All business owners can attest to just how difficult it is to build a successful company. It’s simply not enough to offer a great product or service. You also have to excel at marketing, customer service, logistics, and more. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs overlook the necessity of deciding what happens to their company if they retire, die, or become incapacitated. A business succession planning lawyer in Tampa can assist in this endeavor.
At Decker Legacy Law, LLC, our team of legal professionals understands the major concerns faced by business owners. After all, our law firm is a limited liability corporation itself. That’s just one of the reasons why we’re so committed to helping other entrepreneurs plan for the contingencies they may face. Business ownership is a great thing, but a thorough succession plan can ensure your hard work survives even after you’re gone.
Contact us today to schedule a confidential consultation.
Why Is A Business Succession Plan Important?
No one likes to think about it, but disease, injury, and death can come out of nowhere and change everything in an instant. When this happens to entrepreneurs, there’s either a smooth transition due to a thorough business plan — or there’s absolute confusion because there was no plan in place. Many people believe that succession plans are nothing more than deciding who runs things in the owner’s absence, but they actually go much further than this.
Yes, choosing who’s in charge and who receives assets is an integral part of such planning. However, considerations such as promotions, training, recruitment, and the place that other shareholders will hold are essential. Without such a plan, there could be internal struggles between vital employees. In many cases, the courts may end up making decisions that belong to you.
You may even find that the person you want to own the company cannot afford the shares to do so. Having a formal succession business plan in place will help avoid these and countless other difficulties.
What Does Business Succession Planning Look Like?
Many entrepreneurs are simply concerned over whether their family members will maintain control of a business or if their spouse will receive his or her stake. This is often something that can be handled with traditional estate planning. This is particularly the case with sole proprietorships — where a company simply dissolves and heirs receive what they are given in a will or under the law.
However, a business succession plan lawyer in Tampa can help you with more in-depth issues:
- Identifying successors
- Establishing long-term goals
- Including family members in the process
- Organizational structure
- Insurance policies to streamline share purchases
- Transition plans
- Creating a valuation mechanism
- Granting first refusal for certain assets
- Buy/sell retention planning
- Plans for retirement
- Retention planning to keep vital employees
This obviously sounds like a lot, but in reality, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Even small businesses need succession plans in place. Otherwise, a company could be thrown into disarray unexpectedly. Even if no unforeseen events occur, it’s vital to have a plan in place for when you’re gone — and a Tampa business succession plan attorney can help you with creating one.
What Problems Can Arise With Business Succession?
Perhaps you already have a retention plan for employees in place, and maybe you’ve already established who will run things when you’re no longer with the company. As the previous section discussed, however, there are many other concerns with business succession planning. And even when you understand each of these concerns, there are still certain issues that may arise.
As touched on briefly already, shares from your estate could be too expensive for the person you want to own the company. Also, what if there’s a joint owner who doesn’t want certain individuals involved in family-owned businesses? What if the person next in line doesn’t have the skills and knowledge to keep things running smoothly? These are complex questions, but a business succession planning lawyer in Tampa can help answer them and more.
Contact A Business Succession Planning Lawyer In Tampa Today
Thinking of all possible contingencies is a difficult process when running a business. There are often multiple types of insurance necessary, licensure, disaster continuity planning, and a million other things that executives and management have to worry about. If you’re going through all this work anyway, though, why wouldn’t you go one more step and create a business succession plan? It could literally dictate whether your hard work lives on.
At Decker Legacy Law, LLC, we handle estate planning for our clients on a daily basis. In many cases, this includes creating a succession plan in case business owners retire, pass on, or become incapacitated. It’s important to know what happens to your company after you’re no longer running things, and by working with a business succession planning lawyer in Tampa, you can do this while ensuring your wishes are respected when you’re gone.
Contact us today by calling (813) 437-4465 to schedule a confidential consultation. We’ve helped many businesses and entrepreneurs over the years, and we can do the same for you.