Estate Planning for Business Owners

Estate Planning for Business Owners

Protect the business you've built and ensure its successful transition

Business owner in their workspace

Your Business Deserves Protection

As a business owner, you've invested years of hard work, resources, and passion into building your company. Your business isn't just a source of income—it's your legacy. Without proper planning, everything you've built could be at risk from taxes, family disputes, or forced liquidation. At Ozark Trust & Estate, we help business owners create comprehensive succession and estate plans to protect their companies, minimize taxes, and ensure a smooth transition to the next generation or chosen successors.

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CRITICAL ISSUES FACING BUSINESS OWNERS

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Business Continuity

Without proper planning, your business operations could be disrupted or even halted following disability or death, potentially destroying its value.

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Tax Burden

Your business may be subject to substantial estate taxes, potentially forcing heirs to sell or liquidate the business just to pay the tax bill.

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Family Disputes

Conflicts can arise between active and non-active family members in the business, particularly when ownership transfers without clear management plans.

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Liquidity Issues

Business owners often have most of their wealth tied up in their business, creating challenges for estate taxes and providing for family members.

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Key Person Risk

Many businesses rely heavily on the owner's skills, relationships, and knowledge, making transition particularly challenging without preparation.

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Liability Exposure

Your personal assets could be at risk from business liabilities without proper entity structuring and asset protection planning.

OUR SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS

Comprehensive Business Succession Planning

Ensure a smooth transition of ownership and management with a structured plan:

  • Identifying and grooming successors within the family or management team
  • Creating management transition plans separate from ownership transition
  • Establishing clear timelines and milestone events for the succession process
  • Developing contingency plans for unexpected events such as disability or premature death
Business succession planning
Buy-sell agreement planning

Buy-Sell Agreements

Create legally binding agreements that ensure business continuity:

  • Establishing clear terms for ownership transfer upon triggering events (death, disability, retirement)
  • Setting fair valuation methods for business interests
  • Funding agreements with life and disability insurance for liquidity
  • Creating mechanisms to keep the business in family hands or transfer to key employees

Business Entity Structuring

Optimize your business structure for liability protection, tax efficiency, and succession:

  • Evaluating and restructuring business entities (corporations, LLCs, partnerships)
  • Creating family limited partnerships or limited liability companies for ownership transition
  • Establishing voting and non-voting interests to maintain control while transferring value
  • Implementing holding company structures to separate valuable assets from operating entities
Business entity structuring
Tax planning strategies

Tax Minimization Strategies

Reduce potential tax burdens on your business and estate:

  • Implementing lifetime gifting strategies using valuation discounts
  • Creating Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) for business interests
  • Establishing Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs) to freeze estate values
  • Planning for potential estate tax liquidity needs through insurance and other mechanisms

BUSINESS TRANSITION OPTIONS

Family Transition

Transfer business ownership to the next generation of family members, with strategies to ensure fairness between those active in the business and those who aren't.

Keeps business in family
Preserves legacy
May create family conflicts
Requires capable successors

Management/Employee Buyout

Sell to key employees or management team who know the business but may lack capital, often structured with seller financing or gradual transition mechanisms.

Preserves company culture
Rewards loyal employees
Often requires seller financing
May yield lower purchase price

ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)

Sell to a trust benefiting employees, with significant tax advantages for both seller and company while creating employee ownership.

Substantial tax benefits
May defer capital gains
Complex and costly to establish
Ongoing compliance requirements

Sale to Third Party

Sell to external buyer (strategic or financial) typically offering highest valuation but potentially changing company culture and direction.

Highest potential value
Clean exit possible
May change company culture
Risk of employee turnover

Ready to Protect Your Business Legacy?

Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn how we can help you create a comprehensive business succession and estate plan tailored to your unique situation.