Weatherby & Associates, PC

As we introduced to you in the last Exit Planning Review™ newsletter, the
personal decision to sell your business is usually based upon some
combination of the following:

• l A desire to “take the chips off the table.” Your tolerance for risk just isn’t
  what it used to be.
• l The joy of going to work each day is fading. Not only has the fire in
  your belly gone out, but it’s been replaced by the desire to do
  “something else,” known or unknown.
• l The “Successor Designate” can’t or won’t succeed. Neither child nor

The personal decision to sell your business is usually based upon some combination of the following:

• A desire to “take the chips off the table.” Your tolerance for risk just isn’t what it used to be.
• The joy of going to work each day is fading. Not only has the fire in your belly gone out, but it’s been replaced by the desire to do “something else,” known or unknown.
• The “Successor Designate” can’t or won’t succeed.

If you are like many owners, you have spent numerous sleepless nights staring
at the bedroom ceiling endlessly speculating about and weighing the outcomes
of the answer to one question: “Should I sell my business now?” If you have
finished your deliberations, have resolved all of the questions and are prepared
to move directly to the sale process, then call our offices today and we will help
guide you through the process of preparing your business to sell it for top
dollar.

With the recent buzz about Baby Boomer business owners preparing to leave
their companies within the next few years, there can be confusion about the
different terminology used for this planning concept. For instance, many people
believe that succession planning and Exit Planning are one within the same
and can be used interchangeably when talking about owners who are in the
process of leaving their businesses. However, this misconception can end up
leaving you unprepared for one of the biggest financial events of your life.

In the realm of Exit Planning and Estate Planning it can be important to understand what estate taxes are, know the tools available to help minimize them, and employ those tools to transfer your estate (including your business) to the “objects of your bounty” upon your death. To conclude this series of Exit Planning Review™ articles, we will focus on the last important area of estate planning for business owners and their families – strategies to help minimize estate taxes when creating such a plan.

As we have discussed in the past Exit Planning Review™ articles, there are six
critical questions that owners need to answer when creating an estate plan that
supports an overall comprehensive Exit Plan. These questions include:

1. How can I provide for an equitable distribution of my estate among my
   children?
2. Who should control and eventually own the family business?

How can I use my business to fuel the growth of my estate outside of
my business interests?

3. How do I provide for my family’s income needs, especially those of my

As we have discussed in the past Exit Planning Review™ articles, there are six critical questions that owners need to answer when creating an estate plan that supports an overall comprehensive Exit Plan.

In the last issue of The Exit Planning Review™, we introduced you to the
hypothetical case study of Mike Jones, a 51-year-old owner of a successful
scaffolding company and the father of two sons – one of which was active in
the business and was interested in taking over the company upon Mike’s
departure. Since Mike also had a non-business active son in the picture, the
issue of providing an equitable distribution of his estate among his children
weighed heavily on Mike’s mind.

Parents normally want to give equal amounts of their estates to their surviving
children, regardless of how active each child is in the business. The problem
with including this provision in a will is that each child may get not only an
equal amount of the business, but also an equal amount of the non-business
assets.

James Keefe sat nervously in his Exit Planning Advisor’s office. Until the day before, he had been president of Keefe Automotive Sales, one of the region’s largest new car dealerships. Now he was out of a job and felt he was a victim. Naturally, his first thought was to sue those responsible for his misfortune. The targets of his wrath were his younger sister and his mother. They had forced him out of the business.