If you’re a small business owner, you have a lot on your proverbial plate on any given day. You’ve put your heart, soul and perhaps your family’s financial stability and future into your vision. You’re “all-in,” as they say, and you spend every day pushing yourself to the limit to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to maximize the potential of your business. With this mindset, the last thing you may want to think about is what would happen if you were to suddenly pass away or become incapacitated. However, the fact that you’re so central to your operation is exactly why you need small business legal advice to make sure that your business, your goals and the people who depend on you are properly taken care of just in case something unexpected occurs.
Kam Law Firm provides small business legal advice to clients who face just about every situation imaginable, and we want to help you plan for anything and everything that could happen, whether it’s generally expected or not. Below you’ll find an overview of this situation. If you are a small business owner and you don’t have an estate plan in place, contact Kam Law Firm as soon as possible to schedule an initial consultation.
Why You Need Small Business Legal Advice
No one likes thinking about passing away or suffering some sort of incapacitating injury or illness. The fact of the matter, however, is that as a small business owner, you owe it to the people who depend on you professionally and financially to account for all situations before anything happens. Businesses need estate planning just like anyone else. Obtaining small business legal advice with regards to estate planning for your company can help deal with the following goals, questions or concerns before they affect anyone else:
- The Fulfillment of Your Original Business Vision
- Smooth Succession
- Tax Questions/Problems
- Peace of Mind for Your Family Members, Employees and Creditors
Don’t wait for something to happen, for if you do you will not be able to control how things play out and what happens to your small business and to those you care about. Contact Kam Law Firm today for the small business legal advice you need.
The Fulfillment of Your Original Business Vision
When you opened your small business, you had a goal or goals in mind, and whether or not those goals have changed, they still likely drive you on a daily basis. Whether your goal was to start a business that lived well beyond your years or you wanted to build it to the point where you could sell it and retire, passing on the windfall to your family, you need to protect those ideas.
When you obtain the proper small business legal advice, your vision can continue to be pursued almost regardless of what happens to you or when. Kam Law Firm can help you draft and execute documents that dictate what should happen to your business if you are suddenly no longer able to make those decisions for yourself. The firm will also make sure that those decisions are followed through so that no confusion arises. If you wanted to sell your business, the firm will put the pieces in place to handle that, and if you wanted the business to continue, Kam Law Firm will help ensure that transition.
Smooth Succession
Many of us have lived through the unfortunate experience of having someone pass away suddenly. Regardless of context, the people affected by that situation have often been left with blank expressions and either silent or overtly verbal questions along the lines of, “Now what?” The last thing you want with your small business is to have your family and/or employees standing around, stunned, asking, “Now what?” That will unavoidably lead to serious problems, many of which would be difficult to foresee, as people tend to react to sudden and tragic news in unpredictable ways. Ultimately, a lack of planning could lead to the downfall of your business and unnecessary and avoidable financial suffering for those close to you.
Kam Law Firm can provide you with the type of forward-thinking small business legal advice that will help eliminate that diabolical question. We can help you put a succession plan in place that will clarify, among other things:
- New ownership structure for your business
- New management
- Statuses for employees
- The identity of advisors who would help with the transition
- How creditors should be handled
If you plan properly, the people you work with and your family members will still suffer from the emotions connected to what happens to you, but they will also have no questions regarding the business, finances and the like. You need to make sure you provide them with the reassurance that they’re pushing forward with your plan and ideas.
Tax Liability Questions
If you don’t put an estate plan together that protects your small business, you could face several different types of tax questions and problems that you can legally avoid if you get in front of this issue. Specifically, different types of business entities, or non-entities in the case of sole proprietorships in California, can trigger different tax liabilities in the form of estate taxes for your heirs unless you deal with this situation ahead of time. The last thing you want is for your loved ones to unexpectedly deal with tax liabilities that force their hand with regards to your business, as that would lead to harm for your employees as well.
Every situation is different, every business entity is different and every business owner has different ideas and priorities. However, no one wants to force a tax bill on loved ones or colleagues, so you need to obtain some small business legal advice from Kam Law Firm as soon as possible to plan for these scenarios.
Statutory Compliance
If you own a small business in California, you likely already know that depending on the type of entity you own, there are certain types of documentation that you need to provide to the state in order to maintain proper compliance. For instance, many entities need to file a Statement of Information with the Secretary of State. This document provides the state with up-to-date information regarding the nature of the business, the identity of people central to the operation and other data points.
This is just one example of documentation that may need to be updated should something happen to you, and it’s also just one example of something that, if not done properly in the event of your unexpected passing or incapacitation that could lead to serious problems. In some cases, the state can actually suspend a business entity unless or until it complies with certain documentation-centric regulations. Make sure you avoid this problem by way of small business legal advice from Kam Law Firm.
Provide Peace of Mind
Overall, small business legal advice can provide you, your family, your employees and even your creditors with peace of mind should something happen to you. Your business can either continue to run as you foresaw it or be sold as you hoped, your creditors can be paid or reassured and your family and employees will know how to proceed. One could place a numeric value on some of these benefits, while others are beyond financial figures. The bottom line is that if you want to make sure that your legacy is preserved through your business, you should contact Kam Law Firm today to get that process started.
