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Estate Planning: Preparing for a Successful Transfer of Ownership

Oct 21 | 2014  by

On a Saturday night, just after I was seated at a Mexican restaurant, I took a call from an unknown number. It was the President of a local business who has been a client for seven years. They called telling me the Company’s owner was in the hospital and not expected to make it through the weekend. The President told me the Owner had not attended to final plans like a Transfer of Ownership, Will, or Estate Plan for his mother, adult son, or daughter.

Our Estate Planning team quickly drafted a simplified stock transfer of ownership and basic last will. There was no time to tax plan or adopt probate or tax avoidance strategies. While signing the documents from his hospital bed, the Owner remarked, “Something is better than nothing.”

Without a will, the Owner’s assets, including the Company, would pass to unaware children uninterested in its operations. Without an orderly transfer of ownership, the Company’s viability would be uncertain. Contracts, jobs, and the Owner’s legacy were all in jeopardy. I was happy we were able to continue our Client’s business lineage.

Remember, estate planning does not reward procrastinating. Protect your life’s work and secure the future of your family and legacy. Contact Fausone & Grysko, PLC at (248) 380-0000 or send a message online.