New York Estate Planning & Elder Law

What Is Family Business Succession Planning? / Greenwich, CT & New York, NY

“If you plan to pass your business to your offspring, there is more to keep in mind when creating your succession plan than your descendants—there are also their spouses—especially if they become ex-spouses.”

Many family-owned businesses have had to scramble to maintain ownership when owners or heirs were struck by COVID-19. Lacking a succession plan may have led to disastrous results, or at best, less than optimal corporate structures and large tax bills. This difficult lesson is a wake-up call, says the article “Succession Planning for the Family-Owned Business—Keepin’ it ‘All in the Family’” from Bloomberg Tax.

Another factor putting family-owned businesses at risk is divorce. Contemplating the best way to transfer ownership to the next generation requires a candid examination of family dynamics and acknowledgment of outsiders (i.e., in-laws) and the possibility of divorce.

Before documents can be created, a number of issues need to be discussed:

Transfer timing. When will the ownership of the business transfer to the next generation? There are some who use life-events as prompts: births, marriages and/or the death of the owners.

How will the transfer take place? Corporate structures and estate planning tools provide many options limited only by the tax liabilities and wishes of the family. Be wary since each decision for the structure may have unintended consequences. Short and long-term strategic planning is needed.

To whom will the business be transferred? Who will receive an ownership interest and what will be the rights of ownership? Will there be different levels of ownership, and will those levels depend upon the level of activity in the business? Will percentages be used, or shares, or another form?

In drafting a succession plan, it is wise to assume that the future owners will either marry or divorce—perhaps multiple times. The succession plan should address these issues to prevent an ex-spouse from becoming a shareholder whose interest in the business needs to be bought out.

The operating agreement/partnership agreement should require all future owners to enter into a prenuptial agreement before marriage specifically excluding their interest in the family business from being distributed, valued, or deemed marital property subject to distribution, if there is a divorce.

An owner may even exact a penalty for a subsequent owner who fails to enter into a prenup prior to a marriage. The same corporate document should specifically bar an owner’s spouse from receiving an ownership interest under any circumstance.

A prenup is intended to remove the future value of the owner’s interest from the marital asset pool. This typically requires the owner to buy-out the future spouse’s legal claim to future value. This could be a costly issue since the value of the future ownership interest cannot be predicted at the time of the marriage.

Many different strategies can be used to develop a succession plan that ideally works alongside the business owner’s estate plan. These are used to ensure that the business remains in the family and the family interests are protected.

Reference: Bloomberg Tax (April 5,2021) “Succession Planning for the Family-Owned Business—Keepin’ it ‘All in the Family’”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

What Is Family Business Succession Planning? / Greenwich, CT & New York, NY

“Studies have shown that the number of family businesses owned by second generations and third generations dramatically decline for a number of reasons. One large reason is the lack of business succession planning for the family business.”

The importance of the family business in the U.S. can’t be overstated. Neither can the problems that occur as a direct result of a failure to plan for succession. Business succession planning is the development of a plan for determining when an owner will retire, what position in the company they will hold when they retire, who the eventual owners of the company will be and under what rules the new owners will operate, instructs a recent article, “Succession planning for family businesses” from The Times Reporter. An estate planning attorney plays a pivotal role in creating the plan, as the sale of the business will be a major factor in the family’s wealth and legacy.

• Start by determining who will buy the business. Will it be a long-standing employee, partners, or family members?
• Next, develop an advisory team of internal employees, your estate planning attorney, CPA, financial advisor and insurance agent.
• Have a financial evaluation of the business prepared by a qualified and accredited valuation professional.
• Consider taxes (income, estate and gift taxes) and income requirements to sustain the owner’s current lifestyle, if the business is being sold outright.
• Review estate planning strategies to reduce income and estate tax liabilities.
• Examine the financial impact of the sale on the family member if a non-family member buys the business.
• Develop the structure of the sale.
• Create a timeline.
• Get started on all of the legal and financial documents.
• Meet with the family and/or the new owner on a regular basis to ensure a smooth transition.

Selling a business to the next generation or a new owner is an emotional decision which is at the heart of most business owners’ utter failure to create a plan. The sale forces them to confront the end of their role in the business which they likely consider their life’s work. It also requires making decisions that involve family members that may be painful to confront.

The alternative is far worse for all concerned. If there is no plan, chances are the business will not survive. Without leadership and a clear path to the future, the owner may witness the destruction of their life’s work and a squandered legacy.

Speak with your estate planning attorney and your accountant, who will have had experience helping business owners create and execute a succession plan. Talking about such a plan with family members can often create an emotional response. Working with experienced professionals will enable you to benefit from a lack of emotional connection to the business , thereby helping the process be less about feelings and more about business.

Reference: The Times Reporter (March 7, 2021) “Succession planning for family businesses”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

When Should Succession Plan Be Used? / Greenwich, CT & White Plains, NY

“We currently have the highest estate tax exemption and the lowest intra-family interest rates in history. That combination alone is significant, but when mixed with the potential for lower estate and gift tax exemptions and depressed business valuations, you have a potent catalyst for transitioning ownership.”

Anyone with a taxable estate that includes an operating business should be looking into the efficacy of making gifts in 2020 to take advantage of a unique set of circumstances, advises the article “Why Now is the Right Time to Execute Succession Plans” from Worth.

The federal exemption from transfer taxes is at a historically high level. Individuals may transfer up to $11.58 million of assets during their lifetime without incurring federal gift, estate or generation skipping transfer tax (GST). The current maximum federal gift and estate tax rate and the current maximum federal GST tax rate is now 40 percent. As the law stands now, this amount is not scheduled to be reduced until the end of 2025, but whether that will remain is anyone’s guess.

The IRS has stated that it will not attempt a claw back of taxes if the exemption amount decreases soon, so taxpayers who put off taking action before December 31, 2020 will miss out.

Lower Value Another Incentive to Develop a Succession Plan

It is important not forget the impact of the global pandemic. Valuations in some parts of public markets continue to be high, but many private companies have lost a lot of value. The lower appraised values can be beneficial for succession planning. If a business owner is willing to transfer all or a portion of the private company to successive generations now, that lowered appraisal value means that more wealth can be shifted. There is the possibility of growth in the future, free of gift, estate, or GST tax.

How Do Interest Rates Impact Succession Plans?

Many strategies used to transfer assets between generations are based on interest rates which are near the lowest they have ever been. Every month, the IRS releases the updated Section 7520 and Applicable Federal Rates (AFR). These are the rates used for transfer techniques like GRATs and intra-family loans. In October, the 7520 rate was 40 basis points (“bps”), and the Mid-Term Annual AFR, used for loans with terms of three to nine years was 39 bps.

Succession Plans Take Time to Create

This unique combination of exemptions, low business valuations and low interest rates is likely to lead many business owners to their estate planning attorney’s offices to implement succession plans before the calendar years ends. The smart move is to contact your estate planning attorney, CPA, and financial advisor as soon as possible to discuss options, and get succession plans going. There will likely be a more-than-usual last minute rush to complete many financial and legal tasks this December, and getting started as early as possible will make it more likely that your succession plan can be completed before December 31, 2020.

Reference: Worth (Nov. 2, 2020) “Why Now is the Right Time to Execute Succession Plans”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Securing Farm or Ranch Needs to Happen Sooner and Not Later / White Plains, NY & New York, NY

“Develop a successful transition plan that will provide for you, your heirs and your business.”

Most American farms or ranches are family businesses, started by one generation with the hope that the business will be transferred to the next generation. However, surveys show that only 20% of farm and ranch owners are confident they have a good plan in place for the transition, reports High Plains Journal in the article “Don’t wait to secure the future of your farm or ranch.” A common reason is that owners just aren’t ready, or they don’t have the time, or the right advice. They could also be put off by the complexity of the process.

Transition planning is possible. There are solutions for every farm, ranch or business, whether the goal is to ensure that your legacy continues, minimize taxes or provide for heirs who are and who are not involved with the business.

Understand that the process can take at least a year. A good estate planning attorney who is familiar with family businesses like yours will be an important help. The process will include both estate and succession planning. Here are some basic steps to help:

Reach a consensus. You’ll need to have discussions to clarify what the senior generation wants, and what their heirs want. Discuss how management and task-focused work is currently divided and who is going to step to up take what tasks.

Develop a plan. How will the operation go forward, and how will assets be distributed? What kind of coaching will be needed to ensure that the next generation has the tools and knowledge to succeed?

Estate planning is the paper and financial part of the process that will provide ways for the operation to mitigate estate taxes and prepare for wealth and asset management.

The succession plan involves the “people” side of the business, including developing vital business management and leadership skills, passing down the values of the founding owners and providing clarity for the family throughout this process.

Implement the plan. This will be different for every scenario, but might include:

• Splitting the operation into two entities: one that will operate ranch operations, another that will own the land.
• Stipulating the owners with two types of ownership: voting and non-voting.
• Voting ownership—deciding if it is to be retained individually or controlled by a trust.
• Should non-voting ownership be transferred to trusts to reduce estate taxes?
• Transfer strategies must be evaluated: gift, sale or stock options.

Here’s the most important concept: start now. Waiting to talk with an estate planning attorney could leave heirs in a situation where they can’t continue the family legacy. A failure to plan could mean they are forced to sell the land that’s been in the family for generations.

Reference: High Plains Journal (Aug. 14, 2020) “Don’t wait to secure the future of your farm or ranch”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Don’t Shrink Your Estate with Last Minute Tax Planning / Greenwich, CT & White Plains, NY

“Estate planning strategies such as family limited partnerships and gifts to charitable trusts are part of an estate planning professional’s toolbox to achieve client goals, such as minimizing taxes, effectuating philanthropic plans, teaching younger generations about a family business and passing on wealth.”

In the best-case scenario, you’d start talking with your estate planning attorney early on about your overall goals and the various tools available to minimize tax liability and transfer wealth to the next generation. Whether your estate is modest or significant, the article “A Recipe for Risk—Last-Minute Tax Planning for Estates” from The Legal Intelligencer explains how a last-minute plan failed on a grand scale. A recent memorandum opinion from the U.S. Tax Court provides a cautionary tale.

Howard Moore owned a large amount of property and ran a successful farm. He was admitted to the hospital late in 2004, was discharged to hospice and told he only had six months to live. He created an estate plan that included a family limited partnership (FLP), a living trust, a charitable lead annuity trust, a trust for the adult children, a management trust that acted as the general partner of the family limited partnership and an “Irrevocable Trust No. 1” that was created to act as a conduit for the transfer of funds from the FLP to a charitable foundation.

The primary focus of the plan was to transfer the farm to a living trust and then to transfer 80% of the farm property to the FLP. The management trust was to serve as a partner to the FLP, with the living trust owning almost all the limited partnership interests and with each of the decedent’s children owning a 1% partnership interest. The FLP was to offer protection against liabilities from the use of pesticides, potential bad marriages, creditors and the fact that the family was a bit dysfunctional and would need to work together to manage the FLP. The FLP had many transfer restrictions and the limited partners were not given any rights to participate in business management or operational decisions regarding the FLP.

The trust known as “Irrevocable Trust No. 1” was nominally funded at the time of the decedent’s death and received funding from the FLP. Those funds, in turn, were transferred to the charitable trust to gain a charitable deduction by the estate. Just before he died, Moore used FLP funds to make large transfers to his children that were designated as loans. He also made outright gifts to the children and to one grandchild.

The estate filed an estate tax return and a gift tax return after Moore’s death. The IRS issued a notice of deficiency for nearly $6.4 million and the case went to tax court. The U. S. Tax Court agreed with the IRS’ findings. The defense of the estate plan, the tax court maintained, was form over substance and the only reason for the estate plan and the numerous transactions was to save estate taxes.

There were a lot of hurdles in this case in addition to the short time period for the estate plan to have been created. At the time of the decedent’s hospitalization, the sale of the farm to a neighbor was being negotiated. A contract to sell the farm was executed within days of transferring it to the living trust. There were numerous transfers and distributions made between trusts and the FLP, and the court concluded that all decisions about the FLP after its formation were made unilaterally by the decedent. An FLP is supposed to function as a true partnership. Many other issues and errors occurred in the rush to have this estate structured in such a short period of time.

Had Moore engaged in planning five or ten years earlier, there would have been time to create a plan in which both the substance and execution of the plan were sound and the family would have been able to save millions of dollars in taxes. By waiting until his death was imminent, the plan attempted to establish transfer requirements without the opportunity to execute them properly.

Reference: The Legal Intelligencer (May 18, 2020) “A Recipe for Risk—Last-Minute Tax Planning for Estates”

For more information on tax planning, asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

What Do Farmers Need to Create an Estate Plan? / Greenwich, CT & White Plains, NY

“When you are a farmer, your business is not only your livelihood and your passion, but, often, it is also intermingled with your family life.”

Planning for the end of life is intimidating for everyone, but when the plan includes a family business like a farm or ranch, things can get even more challenging. That’s why estate planning, that is, planning for the distribution of assets once you die, is especially important for aging farmers. The details are in the article “How farmers can start an estate plan” from Bangor Daily News.

Death and dying are not easy to talk about, but these conversations are necessary, especially if the family wants to continue as a farming or ranching family. For aging farmers and their families, here are a few tips to demystify the planning process and help get things started.

What are your goals? Think of estate planning as succession planning. This is about making decisions about retirement and handing down a business to the next generation. If you had a regular job, you’d have far less to consider. However, succession planning for a family business owner involves more resources and more people. Having a clear set of goals, makes that transition easier. Add to that list: your fears. What don’t you want to happen? If your children don’t know how much you want them to keep the farm in the family, they may take other actions after you die. Share your goals, hopes and yes, worst case scenarios.

Build a team of professionals. The number of moving pieces in a family farm means you’re going to need a strong team. That includes an estate planning attorney who has worked with other farm families, an accountant, a financial advisor and an insurance professional. Depending on your family’s communication skills, you might even consider bringing a counselor on board.

List out your assets. Don’t assume that anyone in the family knows the value of your assets. That includes deeds to land, titles of ownership for vehicles, information about any property mortgages or loans or leases. If you are leasing land to others, you’ll need the lease agreements as well as property titles. If your lease agreements are based on a handshake, your attorney may request that you formalize them. A verbal agreement may be fine while you are living, but if you should pass and your heirs don’t have the same relationship with your tenant, there could be trouble ahead.

Consider who will be in charge when you are not there. Whether you are planning to work until you die or making a retirement plan, one of the hardest decisions will be to name a successor. Inter-generational politics can be tricky. You’ll need an unbiased evaluation of who the best candidate will be to take things on. However, going into this now is better than hoping for the best. That’s when things go south.

Talk to your estate planning attorney. Just as people should start planning for their retirement as soon as they start working, planning for the transition of the family farm is something that should start when it is years in the future, not when the transition is a few months away. It’s a process that takes a long time to do right.

Reference: Bangor Daily News (March 5, 2020) “How farmers can start an estate plan”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Thinking Ahead for 2020 Elections / New York, NY & White Plains, NY

“Planning for changes to the estate tax and the valuation discount for small businesses can be challenging. Here’s how to take advantage of them now.”

Trying to anticipate changes in the tax codes is like trying to time the stock market—a nearly impossible task. Most tax pundits guessed right when they said that President Trump was going to cut corporate tax rates in 2017, but the doubling of estate and gift tax exemptions to more than $23 million was a surprise. So was the elimination of deductions for state and local taxes, as reported in The New York Times article “2 Strategies to Consider Ahead of the 2020 Election.”

With a presidential election coming up this fall, the challenge of predicting the impact of changes that may affect taxpayers and their estate planning has already begun. Candidates are talking about big changes, like health insurance, climate change and infrastructure. They are also talking about changes to the wealth tax, but what no one has covered yet are changes like lowering exemptions and raising rates for estate and gift taxes and ending the valuation discount for closely held family businesses. This is a tax break that lets families transfer their businesses for far less than they are worth.

This valuation can impact any small business that owners expect to transfer to heirs. The current exemption levels for estate and gift taxes are so high now that this tax applies to very few people. However, if the exemption levels and tax rates change, that could become a problem for business owners.

The estate tax is now in effect until 2025, with exemptions at $11.58 million for an individual, and  double that amount for a couple. Everything above that is taxed at a rate of 40%. Lowering the exemption and increasing the tax rate are on some candidate’s agendas, both to raise revenue and address income inequality.

The estate tax is a big target. This is because if the exemption were lowered, it would generate a good amount of income, and impact a relatively small group of Americans. The likelihood of this happening will depend on election results, both at the presidential and congressional levels.

The months before the election occurs may be a good time to take advantage of the high tax exemptions and valuation discounts, just in case they change. This would let business owners pass more of their wealth to heirs free of tax, and could also settle some business issues now, not later, when the owners die.

However, short and long-term goals should be identified before making any significant decisions. In some states, like Connecticut, it may not be necessary to plan so aggressively because the state’s estate and gift tax exemptions are lower than federal exemptions. It should be noted, however, that the exemptions are set to become equal in 2023.

Eliminating the valuation discount had been proposed by the Treasury Department and the IRS under President Obama, when these discounts were seen as being overly generous. A few months after taking office, President Trump issued an executive order for the Treasury to withdraw the regulation to eliminate the discount. However, the statute is still on the books and could be easily reinstated.

This is an example of the importance of reviewing estate plans on a regular basis and creating estate plans that have enough flexibility to withstand change. Speak with your estate planning attorney to ensure that your estate plan is prepared, whatever the results of the 2020 elections may be.

Reference: The New York Times (Feb. 14, 2020) “2 Strategies to Consider Ahead of the 2020 Election”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Can My Estate Plan Include Illiquid Assets, Like Real Property and Ownership Interests?

“No good estate plan can afford to ignore the other assets, the ones called ‘illiquid.’ That category includes anything that can’t readily be converted to cash, in a regulated market with readily determined prices.”

Many people are focused on their traditional assets that generate monthly statements, like bank and investment accounts, stocks and mutual funds. However, those assets, which are called “liquid” because they can be readily converted to cash, are often less than half of their entire portfolio. Wilmington Biz advises readers not to ignore their illiquid accounts in the article “Don’t Overlook Those Harder-To-Sell Assets When Making An Estate Plan.”

First, let’s see what assets fall into the illiquid category. Commonly, they include:

• Real estate, collectibles, artwork, cars, livestock, mineral rights and timber, as well as
• Financial instruments that don’t have a ready market: hedge funds, options, stock in non-public corporations and some types of debt securities.

The biggest consequences of leaving these assets out of an estate plan isn’t felt until after the owner dies. First, estate taxes must be paid which are levied on the value of all inheritable assets transferable to heirs. Those taxes are due in a matter of months. However, if a good chunk of those assets are illiquid, they may need to be sold in a hurry to raise the cash needed to pay the taxes or debts of the estate.

That presents a real problem for heirs.

Many illiquid assets can’t be sold, or have to be sold below their market value, if they have to be sold within a tight nine-month window or a reasonable estate administration time frame. If the decedent owned real estate in a region were prices are in a slump, the sale price will be lower than if there were enough assets to pay the taxes and wait for prices to return to normal or even become robust.

A will often divides the estate in a way that has nothing to do with the actual value of the assets. Let’s say three children are left a third of an estate, two-thirds of which are real estate and one-third of which is cash or liquid assets. The real estate may need to be sold, if the heirs don’t want to own an undivided interest in the real estate property together.

Here’s a more common situation: If the amount of cash needed to settle the estate is far less than the actual value of an illiquid asset, but the only way to get cash is to sell the asset, something that might have been hoped to be passed on to the next generation may be lost. That includes family farms, a family business or an heirloom.

Careful planning with an experienced estate planning attorney well in advance can avoid this and similar situations, where illiquid assets are concerned. It may mean setting up and funding a trust or using life insurance. An estate planning lawyer will be able to guide the family through the process to protect assets, but it must be done well in advance of the person’s death.

Reference: Wilmington Biz (November 27, 2019) “Don’t Overlook Those Harder-To-Sell Assets When Making An Estate Plan”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Protect the Family Farm with Advance Planning / White Plains, NY & Greenwich, CT

“Planning for your farm’s future has never been more urgent. With one-third of United States farmers older than age 65, it’s estimated that 70% of farmland will change hands in the next 15 years.”

Have you figured out who will take over the family farm? Are you or your parents prepared to transition the farm or ranch to the next generation? How will family members be part of the transitions? Do you have a plan to minimize tax exposure?

These are just a few of the questions that must be addressed about the future of the family farm or ranch, reports the article “Don’t be a failed family-business statistic: Plan for your farm’s future” from High Plains Drifter. It’s one of the hardest parts of the agriculture business. Decades of hard work and assets are at stake, and the statistics are not great. Only 30% of any kind of family businesses survive to the second generation.

You need a long-term strategy and planning that needs to be started long before any member of the family begins thinking about retirement. You’ll also need good advisors, including an estate planning attorney, accountant and possibly a banker.

What is a succession plan? A succession plan is a forward-looking strategy that prepares the individual and their family for the change in ownership, including development of leadership to avoid family disputes, manage tax consequences and ensure that the farm or ranch smoothly transitions to the next generation of owners.

The estate plan provides the mechanics to implement the succession plan. It can be complicated, so an experienced estate planning attorney who has worked with farm or ranch owners will be invaluable.

Here are three key areas where guidance is critical:

On-farm and off-farm heirs. How do you balance the inheritance of children who remain on the farm and those who chose to pursue other occupations? An objective viewpoint is needed, and a calm head. There are different ownership structures that can be used to define the roles and expectations for both on-farm and off- farm heirs.

Smooth financial transition. It is important to lessen tax liability and maximize benefits. Cash will be needed to pay estate taxes. This is where many family businesses are lost: a key asset must be sold to pay the tax bill, and it dampens the chances of success for the future.

Address financial needs of current and future generations. Can the business support multiple generations? What does everyone need to continue living on the farm, and how will the income be generated?

Family farms and ranches that survive to the second or third generations don’t happen by accident. Succession plans need to be created and then they need to be reviewed every few years. If you have a will or an estate plan, if you haven’t updated it in five years, it’s time to review it or create one.

Reference: High Plains Journal (Nov. 8, 2019) “Don’t be a failed family-business statistic: Plan for your farm’s future”

For more information on business succession planning, asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Small Business Owner? Don’t Hesitate on Estate Plan / New York, NY & White Plains, NY

So, what happens to your business after you are gone?

You have put a life’s work into developing your vision and building a successful business. What do you need now? An estate plan protects that life’s work, according to Bakersfield.com in “Estate planning tips for small business owners.”

It makes sense. You’ve likely spent decades building your business throughout your working life. You’re proud of what you have accomplished, and you should be. You should then protect it with a well thought out plan. Your estate planning attorney will be able to help you design a two-pronged plan for your business and your personal life. For business owners, these two are intertwined.

Can you avoid taxes? Reviewing your personal and business assets as part of an estate plan is the best way to minimize the tax exposure of your estate and facilitate an organized sale or succession plan for your business. You can’t completely avoid taxes, but good planning will help them from being excessive.

There are a number of IRS sections that can help, and your estate planning attorney will know them. For example, Section 6166 gives your loved ones more time to pay the tax, by paying in ten annual installments.  Section 303 lets your family redeem stock with few tax penalties. Talk with your attorney and CPA to find out if your business is eligible for either of these strategies. Create a plan and talk about it in detail with survivors to help them navigate the transition.

Do you have a buy-sell agreement in place? This is critical, if more than one person owns the business. The buy-sell agreement dictates how the partnership or LLC is distributed upon the death or incapacity of one of the owners. Without one, family members may be stuck owning a company they don’t want or know nothing about. Alternatively, your former partners may find themselves partnered with people with whom they never intended to go into business.

The buy-sell agreement creates a plan so, when an owner passes, the shares of the company must be bought out by the other owners at a fair market price. The agreement can even establish a sale price, so family members will know exactly what they can expect to receive from the sale. In addition, a buy-sell agreement can be used to block certain individuals from taking a role in the business. For many family businesses, that’s enough of a reason to make sure to have a buy-sell agreement.

How are life insurance policies used by small business owners? Maybe you want the business to die with you. Some small businesses provide a stable income for the owner, but there’s no plan for the business to be passed to another family member or to survive the passing of the owner. If that is your situation, and you want your family to have income, you’ll need a life insurance policy.

A life insurance policy can also be used to help partners with the capital they’ll need to purchase your shares, if that is how your buy-sell agreement has been set up.

As a small business owner and a family breadwinner, you want to be sure your family and your business are prepared for your passing.  

Reference: Bakersfield.com (July 15, 2019) “Estate planning tips for small business owners”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.