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Home > For Business > Executive Benefits > Business Succession & Continuation Business Succession & Continuation
In today’s increasingly complex business environment, employing human capital can be overwhelming to keep up with for companies of every size. BCG works with companies with just a few employees to organizations with thousands of employees.
Business Succession and Business Continuation Planning According to the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, there are approximately 28 million small businesses in the U.S. The owners of these businesses will at some point have to decide when they will leave their companies, who they will leave their companies to, and how they will be paid a fair value for their share of these businesses. Easier said than done! Too many business owners assume that their businesses—which they typically have much of their net worth tied up in—will be their retirement plan. The problem is the vast majority fail to consider how their businesses will succeed them and how they will be able to unlock their investment in the company to pay for their retirement. An Orderly Transition When The Time Comes To Leave Your Company A company owner may wish to continue working but on a dramatically reduced schedule. She or he may want to transfer complete ownership of the company and move on to retirement or to pursue other endeavors. Or, they may want to structure a buyout with one or more partners or family members, often one of the most difficult maneuvers (proper planning at the start of a partnership is perhaps the most important step a business owner will make). Of course there are a number of additional unique circumstances, each requiring careful planning and consideration if the owner hopes to maximize the return on their investment, preserve wealth, limit the impact of taxes, and manage assets wisely. BCG has vast experience in business succession and continuation strategies. We can help you whether your need is simple or highly complex in nature. There are a variety of business succession strategies including:
A final, but all important consideration is what would happen to the business if the owner were to die? All too often business owners neglect to consider the consequences of not planning for this unfortunate outcome, potentially ending the company’s life as well or leaving partner or heirs with enormous financial obligations. Consider these scenarios: When a business owner dies, surviving owners want:
Funding Your Business Succession and Continuation Plan Of the many business owners who do prepare a formal Buy-Sell Agreement to facilitate the transfer of their business, many forget one very important item: How will the transfer of ownership be paid for? Transferring business assets while securing the continuation of your business and the financial security of your heirs in the event of your death, disability or retirement can be hugely challenging and expensive to the company. The choices for funding typically include:
Planning now to fund the transition will maximize your return on your investment and will minimize the succession costs. To minimize the impact on estate and gift taxes and to take full advantage of capital gains benefits, your BCG business succession and continuation consultant can help you put together a smart plan and help you stick to it.
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Oneida Savings, BCG, BHL, WHS, and Cadaret Grant are separate entities. Not FDIC insured. No bank guarantee. May lose value. Due to various state regulations and registration requirements concerning the dissemination of information regarding investment products and services, the information at this site is intended for individuals residing in states where we are currently registered. We are registered to sell securities in the following states: NY, NJ, FL, GA, MA, VA, OH, PA, CT. Sell Your Business Outright There are unique business succession and continuation considerations when you plan to sell your business outright. First, if you sell your business, you will also want to consider the tax ramifications as well as the best ways to invest the proceeds to ensure that you will have a comfortable retirement or that your heirs are well provided for. If the continuing business will be paying a portion of the sale price to you over time, you will certainly want to be sure the company remains healthy and vibrant, and that you are legally protected from financial loss. If you are a sole owner, you will want to have the company pay your heirs the fair market value of the business, which would not be subject to gift tax or estate tax. A BCG business succession and continuation expert can provide you with innovative solutions to reducing the impact of taxes and help you build a sound plan to maximize the return on your business investment when the time comes. [back to top] Transfer Ownership Through a Buy-Sell Agreement A Buy-Sell Agreement is a legal contract that spells out the details of the transaction between the buyer and seller of a business. A Buy-Sell Agreement puts into writing an understanding of the owner’s or owners’ desires at the time of specific events such as retirement, disability, death, or divorce that could impact the continuation of the business. Since a Buy-Sell Agreement binds the owner and any partners to immediately take action based on a triggering event, plans for paying all money due must be in place to prevent the company from having to liquidate part or all of its assets to pay for the buyout. It is advisable to carefully coordinate your estate planning with the terms of your Buy-Sell Agreement. Your BCG business succession and continuation consultant can walk you through the many options. [back to top] Form a Family Limited Partnership If it is your intention as the owner of a business to leave your business to family members, you will want to give serious consideration to using strategies that will limit any inheritance tax. In some cases where owners had failed to properly plan for business succession and continuation, their companies were forced to liquidate to pay estate taxes. By creating a Family Limited Partnership, you effectively transfer the company into a new company. You remain in control of your business and over time gift the partnership to your family members, potentially transferring the business to your heirs at significant transfer tax savings. You will want to consult your legal and tax advisors. Your BCG business succession and continuation consultant will work closely with your advisors to ensure that you are able to maximize your return on your business investment. [back to top] Establish a Private Annuity This impressive sounding option is actually little more than a formal agreement whereby the buyer, whether a family member or an outside buyer, takes complete ownership of the business in return for regular payments to the owner. The owner, or annuitant, receives the entire principal and accrued interest over his or her lifetime based on fair market value of the business. Therefore, the property that transfer to a trust is not a gift and is not subject to gift tax, and when the annuitant dies, there are no estate taxes because the property was sold. Payment structures can also include continuing payments to the owner’s spouse or heirs. A private annuity is an unsecured promise to make these payments and relies on the healthy continuation of the business. Because payments are privately arranged, the transaction is considered a sale versus a gift, allowing the seller to avoid incurring estate or gift tax. You should consult your tax and legal advisors. BCG’s business succession and continuation experts can help you understand the many options that are available to you. [back to top] Create an Irrevocable Trust An irrevocable trust is a sophisticated business succession and continuation tool that allows a business owner to transfer ownership of appreciating assets including a business, investments, cash and life insurance into another legal entity in exchange for income payments over a specified period of time. Also known as a grantor retained unitrust (GRUT) or grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT), the trust effectively removes the assets from the grantor's taxable estate. The grantor is also relieved of the tax liability on the income generated by the assets. Another benefit to the business owner of an irrevocable trust is that it allows him or her to give money and assets away while they are alive without steep tax consequences. While you will want to consult with your tax and legal advisors, a BCG business succession and continuation expert can help you understand the many options available to you. [back to top] Use a Charitable Remainder Trust Are you interested in a steady income stream, lower income tax and a smaller taxable estate? Would you like to benefit a charity? If so, a charitable remainder trust may be just what you need. When you create a charitable remainder trust, you donate an asset, such as stock or real estate, to a trust which you create. A low basis asset is ideal; if you sell it in the trust, you pay no immediate income tax on the gain. The trust document specifies the amount of annual income you receive, which must be between 5 - 50% of the trust value. This income can be a fixed dollar amount or a fixed percentage of the annual value---you decide. It doesn't matter if the trust earns this amount of money---it will come from trust principal if the income is not sufficient. As the income is received by the donor, it is taxable, based on the character of the income in the trust---either ordinary income, capital gain, tax-exempt income or return of principal. You receive an immediate income tax deduction in the year the trust is funded, equal to the net present value of the actuarial benefit to the charity at the end of the trust term. This charitable deduction may offset up to 30% of your adjusted gross income and be carried forward for up to five years. You also lower your taxable estate because the asset is no longer included in your estate, since it passes to charity. The trust term can be for one or more lives, or for a period of up to 20 years, as long as actuarially the charity receives at least 10% at the end. The actual amount the charity receives doesn't matter; this is a calculation that is performed when the trust is created. The trust must be irrevocable, and you must give up the right to receive the asset at the end of the trust term. Does it bother you that your family will receive less when you die? If so, you can buy life insurance in an irrevocable life insurance trust to replace the after-tax value, perhaps using some of the income stream from the charitable remainder trust. This insurance can be free of probate, income tax and estate tax, leaving even more for your family. Here are some examples to illustrate how this technique actually works. The results will vary based on IRS interest rates; these examples are based on current rates available April 2010. They also assume a marginal income tax rate of 28% federal and 7% New York State.
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