Charlotte and Union County NC Business Planning and Business Succession Attorney
Planning A New North Carolina Business
Starting a business requires planning. A significant part of the planning process involves deciding what form the business will take. Will it be an unincorporated business, such as a sole proprietorship or a partnership? Or will it take on a more formal form, like a Limited Liability Company (LLC), Corporation, or Limited Partnership? If the business will be a corporation or LLC, will it be taxed as a separate entity or will it elect pass-through taxation?
These are just a few of the issues that must be sorted out during the business planning process. Once you have made these decisions, it is time to draft and file the necessary paperwork to get the business going. For a partnership, you need a partnership agreement. For an LLC, you need Articles of Organization and an Operating Agreement. For a corporation, you need Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. You may also need a corporate seal, minute book, and stock certificates.
The legal aspects of the business planning process can seem daunting. If you need help making a decision about which business entity form would be best for your business, give us a call at (704) 288-4700 for a free telephone consultation. We will discuss your specific needs and goals to determine what business entity would be best for your specific situation. From there, we will draft the necessary documentation, file the paperwork for you, and if appropriate, provide you with a corporate seal, minute book, and stock certificates.
North Carolina Business Succession Planning
“What happens to my business if I die?” The answer depends on whether you have a business succession plan in place. Business succession planning is a specialized area of estate planning in which you determine what will happen to your business after your time with the business has ended. Whether you eventually plan to retire or intend to continue with your business until your dying day, there will come a time when you will no longer own and operate your business. You may intend to pass the family business on to the next generation or you may have another plan. Whatever the case may be, you need to establish a plan. Without a plan, your business will pass to your heirs by intestate succession, which can cause unintended consequences, including tax consequences, and can ultimately result in the collapse of the business if the heirs are not qualified to run the company.
Many techniques are available to business owners who are planning for the succession of their businesses to the next generation. There are tax and non-tax issues to consider. For example, many business owners neglect to consider the capital gains tax in their business succession plans. Many business owners will recognize huge gains on the sale of their interests in their businesses when they die or retire, but with proper planning capital gains tax can be avoided altogether in many cases. In addition, if you have children who are not interested in the business or are not qualified to operate the business, there are ways that they can benefit from the business without participating in day-to-day operations.
There are as many different situations as there are businesses. That’s why you need professional guidance when it comes time to business succession planning in North Carolina. If you’re ready to take the first steps toward securing your business’s future, call us at (704) 288-4700 for a free telephone consultation. We can get an idea of your specific needs and concerns and begin to suggest a planning strategy that will be appropriate to your family and business.
