For family business owners, an estate plan and a succession plan often work in tandem, ensuring that both personal and business affairs transition smoothly. Your estate plan can help ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and provide contingencies in the event of your death or disability before retirement. Your succession plan can pave the way for a seamless transfer of leadership upon your retirement. Here’s how they work together.
Two types of succession
One reason transferring a family business is so challenging is the distinction between ownership and management succession. When a company is sold to a third party, ownership and management succession typically happen simultaneously. But in the family business context, there may be reasons to separate the two.
From an estate planning perspective, transferring assets to the younger generation as early as possible allows you to remove future appreciation from your estate, minimizing estate taxes. On the other hand, you may not be ready to hand over the reins of your business or you may feel that your children aren’t yet prepared to take over.
There are several strategies owners can use to transfer ownership without immediately giving up control, including:
- Placing business interests in a trust, family limited partnership or other vehicle that allows the owner to transfer substantial ownership interests to the younger generation while retaining management control,
- Transferring ownership to the next generation in the form of nonvoting stock, or
- Establishing an employee stock ownership plan.
Another reason to separate ownership and management succession is to deal with family members who aren’t involved in the business. Providing heirs outside the business with nonvoting stock or other equity interests that don’t confer control can be an effective way to share the wealth while allowing those who work in the business to take over management.
Unique conflicts
One more unique challenge presented by family businesses is that the older and younger generations may have conflicting financial needs. Fortunately, there are strategies available to generate cash flow for the owner while minimizing the burden on the next generation. They include:
An installment sale of the business to children or other family members. This provides liquidity for the owners while easing the burden on the younger generation and improving the chance that the purchase can be funded by cash flows from the business. Plus, as long as the price and terms are comparable to arm’s length transactions between unrelated parties, the sale shouldn’t trigger gift or estate taxes.
A grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT). By transferring business interests to a GRAT, owners obtain a variety of gift and estate tax benefits (provided they survive the trust term) while enjoying a fixed income stream for a period of years. At the end of the term, the business is transferred to the owners’ children or other beneficiaries. GRATs are typically designed to be gift-tax-free.
Because each family business is different, it’s important to work with your estate planning advisor to identify appropriate strategies in line with your objectives and resources.
Cover all your bases
Ultimately, having both a succession plan and an estate plan in place is an act of foresight and care. These plans protect loved ones, preserve wealth and provide clarity in uncertain times. Just as important, they reduce the likelihood of conflicts among heirs or stakeholders, helping to ensure that what you’ve worked hard to build continues to thrive.
However, integrating a succession plan with your estate plan can be complex and arduous. Fortunately, you don’t have to go it alone. Contact us for assistance or visit our related service page for more information on how we can assist you.
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