Business Succession | www.falveylawfirm.com

Lasting Value: We create efficient transitions.

Making the Complicated as Simple as Possible

Few owners and founders appreciate the true complexity of effectively and efficiently transferring ownership of a business entity. A successful transfer requires the coordination of not only the internal/external financial and legal functionaries, but must also bring the marketing, administrative and production functions together into a cohesive unit to support the transfer. Often companies rely on a "lynchpin" owner to keep the operation viable. Research strongly suggests that companies typically suffer massive losses in sales and significant increases in layoffs, in the wake of the owners departure or death. Tragically, many of these same companies will fold as a result, which can have a massive impact on the departing owner's retirement, their estate (in the event of death), and significant disruption in the lives of their employees. It is incredibly difficult to build a successful business that adds value to its employees, customers, industry, and community. We all lose, when these sources of societal stability are allowed to disappear. Click here to schedule a consultation and learn more on how to protect your company today.

The Process

Information Collection and Valuation

A will is often a cornerstone document in an estate plan. We help you to utilize a will in order to express your personal wishes, regarding who will administer your estate, as well as specific instructions regarding your children, pets, personal and real property. Our will packages include supplementary documents that will organize your information and possessions to make the administration of your estate easier for your executor and heirs.

Creating Business Continuation Plan

At this stage, it is time to document what your company does, how they do it, and who is responsible for what objectives. This process covers the marketing, administrative, and production functions of the company. The continuation plan will create an external framework to keep the business moving forward, during and after the transition.

Restructuring

Depending on who will take over control of the company and what level of interaction they will have determines the optimal structure of the business. In some cases very little needs to change, however, in complex transitions various tools be be required to achieve your panning goals such as new corporate entities, buy-sell agreements, charitable structures, etc.

Documentation of Transition

With the restructuring framework complete, this stage contemplates the actual agreements that will be used to affect the desired transition such as the aforementioned Plan, Plan Supplement/Exhibits, Plan Schedules, the Reorganization Steps Overview, the Equity Rights Offering Procedures, the Amended/New Corporate Governance Documents, the Exit Credit Agreements.

Key Contracts Negotiation

Most of the previous steps are concentrated on internal processes that you can control, while this stage begins to look outwards at external stakeholders. In this stage, we work to anticipate what (if any) challenges will be faced by the successors owners/trustees of your company, and taking steps to adjust those contracts to make the transition efficient and effective.

Update Estate Plan

Once your company is prepared for its future transition, it is time to make sure that personal plans are update to be congruent with your existing estate plan(s). Changes in ownership, profit-sharing, and dividend structures can result in new tax liabilities and other corporation related obligations. Our team will review your estate plan to ensure that it reflects the changes outlined in the business succession plan.

Executive Retirement Plan

Executive retirement plans can play an important part in preparing both the outgoing executive and the company for leadership transitions. These plans can include IRAs, 401k, Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs), Pensions, and other tools. Here the Falvey Law Firm partners with your financial advisors to make sure these programs are properly documented in corporate and personal estate planning documents.