Newsletters

Title	Preview
Effectively Transferring Wealth to Children with Reduced Tax Impact Determining How Much Wealth is Needed After the Business Exit	In the last issue, we introduced a strategy for successfully transferring a portion of your company’s wealth to your children. When creating an effective, tax-efficient wealth transfer strategy, you should focus on three basic issues that should be resolved for successful wealth preservation planning to occur. These issues include:
Value Drivers: Building Reliable Systems to Sustain the Growth of the Business	If your objective is to sell your company for the highest possible price, you must build reliable systems that can sustain the growth of the business. Before we get started on discussing this important value driver, here are a few quick definitions: Systems refer to a group of related processes. Processes have purposes and functions of their own and are components of a system. Taken independently, a process alone cannot do the work of a system. Procedures are the approved way we do things and often include a sequence of steps.
Value Drivers: Developing Financial Controls to Manage your Business	As we have discussed in the past few articles, getting a premium price for the sale of your business can depend, in large part, upon your efforts to adopt and implement value drivers. The last value driver that we are going to discuss in this series of articles is the existence of reliable financial controls that you can use to manage the business. Documented financial controls are not only a critical element of business management, but they also can help safeguard a company's assets. Most importantly, however, effective financial controls help
Estate Planning for Business Owners and Their Families Addressing Six Critical Questions	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.
Estate Planning for Business Owners and Their Families How Can I Provide for an Equitable Distribution of My Estate Among My Children? – Part One	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.
Estate Planning for Business Owners and Their Families How Can I Provide for an Equitable Distribution of My Estate Among My Children? – Part Two	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.
Estate Planning for Business Owners and Their Families Why Should I Use My Business to Help Fuel the Growth of My Estate Outside My Business Interest?	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.
Estate Planning for Business Owners and Their Families How Can I Help Preserve My Assets from the Claims of Creditors During My Lifetime and at My Death?	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: How can I provide for an equitable distribution of my estate among my children? 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? How do I provide for my family’s income needs, especially those of my
Estate Planning for Business Owners and Their Families How Can I Minimize Estate Taxes?	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.
Succession Planning vs. Exit Planning	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.
Should I Sell My Business Now? Personal Motives and Business Conditions to Consider when Exiting a Business	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.
Should I Sell My Business Now? Examine Your Personal Motives First to Determine Your Readiness: Part One	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.
Should I Sell My Business Now? Examine Your Personal Motives First to Determine Your Readiness: Part Two	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
ESTATE PLANNING LETTER FEBRUARY 13, 2006 EDITION	2/13/06
ESTATE PLANNING LETTER MARCH 27, 2006 EDITION	3/27306
ESTATE PLANNING LETTER APRIL 10, 2006 EDITION	4/10/06
ESTATE PLANNING LETTER APRIL 28, 2006 EDITION	4/28/06
ESTATE PLANNING LETTER MAY 12, 2006 EDITION	5/12/06
ESTATE PLANNING LETTER JANUARY 12, 2003 EDITION	1/12/03
ESTATE PLANNING LETTER JANUARY 26, 2003 EDITION	1/26/03

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