Don’t Bet the Family Business on No Estate Plan

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Don’t Bet the Family Business on No Estate Plan

Being the owner of a family business can complicate your personal estate planning, since no doubt much of the wealth you want to pass on to your heirs is tied up in the business.  Being able to do so in a tax-advantaged way – and in a way that won’t cause a family feud – is one of the best reasons you should be talking with a lawyer about a business succession or exit plan as part of your own estate plan.

Even if you don’t have to pass on as much as the Waltons (Walmart), the Fords or the Murdochs, you do need to plan for what you have.  Here are some things you should be considering:

  • How to handle not only the death of a family business owner, but also his or her possible disability, incapacity, bankruptcy or retirement.  The owner needs to not only think of the impact on the business for any of these events or circumstances but also on his/her family, both now and in the future.
  • Do your heirs want to continue to run the business without you?  If so, a business succession plan needs to be put into place.   If you transfer family business assets to the next generation before you die, you will be able to lower estate and gift taxes.  If not, then an exit strategy for selling the business and divvying up the proceeds would be a necessary task.

Remember not having a plan is a plan… just a really bad one.  Not taking steps to provide instruction and cover a variety of circumstances will in the best case result in unnecessary expense for the business you built and your loved ones, and in the worst case mean the end of your business.

If you’re a small business owner, call us today at 720-248-7621 to schedule an Initial Estate Planning Session to ensure that your estate plan takes into account your business needs.

Filed Under: Colorado Business Law, Colorado Estate Law Information, Family Estate Planning, Small Business Education · Tagged: , , ,

Striking a Balance Between Your Retirement and Your Child’s Education

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Striking a Balance Between Funding Your Retirement and Your Child’s Education

Many parents perceive a conflict between funding a child’s college education and building their own retirement nest egg.  The conflict usually arises from the lack of financial resources to do both while funding daily living expenses, so parents become stuck between priorities and usually wind up doing nothing at all.

One of the things a Personal Family Lawyer® can help you do is sort out your priorities in a way that supports your family for the long-term.  With that in mind, here are some guidelines on striking a balance between saving for your retirement and your child’s education:

Build an emergency fund first.  This should be 3-6 months of living expenses that you have saved to fall back on in an emergency.  If you don’t have it, you will likely be forced to raid your 401(k) or other retirement account, spending more for penalties and taxes to cover the cost of the emergency. A great way to start this fund is to set up an automatic transfer to a savings account not linked to the account(s) you use for daily or monthly expenses.

Save for your retirement or build a business to fund your retirement second.  It is difficult for many parents to accept that they may not be able to fully fund a child’s college education, but consider the alternative.  You aren’t being “selfless” if you spend what you should have saved for retirement or to create a business to fund your retirement on a child’s education, and then run out of money right when your kids are having their own families and trying to save for their own retirement.  Then you will be financially dependent on them – just what you (and they) don’t want.  There’s a reason there are loans for education but not for retirement.

Save for your kids’ college education last.  Only after you have funded your emergency stash and your own retirement accounts (or built a business to fund your retirement) should you funnel cash to a child’s education fund.

If you would like to learn more about strategies for getting your financial future in balance, call our office today at 720-248-7621 to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk.

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information · Tagged: , ,