Business Services
It answers critical questions: Who takes over? How do they get control? What happens to employees, customers, and vendors? How does your family get value from the business you built?
In Texas, a solid succession plan:
Without a succession plan, your business may face probate delays, family conflicts, or liquidation at a discount. Employees lose jobs. Customers leave. Value disappears. We help business owners create succession plans that protect the business and the people who depend on it.
Every succession plan starts with a conversation about what you actually want, not what’s typical, but what fits your business, your family, and your timeline.
We discuss your vision for the business. Do you want to pass it to your children? Sell to a key employee? Transition to a partner? Liquidate and distribute the proceeds? We identify potential successors, evaluate their readiness, and clarify your timeline.
Most businesses reach a transition point with legal documents that were written for a different stage of the company.
We review your business entity, operating agreements, partnership agreements, and buy-sell agreements. We identify gaps, outdated provisions, and conflicts with your succession goals.
We draft or update buy-sell agreements, operating agreements, employment agreements, and management transition documents. We draft these documents to work alongside your estate plan and business structure.
We coordinate with your CPA and financial advisor to minimize estate taxes, gift taxes, and income taxes during the transition. We structure ownership transfers to preserve value and reduce unnecessary tax exposure during the transition.
We help you communicate the succession plan to family members, business partners, and key employees. We prepare successors for their roles so they understand their roles and have the legal documentation in place to act when the time comes.
We work with business owners to design and implement succession plans that match their goals, their family dynamics, and their business structure.
The best time to start succession planning is long before you need it. If you’re in your 50s or 60s, succession planning should be a priority. If you have a business partner, a buy-sell agreement should be in place from day one. If you become incapacitated or die without a succession plan, your family and business partners will be forced to make critical decisions under pressure, often with court involvement.
If you die without a succession plan, your business ownership transfers according to your will or, if you have no will, according to Texas intestacy laws. Your family may co-own the business with your business partners. Disputes over management, buyouts, and valuation are common. Probate can delay business decisions for months. Key employees may leave. Customers may go elsewhere. A succession plan prevents these outcomes.
The answer depends on your tax situation, your family dynamics, and your retirement plans. Transferring ownership now through gifting strategies can reduce estate taxes and allow you to mentor your children while you’re still involved. However, transferring too much control too soon can create conflicts or remove your ability to make decisions. We help you structure phased transitions that balance control, taxes, and family relationships.
If your children aren’t interested in running the business, you have other options. You can sell to a key employee, an outside buyer, or a competitor. You can structure an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). You can liquidate the business and distribute the proceeds. We help you explore alternatives and implement the plan that matches your goals.
A buy-sell agreement is a contract between business owners that establishes what happens when an owner dies, becomes disabled, retires, or wants to sell their interest. The agreement includes a valuation method, funding mechanisms (like life insurance), and procedures for buyouts. If you have business partners, a buy-sell agreement is essential. Without one, your family may end up co-owning a business with people they don’t know or trust.
Business valuation can be based on asset value, revenue multiples, earnings, or comparable sales. The method you choose affects taxes, buyout costs, and family disputes. Many buy-sell agreements include formulas that automatically calculate value based on revenue or earnings. We work with appraisers and CPAs to determine fair and enforceable valuation methods.
Yes. Life insurance is a common way to fund buy-sell agreements. When an owner dies, the insurance proceeds are used to buy out their interest from their family. This ensures the surviving owners retain control and the deceased owner’s family receives fair value. We help you structure insurance-funded buyouts that work with your buy-sell agreement and estate plan.
Your estate plan determines who owns your business interest when you die and who has the authority to manage it if you become incapacitated. If your business is titled in your individual name, it becomes part of your probate estate. If it’s held in a trust, it can transfer outside of probate. Powers of attorney allow trusted individuals to manage the business if you’re unable to do so. We coordinate your succession plan with your estate plan to ensure smooth transitions.
