Succession Planning

WARNING: Passing Your Business to a Family Member or Associate Can Be a Risky Proposition.

7 out of 10 family owned businesses will not survive the transfer of the business from one generation to another. Lack of planning and discomfort discussing topics such as aging, death, and financial affairs will more often than not result in loss of a business due to estate taxes, family discord, or some combination thereof.

If you want to assure that the business you worked so hard to build will be there to support future generations, you must clarify your plans for succession and finalize, as well as legalize your priorities.

Get professional advice for dealing with these key issues and more…

  • What will happen to your business? Do you wish to keep it in the family, sell it to a third party or pass it on in some other manner? We can help you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each of your options, as well as help you determine how the business can best provide for you as you enter your retirement years.
  • If you are not running the business, who is? Ownership of the business and management of the business are often two distinctly separate entities. How will your retirement or death affect the day-to-day decision making of how the business is run? Will your children take active roles in the running the business, or will they exist as owners only? Clarifying your expectations in legal terms and making these decisions in advance will help ease the transition of ownership, as well as management, without further risk of detriment to the business as a whole.
  • How can you minimize the tax burden upon transfer? When businesses transfer ownership, taxes are a reality regardless of the relationship between the parties. Review your options with an expert in the field in order to make the decisions that will best support your family members and the business.

Remember that inherited assets, such as family businesses, are often the cause of tremendous emotional strain and stress for individual family members. It is best to address any actions that might be seen as fair or unfair ahead of time, so that family members know what to expect and why you are making the decisions that you are making.

They may not realize, for instance, that the tax implications of inheriting a business might be more burden than they could financially handle or that decisions involving management vs. ownership have been taken into account.

Contact us about our Succession Planning Services to determine the value of your business, before restructuring your business, to review the tax consequences and tax projections of your actions, and to help you plan for retirement.

Let Us Help:

Employee Retention Strategies for Proactive San Diego Bosses

Your employees are happy, right? They’re never going to leave you ... right?They’re not looking for another San Diego job ... uh ... right?You know what the answers are: Maybe, wrong, and I sure hope not.Sooner or later, the advantage will swing back to you, the boss...

How San Diego Businesses Can Raise Prices Without Losing Customers

Are you watching your COGS these days?(I, ahem, hope you know what those letters stand for, because if not ... well, then we should DEFINITELY talk. calendly.com/serranobookkeeping/15min?month=2020-11 )Has it gone up?You're probably not alone given what kind of...

Luis Serrano’s Tips for How to Raise Your Prices Properly

You’ve likely heard the inflation numbers of late. Prices are going up.In fact, consumer prices increased more than 5% between May 2020 and May 2021.Given the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target, that’s a pretty steep increase.Have you taken a look at your own cost...

San Diego SMB Owners – Don’t Panic About The Business Supply Chains

Remember when the monster cargo ship Ever Given jammed the Suez Canal? After the Given had been stuck just five days, almost 400 other freighters were backed up waiting to pass through the Canal. Experts began predicting temporary shortages of everything from exercise...

Is The Employee Retention Tax Credit Right For Your San Diego Business?

There is a LOT of smoke emanating from Congress right now. As usual, with Congress, there are always rumors and mutterings -- what matters is what is actually signed into law.And we'll keep you up to date on what you might need to know.But speaking of Congressional...

Luis Serrano’s Tips for Creating a Business Disaster Plan

The past year and a half has been stressful for everybody in San Diego. And I would argue it’s been doubly so for San Diego business owners.The thing is though, these things happen. Quite regularly. Maybe not global pandemics, but disasters in general.So, as the...

Things To Consider Before Selling Your San Diego Business

You’ve put in the years, labored long days, sweat the bad times, and high-fived in the good as your business grew. Now, it looks like it’s time to step away into the next life stage, slay the next dragon. It’s time to sell. (You think.)Whether you’re headed to another...

Disaster Recovery Planning Your San Diego Small Business Probably Needs

The phone rings in the middle of the night and a voice says your office is on fire. Early on a long weekend, that old pipe in the back finally bursts and no one will see the water for days. Or suddenly the Weather Channel’s saying a hurricane is barreling in your...

Cloud Computing Benefits and Risks for San Diego Businesses to Consider

In the olden days, San Diego business owners kept track of their records by hand in the old reliable notebook or ledger. So what an innovation it must have seemed to move business information to a floppy disk that could plug into a computer.The disks got smaller (and...

Commercial Real Estate Opportunities In San Diego NOW

As a trusted San Diego small business owner, you’re no doubt fully aware of the importance of your business location. This is especially the case if you have a retail store or deliver a service where San Diego customers come to you -- you need a location with ease of...

Ready to come in for an appointment?

Click here to schedule a time to meet with us. We will NOT make dealing with a tax professional as painful as it’s been in the past!

Contact Us