Business Succession Planning Attorneys

Client-Centered Lawyers Helping Business Owners Plan for the Future

When you own and operate a business, it can be very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of the company. Meeting and exceeding customers' expectations can leave precious little time for you to consider the bigger picture. At Sosin, Arnold & Schoenbeck Ltd., our experienced attorneys help business owners and their families develop strategies regarding the future of their ventures. Business succession planning is an important, but often overlooked, element of long-term commercial profitability.

Understanding Business Succession Planning

Business succession planning is similar to and may be part of personal estate planning. Both processes require careful consideration of the future and offer security in potentially uncertain circumstances. The attorneys at our law firm recognize the importance of developing close, working relationships with our clients, allowing us to form an intimate understanding of their needs as well as the inner workings of the businesses they operate. In many cases, we are more than legal counsel; we become trusted advisors that our clients can depend on for guidance.

Types of Succession Planning

There are a number of ways in which business succession planning can help you protect the future of your company and your investment in it. Generally, a business owner may either sell the company or pass it on to the next generation. When planning to sell a business, advance preparation and conditioning of the business can help a business owner improve the return he or she receives upon its sale. Our firm regularly assists business owners in preparing for and executing the sales of their businesses. Many of our clients pass on their businesses to their children. This process too tends to have better results the more the business owner plans for it in advance. Sosin, Arnold & Schoenbeck Ltd. regularly assists its clients in implementing strategies to gradually and responsibly shift ownership, control, and risk in owning a business to younger generations.

At Sosin, Arnold & Schoenbeck Ltd., we also assist clients in creating contingency-based succession plans, which are designed to protect a business in the event of an owner or partner is unable to fulfill his or her duties. Succession plans can be developed to account for a divorce, incapacitating illness, and death, with insurance policies available to cover the disabled or deceased party's interest in the business. Some succession plans provide for the transfer of ownership to existing partners or other successors, while other plans provide that in such circumstances, the business will be sold and the proceeds divided among the partners.

Work With Business Succession Professionals

Developing the best succession plans for your business requires a careful analysis of your company as well as an understanding of your personal needs and goals. Our vast experience in assisting our clients with their business succession needs enables us to provide learned counsel based on experience to our clients in these matters. As part of our customized and collaborative approach, we work with our business owner clients, their accountants, and other third-party advisors to develop solutions that satisfy our clients’ financial, estate planning, and tax minimization objectives when transitioning a business. At Sosin, Arnold & Schoenbeck Ltd., our attorneys are equipped to help you create a plan that offers you, your business, and your family the security needed for a smooth transition of your business and an uncertain future. Contact our office at 708-448-8141 to learn more.