You have a business. You spent years building it. But if you die an untimely death, the government can slap an estate tax on the business and reduce its worth by half.
If there are co-owners or ex-spouses, they can try and take a piece of the pie and quickly your business is back to ground zero.
Proper estate planning can prevent this. Here are five ways good estate planning can improve and help your business, according to a story on The Huffington Post.
- It gives you more options. One method is a buy-sell agreement. It calls or the interest of the deceased to be automatically purchased by other owners.
- Guarantees the longevity of your business. It helps your business transition to the next generation.
- Helps minimize taxes. As a business owner, you can transfer your business assets to your children and retain a source of income for yourself through a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT).
- Provides a succession plan. A good estate plan will ensure that your business is preserved and kept running the way you want it to run.
- Helps you to plan for the future. It lets you take advantage of newtax breaks or policies that might be passed in the future.
If you have questions about estate planning, feel free to contact us for a consultation at (626) 696-3145.
