Succession Planning

Business-Owning Baby Boomers Need to Start Succession Planning

Published on: May 4, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

With an estimated 10,000 Boomers retiring every day, members of this generation who own businesses should already have their succession plans in place.

Exit or succession planning is a lot more complicated than most business recognize. It takes a long time if it is to be done properly. A recent article from Moultrie News, “Securing retirement through engaging in business exit planning,” says that not all business-owning baby boomers are ready.

Many soon-to-be retirees are closely-held business owners who have created and operated very successful businesses for years, but they’re now considering what their next move will be.

From Inside the Firm: Tom’s “Do’s and Don’ts” for Succession Planning

Published on: December 2, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

TOM’S 8 TIPS FOR SUCCESSION PLANNING^{(1) ©}

Realize that your Exit Strategy is not business as usual. Get knowledgeable guidance e.g. from financial/legal advisors (team approach). Start now.

Be realistic about objectives: Is it first and goal to go or is it a goal line defense?

From Inside the Firm: Tom’s Tax Tips for Succession Planning

Published on: November 18, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

TOM’S 9 TAX TIPS AND FACTS RELATED TO SUCCESSION PLANNING(1)©

1. Estate tax, the cruelest tax. You are taxed once on the income you earn. You save some of what you earn and are successful. If you die with “too much”, you are taxed again on your hard earned savings.

2. Only Federal; Texas does not have an estate or an inheritance tax.

Business Succession Through Employees

Published on: March 20, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The 1974 ESOP law and later amendments were designed to encourage employee ownership. Company founders who initially sell just part of their stake and stay on as CEO say the best news comes after the deal: employees start to act more like owners. Ideas formerly kept quiet start to bubble up. Costs, once resistant to reduction, come under control more easily.

Once you have decided to sell your business, the million-dollar question becomes: "to whom should you sell it?" If you have no successor in mind, have you considered your employees? As many have discovered over the years, there is much to be said for selling the business to the employees themselves in the form of an ESOP or “Employee Stock Ownership Plan.”

Much has been written on the topics of employee ownership and the ESOP transition before, but a recent Forbes article titled “The Better Exit Strategy: ESOPs Satisfy Business Owners And Preserve Their Legacy” is worth your read.

Passing The Torch – Five Succession Tips for Houston Businesses

Published on: January 3, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

To ensure your exit goals are met and your family relationships remain intact, it's important to clarify the family succession process right from the start.

When you are a family business owner looking to pass the torch, the business is typically your greatest asset and likely the center of the family's wellbeing. You cannot afford to mess this up.

Succession planning is unique because business is business, and so a successful succession is a careful one.