Episode One: Corporate Divorce – Preventing and Managing the Break-Up of a Business Partnership
Episode 21 | Where There's A Will, There's A Way
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Buy-Sell Agreements: A Conversation With Expert and Author Paul Hood
Buy-Sell Agreements and Their Place in an Asset Protection Plan
Family-owned businesses can face challenges around share ownership and potential sales. Proper planning, including documenting board membership, setting share transfer rules and establishing a framework for sales, can help...more
For many family-owned businesses, the future is built on relationships, trust, and shared history. But when it comes to succession planning, even the most tightly knit families often delay the conversation. As corporate...more
Many restaurant disputes boil down to one question: “Who gets to decide?” Is it the chef? The money partner? The majority owner? The answer should be in your governance structure — not in the middle of a heated argument....more
Closely held businesses routinely use life insurance to fund buy-sell obligations when an owner dies. The logic is simple: the company or surviving owners need liquidity to effect redemptions or repurchases, and life...more
Why should every business owner consider or revisit business succession planning at this time of year? The simple answer: Business succession planning protects owner and company alike. It protects all of the hard work and...more
Owning a restaurant with partners can be rewarding, but it also comes with challenges—especially when one partner wants to leave the business. A well-structured buyout agreement is essential to ensure a smooth transition and...more
In the high-pressure world of restaurant ownership, partnerships can be as delicate as they are rewarding. When business owners don’t plan for the unexpected—whether that’s a partner’s departure, illness, or...more
More than two centuries before Hamilton became Broadway’s most successful musical, Alexander Hamilton and his nemesis, Aaron Burr (sir), chose to resolve their disputes by dueling at dawn in Weehawken, New Jersey. This...more
You’ve put the proverbial blood, sweat and tears into building your business. You’ve navigated its challenges and celebrated its growth. You may even have plans for what’s next — but are you planning for when you’re no longer...more
This post features Part 2 of a recent two-part program to be later aired on New York City public access cable in which I was interviewed by Sandra Schulte on an array of topics in the business divorce universe. Sandra has...more
Experienced trusts and estates attorneys consistently observe how proper planning can mean the difference between a thriving legacy and a fragmented enterprise. For family-owned life insurance businesses, the stakes are...more
When a married couple enters into a divorce proceeding, they generally expect to end things in a final decree that fully divides all of their marital assets. But when they fully own or have a large interest in a closely held,...more
Just like any kind of relationship, not all business partnerships are built to stand the test of time. They can sour just as easily as a romantic partnership or friendship as vision and long-term goals diverge, financial...more
During Valentine’s Day month, we are taking a look at 50-50 owned private businesses. Forming a co-owned company may sound like a good idea on paper because the two partners are close friends or family members who are making...more
With apologies to the pseudonymous children’s book author Watty Piper, this is the story of a humble buy-sell provision in a family-owned LLC’s operating agreement that temporarily ran out of steam in the lower court, only to...more
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Connelly v. United States, that the valuation of a decedent’s shares in a closely held corporation for federal estate tax purposes must include insurance proceeds received...more
Most people take steps to maintain good health, including scheduling annual checkups with their doctors to confirm there are no immediate or long-term health concerns. This checkup could include a stress test, which lets you...more
Money talks when the majority owners of private companies add new business partners who contribute additional capital. When these investors are high-powered PE firms or high-profile companies, with large balance sheets and...more
Many small business owners mistakenly believe business succession planning and estate planning is for those with substantial wealth. This is simply a myth which does not reflect the nature of business or home ownership....more
On June 6, 2024, the Supreme Court held 9-to-0 in Connelly v. United States that company-owned life insurance increases the company’s fair market value for estate tax purposes, and the company’s obligation to redeem a...more
On June 6, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion regarding Connelly, as Executor of the Estate of Connelly v. United States. This final decision will directly impact all closely held business owners that...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued an important ruling on June 6, 2024, clarifying the federal tax consequences of certain succession plans for closely held businesses. The Court held in Connelly v. United States,...more
All U.S. closely held businesses just received a warning from the highest court in the land that they should review their succession plans (or else risk a higher tax bill for the estates of their owners). On June 6, 2024, the...more
Hindsight can be a wonderful thing, especially if hard-earned lessons are adopted by others who are willing to learn from past mistakes. When private company owners and investors share with me some of the wisdom they have...more
It may be a reflection of summer’s lazy days or a simmering frustration that has built up over time, but it is not uncommon for a majority owner or a minority investor in a private company to decide the time has come to...more