Do Not Forget Your Estate Plan After Starting A Business
Starting your own business is incredibly exciting. You get to devote your days to your passion, be your own boss, and make a profit in the meantime. Still, opening your own business takes a great deal of time, effort, and resources. It is natural to want to ensure that your hard work and your business’ value are protected and that it will continue to be successful, even if you are no longer able to run it. Although drafting a will is an important element of any estate plan, it is not enough to entirely protect your business.
Probate Can Delay Business Continuity
As with any other asset you own, if your business is included in your will, it is subject to the probate process. Probate can be costly and time-consuming. It also has the potential to cause financial strain and operational disruption to your business. If your business does have to go through the probate process, operations may be delayed until the court settles the distribution of your assets. Not only can this result in instability for your business, but it can also result in a loss of revenue.
Creating a Business Succession Plan
Your will has many benefits, but it cannot include instructions about how you would like your business to operate if you can no longer manage it. A lack of guidance can cause disputes among your beneficiaries to arise, as well as questions about leadership. This will not only negatively impact your business’ performance, but its reputation could also suffer.
To effectively protect your business, it is critical to incorporate business succession planning into your estate plan. When planning for the succession of your business, you can develop a detailed roadmap for your business’ future and address important issues such as asset distribution, a transition of leadership, and business continuity. A Daytona Beach estate planning lawyer can help you identify successors who will take over ownership and leadership of your company. You can also draft buy-sell agreements that outline explicit terms for the transfer of business ownership in the event that you become disabled, retire, or pass away.
A Revocable Trust Can Protect Your Business
Unlike your will, a revocable trust can help protect your business. When you draft a revocable trust, you fund it with different types of property. Funding a revocable trust involves transferring ownership of assets to the trust. Trusts are separate legal entities from those that create them and so, they are not subject to probate. You can manage the property within the trust during your lifetime and within the legal document, name a successor trustee who will manage the trust according to your instructions upon your passing.
Our Estate Planning Lawyer in Daytona Beach Can Protect Your Business
You have worked hard to open your business and enjoy the success it has brought you. It is natural to want to protect it now, and in the future. At Bundza & Rodriguez, our Daytona Beach estate planning lawyer can advise on the legal tools that can provide the protection your business needs and help ensure its future success. Call us now at 386-252-5170 or contact us online to schedule an appointment with our experienced attorney and to learn more about your legal options.
Sources:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0736/0736.html
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/0733ContentsIndex.html
