DOne · Death
Who runs it the morning after?
An owner’s death puts the family, the employees, and the business into the same emergency at once. Lenders, customers, and key staff want to know who is in charge, and they may ask before the family has had time to grieve.
- Who has the authority to sign, pay the bills, and talk to the bank?
- What happens to business debt, and to anything you have personally guaranteed?
- Is there a signed agreement, and money set aside, for buying your shares from your estate?
- Are the beneficiaries on every account and policy the people you would choose today?
When an owner dies unexpectedly, the business can suffer for years afterward: falling sales, lost jobs, and a greater risk of closing. A plan made in advance gives the people left behind somewhere to start.
A plan usually covers
A signed, current buy-sell agreement and life insurance to fund it, an estate plan that accounts for the business, a letter of instructions for your family and managers, and beneficiary designations checked against your wishes.
DTwo · Disability
Alive, but unable to run the business.
A serious illness or injury can take you out of the business for months, or for good. It can be messier than a death: you still own the company and may still draw a salary, but you can’t lead it, and nothing changes hands unless your documents say so.
- Who can make financial and medical decisions for you, and is that in writing?
- Does anyone else have the logins and the authority to run payroll, pay vendors, and answer customers?
- Do your agreements say when a disability triggers a buyout, and how it is paid for?
- If you couldn’t work for a year, what would replace your income, and who would cover your role?
A plan usually covers
Disability income insurance for you and key-person coverage for the business, financial and medical powers of attorney, a letter of instructions, a retention plan for the people you would lean on, and a record of accounts, logins, and signing authority kept somewhere other than your head.
DThree · Divorce
A marriage ends, and the business is part of it.
Even a friendly divorce means putting a value on the business and dividing what you own. Without planning, it can strain the company’s cash, bring an ex-spouse into the ownership, or push you toward a sale you didn’t want.
- How would your share of the business be valued, and who would do the valuing?
- Is there a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, and does it still fit what the business has become?
- If you owed a settlement, would the money come out of the business, and could it afford that?
- Do your company’s agreements say what happens to shares that change hands in a divorce?
A plan usually covers
A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement where it fits, a current estimate of what the business is worth, a buy-sell agreement that addresses divorce, and separate-property planning reviewed with your attorney.
DFour · Disagreement
Partners who stop pulling the same way.
Partnerships change. Goals drift, energy levels differ, and one partner wants out. The best time to agree on how a partner leaves is while everyone still gets along.
- If a partner wanted out next year, what price would they get, and who decides?
- Would the buyout be paid in cash, over time, or with a note, and could the business carry it?
- Who makes the day-to-day calls while a buyout is being worked out?
- Is there a required step, such as mediation, before anyone goes to court?
A plan usually covers
An operating or shareholder agreement with clear buyout terms, an agreed way to set the price, a plan to fund the buyout, mediation before litigation, and rules for who runs the business in the meantime.
DFive · Distress
Trouble from outside that you didn’t cause.
A cyberattack, a fire or flood, a supplier that can’t deliver, a major customer that goes under, a serious accident on the job, a lawsuit. You can’t know which one is coming, but you can decide ahead of time how the business would keep going.
- How long could the business cover its costs if revenue stopped tomorrow?
- Which of your insurance policies would respond, and when did you last read them?
- If your main supplier or system went down, what is the backup?
- Who speaks for the company to employees, customers, and the press?
A plan usually covers
Property, business interruption, and cyber coverage reviewed with your insurance agent, backup suppliers and systems, a written continuity plan, a cash reserve sized to your own risks, and a short plan for who says what in a crisis.
Your attorney drafts the legal documents and your CPA handles the tax side. Our job is to coordinate the pieces so they fit together, and to flag when something needs a fresh look as your life and the business change.