What important estate planning issues should be addressed before the death of a family business founder?
Among the important planning considerations are: (1) anticipated needs of the surviving spouse; (2) potential liquidity issues if the business remains in the founder’s taxable estate; (3) who should serve as Successor Trustees to hold the founder’s ownership equity in the business; (4) coordination of shareholder restriction agreements with the founder’s estate planning documents; (5) disposition of the business’ real estate (if the beneficiaries receiving the business real estate will be different from those receiving the business); (6) a contingency plan in case the founder becomes incapacitated; and (7) estate tax valuation discounts for the founder’s equity ownership.
