Questions About Transferring Your Investment?

Our Modesto Business Succession Planning Attorneys Explain the Process

Most people who operate a business believe that their family will control their estate for years. Unfortunately, only about one-third of businesses transition to the second family generation. As a result, your business may have a reduced ability to maximize your wealth. Alternatively, you may be looking to maximize the benefit of exiting your business. In these cases, it can be easy to overlook details that can impact your sale. Furthermore, negotiations can easily turn stressful and emotional. If you are preparing to exit your business investment, then our attorneys can help. We provide business succession planning in Modesto and the surrounding areas.

At Swingle, Van Egmond & Heitlinger, we believe you deserve to maximize the benefits of your investment. We know how hard you work to grow your legacy. Furthermore, we know how important it is to minimize taxes and transfer costs. Thus, our Modesto attorneys can help at any stage of your business succession plan. Our law firm can help draft buy-sell agreements, define goals, name successors as well as evaluate and structure your organization. Ultimately, our goal is to draft an exit strategy that works in your best interests.

What Is Business Succession Planning?

Succession planning determines how you are going to transfer your ownership interests in a business. Generally, this process involves sale, generational handover, cash-in of shareholder stake and/or management buyout. Usually, this is known as an “exit strategy.” As a rule, an exit strategy should address retirement planning and include a roadmap for succession. This roadmap can bring you security, as it will clearly define what happens after certain events. Thus, your business can mitigate risks that would affect its survival in the future.

Sometimes people think business succession planning is not a one-time event. However, for your transfer to be successful, the process must occur frequently. For this reason, our business succession planning attorneys focus on your goals and concerns. Further, we can update business plans as your needs evolve. By hearing your story, we can build and update a plan that brings you a favorable outcome. As a result, we can work to maximize the return on your investment.

What Is the Succession Planning Process?

Your business needs support. An effective business planning attorney will draft measures that detail how your business is managed and traded. These procedures involve a succession planning process. By following your succession plan, you can work toward a favorable exit strategy. Our firm uses a team of legal professionals to ensure your goals are met. Furthermore, this process allows us to bring a fair market valuation of your business.

Generally, the succession planning process involves:

Define Goals: Defined goals establish owner retirement as well as goals for family members and stakeholders. Additionally, your defined goals should address what happens after illness, disability and death.
Name Successors: In addition to naming successors, a business planning attorney can help establish transition of responsibility for ownership. The family-to-business relationship is also defined in this step.
Contingency and Estate Planning: This involves tax planning, family member provisions and retirement income. Ultimately, contingency planning addresses “what if” situations and their possible solutions.
Structure Organization: In this stage, key positions, business plans and roles are structured. This addresses any legal and accounting concerns of the business.
Evaluation: Our business succession planning attorneys work to maximize value and tax benefits. This stage of succession planning involves preparing any buy-sell agreements.
Exit Strategy: When you need to transfer your business, we can help preserve your wealth. Our strategy always focuses on protecting your assets’ value.

Transfer or Exiting Your Business? Contact Us for a Consultation

Are you preparing to retire or otherwise exit your business? Business succession planning involves many moving parts and can overlap with estate planning laws — it can be easy to overlook issues that can have a big impact on your bottom line. A business planning attorney can help bring you peace of mind by maximizing your wealth when transferring or exiting a business.

At Swingle, Van Egmond & Heitlinger, we have been protecting the best interests of owners for over a decade. Our business succession planning attorneys know how to use legal resources to achieve your goals. As a result, we can build a succession strategy that works for you and protects your legacy. If you have questions about the succession planning process, we can help. To schedule a consultation, contact our firm online or call us at (209) 340-1110.

“This firm exemplifies how a multi-faceted group of attorneys can work together to achieve positive results.”
- James M.