Baker Donelson advises clients in any industry, and throughout the United States, on business succession planning, which involves planning for both voluntary and involuntary transfers of the ownership, management and/or assets of a business.
Ideally, business succession planning should begin at the time a business is created, when the business entity's formation documents are being drafted. However, with ownership's cooperation, a business may implement a sound succession plan at any point in its life cycle.
We assist clients with achieving a full range of business succession goals, including:
Control of a business. In order for a business to survive and thrive, it's often important that control of a business remains with those owners actively participating in its operations.
Transfers of ownership. We provide counsel regarding the orderly transfer of the business to later generations, selling a family-owned business to unrelated purchasers, incentivizing key employees with equity compensation, as well as restricting transfers of ownership interests in the business.
Buyout triggers. Lawyers on our team work with clients to design buyout triggers which address unwanted or involuntary events that could negatively impact the business and its remaining owners such as deadlocks in voting over major operational decisions, death, disability, retirement, employment termination, the unauthorized transfer of an ownership interest, bankruptcy and an owner's breach of the business' organizational documents.
Financial planning. We advise clients on a full range of financial issues related to business succession, including how to ensure that any succession plan results in optimal tax results, defining buyout valuation mechanisms to avoid disputes over appraisers and valuation formulas, providing a viable funding mechanism for the buyout purchase price and other financial issues such as how a succession plan can provide income for spouses of deceased owners.