Business Succession Planning: Assuring the Successful Continuation of Your Company While Navigating New Tax Law Shift

In understandable language, business owner attendees will learn about the January 1, 2026 federal estate tax law change that could have a direct impact on their overall wealth and future health of their businesses. In addition, there will be discussion surrounding vital strategies in the areas of business succession and wealth preservation as well as eventual transition of assets (with special focus on the business).

Typically, the more successful business owners become, they also become more vulnerable. Accordingly, techniques will be discussed showing how to combat those vulnerabilities and assure that the business remains successful!

Among the areas of focus will be:

• Why profitable businesses ultimately fail
• The importance of business owners coordinating business succession plans with estate plans
• Addressing active vs. inactive children within a family business (does it make sense to leave the business and related businesses to all your children?)
• Liquidity issues
• Valuation methodologies that will satisfy the IRS while lowering the tax bill
• The proper type of buy-sell agreement that allows for maximum tax savings/cost efficiency
• Frequent insurance funding mistakes that oftentimes result in massive tax liabilities that could have been legally avoided

The session concludes by tying in many of the areas of the seminar discussion into a compelling real life family business case!

Special attention will be given to the recent June 2024 United States Supreme Court Ruling that will severely impact business owners that have specific types of buy/sell agreements that are funded with insurance (which most are). Current labor challenges and how to retain key personnel will be addressed, and much more!

This session drives home the point that as a business owner, when it comes to business succession and estate planning, you must know more than you have ‘something in place’ and realize that the specifics of the plan directly correlate to the success and outcome of your plan.