Most business owners have their estate planning prepared because they are worried about what will happen to their business after they are dead. However, proper estate planning has the added benefit of allowing you to make plans for what will happen if you are incapacitated or needing to be away from your business for an extended period of time. READ MORE
Posts Categorized: Business Law
Estate Planning When Not All of Your Kids are in the Family Business
Owning your own business can be a great endeavor that takes a lot of passion and drive. Many small business owners focus on the day-to-day management and growth of the business, rather than thinking about a time when he or she may not be in the business. This is a far too common mistake. Future plans for your enterprise are even more important when one child works in the business but the others do not. Keeping the peace among your children after you are no longer able to participate in the business requires careful balancing of your estate plan. READ MORE
Estate Planning Best Practices Gleaned From Famous Celebrity Deaths
Discussing death can be awkward, and many people would prefer just to ignore estate planning all together. However, ignoring—or even putting off—such planning can be a huge mistake, as these celebrity stories will highlight.
The next time one of your relatives tells you they don’t want to talk about estate planning, share these famous celebrities’ stories to get the conversation started. Such cautionary tales offer first-hand evidence of just how critical it is to engage in estate planning, even if it’s uncomfortable. READ MORE
Business Conflict: Tips for Settling Business Disputes Part 2
Last week I discussed the importance of knowing how to negotiate business deals and mitigate conflict whenever possible. Besides being a financial drain, business disputes can also create conflicts that require precious time and energy to resolve. Setting clear boundaries and realistic expectations when making professional agreements is essential in setting yourself up for positive outcomes.
Although avoiding conflict is preferred in professional matters, it is imperative to be prepared to handle business disputes properly when the need arises. Following these valuable tips will increase your chances of a positive outcome when business disputes must be settled. READ MORE
Business Conflict: Tips for Settling Business Disputes Part 1
First and foremost, remember that costly conflict most often arises because the agreement process was not properly handled to begin with. The ideal time to surface conflicts is in the beginning of a relationship by creating clear boundaries and expectations, using the agreement process. The best agreement process will support both parties to share the parts of themselves they may typically hide while making an agreement, while at the same time, asking the hard questions they may not ask.
It’s often difficult to see the things we are hiding when making agreements, or to ask the challenging questions, and that’s why it’s so helpful to have a trusted advisor support you each time you are entering into an agreement with anyone, whether it be a new team member, a business partner, or a strategic partner.When the agreement process is used to create each of your agreements, and before you ever finalize a deal of any type, the number of expensive business disputes you will have will be greatly diminished, if not eliminated completely.
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Do You Have a Business Succession Plan In Place?
Most businesses are not sufficiently liquid to keep the company going and the owner’s family thriving, in the event of death. But with the right plan in place, you can ensure the people you care most about are well provided for if anything happens to you. With a succession plan in place for your business, you can rest easy knowing that if anything happens to you, the people you care about most — your family, clients and customers, your team and partners — will be well cared for, in just the way you want. READ MORE