Business Succession Planning

Reger Rizzo & Darnall’s Business Succession Planning Group has extensive experience representing clients in a wide range of estate and tax planning, business succession planning and fiduciary tax service issues for closely-held business owners, trustees, individuals and executors. We work closely with wealth management, trust company and insurance professionals to provide coordinated, quality service to our mutual clients. We also represent fiduciaries and beneficiaries in estate and trust litigation.

Our Services

Our team of experienced attorneys address both family and business interests when forming a comprehensive strategy to plan for the transition of a client’s business. We are dedicated to assisting individuals achieve their economic goals, while also providing a seamless transition for a multi-generational family business. We counsel clients on the options available to them and provide strategic, sound advice with the ultimate goal of minimizing federal, state and local taxes while also preserving wealth for the company owners and their families.

We also assist clients in finding solutions to sensitive familial conflicts that many closely held businesses encounter. We work closely with clients to facilitate constructive and open dialogue, build a consensus among members in order to navigate towards an amicable resolution and work with clients to identify the necessary components required to keep a business in the family for generations to come.

We recognize that all business owners must plan for the future. We provide a comprehensive array of planning services to family-owned businesses, including;

  • Use of life insurance to provide liquidity to an estate or to help pay the family of a deceased member of a family business the value of his or her interest in the enterprise.
  • Various agreements and compensation arrangements for business owners, including shareholder, partnership and limited liability company operating agreements, buy-sell agreements, restrictive stock agreements, employment agreements and non-qualified deferred compensation agreements.
  • Assessment and strategic planning concerning short and long-term estate implications of commercial transactions, such as selling or restructuring the business, mergers and acquisitions, like-kind exchanges, and recapitalizations, including the use of preferred interests as well as voting and non-voting stock.
  • Planning for the possible sale of the family business or alternatively, the spin-off of a subsidiary or division to family members or the creation of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).

Our Team

We believe it is important for individuals to retain counsel who have a clear understanding of the client’s situation, priorities and objectives. Our Business Succession Planning attorneys have decades of experience and stand ready to assist you with any questions you may have in this arena. Our team regularly consults with other members of various firm-wide groups, such as Estates & Trusts, Litigation, Business & Corporate, Labor & Employment and many others, in order to form a multidisciplinary team that provides a full range of legal services to each and every client.

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