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
Minority investors often purchase interests in private companies without securing a buy-sell agreement (BSA) at the time of their investment. After a few years pass, however, the minority investor and the majority owner may...more
Both corporate legal work and estate planning may play key roles, but different ones, in the long-term success of construction and real estate companies. Originally published in the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce -...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
What is business succession planning, and why is this an important and essential component of forming any new entity or protecting an existing business interest? Business succession planning protects everything you’re...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
For generations, Wisconsin cranberry farms, like potato farms, have been more than businesses—they’ve been legacies. Passed down through families, these farms are rooted in tradition, hard work, and deep community ties. But...more
For restaurant owners, divorce isn’t just about dividing assets—it’s about protecting the legacy you’ve built and ensuring the future of your business remains secure. Amidst the emotional and financial challenges of a...more
Running a restaurant in New York City is demanding, but planning for the future is just as crucial as daily operations. Without a solid estate plan, a restaurant owner risks legal disputes, unnecessary taxes, and business...more
For restaurant owners, business succession planning is crucial to ensuring a smooth transition of ownership while protecting the legacy of their establishment. Whether the goal is to pass the restaurant to family, sell to a...more
Many entrepreneurs achieve the dream: They build a profitable, established business from the ground up. Yet they often find themselves trapped, having created not a sellable asset, but an expensive job. If you are the soul of...more
As attorneys, we are trained to anticipate risk and protect our clients from uncertainty. Yet many of us fail to apply that same diligence to our own practices. Succession planning is not just a professional courtesy—it’s a...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
In this episode, Kimberly Kamkar is joined by corporate law partners Patrick Richard, Anna Tang and Doug Schwartz to explore the complexities of business "break-ups." They discuss essential practices for future planning, the...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
Across all industries, family offices and their owners and management teams face rapidly evolving challenges, opportunities, and risks in the dynamic environment that is 2025. Here are six issues that family offices should...more
Across all industries, private companies, family offices, and their owners and management teams face rapidly evolving challenges, opportunities, and risks in the dynamic environment that is 2025. Here are 11 issues that...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
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
Connelly v. Internal Revenue Service is a landmark SCOTUS decision that will impact business owners, partners, shareholders, members, and professional practitioners from a business perspective, succession planning, as well as...more
On June 6, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal decision in Connelly v. United States, affecting how life insurance proceeds are treated in buy-sell agreements for closely held corporations. The ruling states that...more
In the recent case, Connelly v. United States, 602 U.S. (2024) (slip op.) the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that life insurance proceeds received by a closely held corporation which is used to fund the redemption of a...more
In its recent decision in Connelly v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court held that life insurance proceeds received by a corporation to fund an obligation to purchase a deceased stockholder’s shares in the corporation must be...more