Estate Planning for Small Business Owners

Small business owners in the Summit area and elsewhere in New Jersey often spend a significant amount of time and money to create the market value and sweat equity associated with their small business. For many small business owners, the services they provide and the goods they sell are a central part of their lives, and it often feels like a small business is itself a member of the family. When small businesses have been passed down through a family for years or even decades, the importance of the company often looms even larger.

When it comes to estate planning, it is important to consider not only your personal assets and matters significant to your family, but also to take into account your small business. The following are some key estate planning considerations for small business owners in New Jersey. As soon as you are ready to begin working on an estate plan involving your small business, you should get in touch with a Summit estate planning lawyer at Dempsey, Dempsey & Sheehan.

Do You Want the Business to Remain in the Family? 

Whether you are currently owner of a longtime family business that has been in your family for years, or you started the business yourself, it will be important to determine whether or not you want your business to remain in the family. Is this a business that you want to pass down to a family member or multiple family members who will then run it? Or is this a business that requires your specific expertise such that a loved one who inherits it will likely need to make plans to sell it?

You should discuss these questions with your family, and especially any family members who could be identified as beneficiaries if the business is placed in a trust or parties to inherit if you leave the business to them in a will.

Determining Who Should Inherit the Business (and the Ability to Sell It) 

Regardless of whether you want the business to remain in the family or you want your loved ones to be able to sell the business and to profit from its sale, it will be important to determine who should inherit the business. Sometimes it can be more complicated to leave a business to more than one person, especially if the business will ultimately be put up for sale — such as your two or three adult children — because making decisions about marketing and selling the company will need to be shared. If you have a spouse, you might want them to inherit it, but they might not want to be tasked with such a large-scale responsibility, depending on factors like age and business complexity. An existing employee or friend might be best to handle aspects related to the business after your death, again depending on your circumstances.

Creating Necessary Documents 

Once you know who you want to inherit your business, you will need to determine which estate planning documents are necessary, and you will need to execute them. You may want to leave your business to a loved one (or loved ones) in a will, or you may want to place it in a trust. Your estate planning lawyer can discuss the details of the business and the best way to ensure that your plans for it are followed.

Contact a Summit Estate Planning Attorney 

If you own a small business in New Jersey or you are a partner or member of a smaller company in the Summit area, it is important to think carefully about your business while you are developing an estate plan with a lawyer. Your specific estate planning needs, and the tools most relevant to you, will depend on the details of your personal and business finances. One of the experienced New Jersey estate planning lawyers at Dempsey, Dempsey & Sheehan can speak with you today about your circumstances and can begin working with you on estate planning. Contact us today for assistance and to learn more about the services we provide to small business owners in the Summit area.

Source:

law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-3b/