Business Succession Planning in Northern Virginia

Creating a business succession plan means creating an estate plan for your business. The business succession plan answers the question of how to best transfer the business assets from one generation to the next, or to employees or key purchasers. Even if the business is new, business succession planning can serve a very important role.

The task of business succession planning is unique due to the internal dynamics of every business enterprise. The plan will change depending on the structure of the business and the goals of the current owners.

Business Succession Planning by Lawyers Who Know Business

HALE BALL MURPHY, PLC, is a northern Virginia law firm that has been operating in Northern Virginia areas like Fairfax and Annandale since 1980. As part of our estate planning practice, we create business succession plans for all types of businesses:

• Family businesses
• Closely held businesses
• Trusts
• Limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships
• Corporations and limited liability companies

Many of our Virginia estate planning lawyers have business backgrounds, which means we have a practical understanding of business needs and business goals and the transactions of change. We combine our business acumen with an acute understanding of the value of different estate planning and tax planning documents to create business succession plans that are strong and uniquely crafted.

What Will a Business Succession Plan Contain?

The actual instruments used to create a business succession plan depend entirely upon the goals of the current business owner. For example, a business succession plan for a parent-owner who wants to transfer ownership to one child will look different than a plan for a parent-owner who wants to transfer ownership to three children who will run the business together. Different again is the plan for a parent-owner who wants to transfer control to two children who will work in the business and to one child who will not.

No matter the details of the business owner’s goals, every business succession plan will examine:

• Tax planning
• Strategic movement of assets and real estate
• Management of asset transfers to the next generation
• Strategic gifting
• Asset protection and asset restructuring

We also include a great deal of client education in our business succession planning. Sometimes that means our attorneys meet with an entire family to explain the goals and operation of the plan. In other instances, it may mean meeting with employees of a corporation who will receive ownership interest via the current owner’s succession plan.

Contact HALE BALL MURPHY, PLC, for More Information

Learn more about our estate planning practice or our business law services. Or, for answers to specific questions, contact us to schedule a confidential appointment with one of our lawyers. Call 1-703-591-4900 or use our online contact form.