Creating a successful estate and business succession plan

A husband and wife owned a successful business that employed two of their four children and three non-family members whose services were crucial. The parents wished to treat all four children equally but also intended to pass the business on to the two who had expressed the greatest interest in the family enterprise. The clients’ situation presented challenges, in part because the value of the business was much higher than the value of the their community estate.

 

Socius crafted an estate and business succession plan that significantly reduced potential estate taxes, equitably divided the parents’ estate among their children, and created incentives for the non-family members to remain with the business.