeman

The day-to-day demands of running a business can make it difficult to think about the future. And by “future,” we’re not necessarily talking about how your tax liability will look at year-end or how you might grow the bottom line over the next five years. We’re referring to the future in which you no longer

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Look carefully at three critical factors of succession planning

ESOP Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Family Business, Merger & Acquisition, Small Business, Succession Plans / Douglas Freeman

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Evaluating an ESOP from a succession planning perspective

401K, Employee Stock Ownership Plans, ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Succession Plans, U.S. Department of Labor, Uncategorized / Douglas Freeman

If you’ve been in business for a while, you’ve probably considered many different employee benefits. One option that might have crossed your desk is an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Strictly defined, an ESOP is considered a retirement plan for employees. But it can also play a role in succession planning by facilitating the transfer

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Expanding succession planning beyond ownership

Employees, Small Business, Strategic Business Planning, Succession Plans / Douglas Freeman

Business owners are regularly urged to create and update their succession plans. And rightfully so — in the event of an ownership change, a solid succession plan can help prevent conflicts and preserve the legacy you’ve spent years or decades building. But if you want to take your succession plan to the next level, consider

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Does your company have an emergency succession plan?

CFO, COO, COVID-19, Small Business, Sole Proprietors, Succession Plans / Douglas Freeman

For business owners, succession planning is ideally a long-term project. You want to begin laying out a smooth ownership transition, and perhaps grooming a successor, years in advance. And you shouldn’t officially hand over the reins until many minute details have been checked and rechecked. But it doesn’t always work out this way. As the

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How’s your buy-sell agreement doing these days?

Insurance, Partnerships, Small Business, Strategic Business Planning, Succession Plans / Douglas Freeman

Most companies wouldn’t go into business without some basic types of insurance in place, such as property coverage and liability policy. For a company with more than one owner, there’s an additional type of risk-management arrangement that needs to be established: a buy-sell agreement. If your business has yet to create one, you should start

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What lenders look for in a succession plan

Accounting, Small Business, Succession Plans, Tax Planning / Douglas Freeman

Business owners are urged to create succession plans for the good of their families and their employees. But there’s someone else who holds a key interest in the longevity of your company: Your lender. If you want to maintain a clear path to acquiring the working capital your business may need after you’ve stepped down,

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A shadow board could shed light on your company’s best future

Employees, Shadow Board, Small Business, Strategic Business Planning, Succession Plans / Douglas Freeman

In many industries, market conditions move fast. Businesses that don’t have their ears to the ground can quickly get left behind. That’s just one reason why some of today’s savviest companies are establishing so-called “shadow” (or “mirror”) boards composed of younger, nonexecutive employees who are on the front lines of changing tastes and lifestyles. Generational

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Putting together the succession planning and retirement planning puzzle

Retirement, Small Business, Strategic Business Planning, Succession Plans / Douglas Freeman

Everyone needs to plan for retirement. But as a business owner, you face a distinctive challenge in that you must save for your golden years while also creating, updating and eventually executing a succession plan. This is no easy task, but you can put the puzzle pieces together by answering some fundamental questions: When do

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