Succession Planning
When the time comes for you to leave your business will you be all set? Succession planning is vital to making a smooth shift to new ownership and management. Plan your exit technique carefully to keep the value of your business.
Business Succession Plan
Producing and executing a sound succession plan will provide numerous benefits to owners and partners:
- It ensures an acceptable price for a partner’s share of the business and eliminates the requirement for the appraisal upon death since the insured consented to the cost in advance.
- The policy benefits will be right away available to pay for the deceased’s share of the business, with no liquidity or time restraints. This successfully prevents the possibility of an external takeover due to cash flow issues or the requirement to sell the business or other assets to cover the expense of the deceased’s interest.
- A succession plan can greatly help in developing a prompt settlement of the deceased’s estate.
Insurance Carriers
- Manulife Financial
- Canada Life
- Sun Life
- RBC Insurance
- BMO Insurance
- Canada Protection Plan (CPP)
- Industrial Alliance
- Ivari
- Equitable Life
- Empire Life
Life Insurance is the transfer vehicle
There are two standard arrangements used for this. They are understood as entity-purchase agreements and cross-purchase agreements. While both eventually serve the exact same purpose, they are used in various circumstances.
How much Is My Business Worth?
When company owner choose to cash-out, or in the occasion of death, a set dollar worth for business requires to be figured out, or a minimum of the exiting share of it. This can be done either through an appraisal by a qualified public accounting professional (CPA) or by an arbitrary agreement between all partners included. The assessment of the owner’s interest will be identified by the stock’s present market value if the portion of the company consists solely of shares of publicly-traded stock.
Cross-Purchase Agreements
As an example, envision that there are three partners who each own equivalent shares of a business worth $3 million, so each partner’s share is valued at $1 million. The agreement needs that each partner takes out a $500,000 policy on each of the other two partners.
Entity-Purchase Agreements
When there are just 2 partners, there can even be issues. Let’s say one partner is 35 years of age, and the other is 60 years of age – there will be a big disparity between the respective costs of the policies. In these circumstances, an entity-purchase agreement is frequently used rather.
The entity-purchase arrangement is much less complex. In this type of agreement, the business itself purchases a single policy on each partner and ends up being both the policy owner and beneficiary. Upon the death of any partner or owner, the business will utilize the policy proceeds to purchase the deceased individual’s share of the business appropriately. The cost of each policy is generally deductible for the business, and the business also “consumes” all expenses and underwrites the equity between partners.
Tax Implications of a Business Succession Plan
– Will you need a loan to fund the succession plan?
– What are the tax implications if you are the sole owner, in a partnership, or corporation?
– Can you take advantage of the capital gains exemption?
– What can you do to reduce the tax bill?
– What about an estate freeze?
Our Advisors
Tax professionals can offer understanding and expertise in locations that you might not have a lot of experience.
Not simply any tax specialist will do. When searching for assistance with succession planning, ensure you pick tax specialists that have decades of experience working specifically with small companies, farm operators, entrepreneurs, and independent contractors.