How a Probate Attorney Can Help Bequeath a Business
Owning a business helps you make money to support your loved ones. Though no one wants to think about dying, you should think about what will happen to your business when you’re no longer there. Without a will, the state may take your estate to pay off any creditors you have and leave your family with nothing. A probate attorney can help you write a will and bequeath your business and any other assets you have.
Dying Without a Will
Nevada has set laws about what happens to property owned by a deceased person who did not have a will. If you have a spouse but no children, your whole business will go to your spouse. When you have a spouse and kids, the state will give you the entire estate to your spouse. The law also allows your estate to pass to your parents if you do not have a spouse or kids. The only way to ensure that your business goes to the person who deserves it is with a will.
Buy and Sell Agreement
A probate lawyer may recommend that you create a buy and sell agreement with anyone else who owns an interest in your business. This allows your partners to take control of your business. It leaves out any of your beneficiaries though and shows that they do not own any portion of the company. This is a good option if you started a business with a friend who put up more money early and you want to make sure that they get the full business.
Business Assets
One thing an estate planning attorney Las Vegas firm might tell you that you don’t know is that you can separate your business from its assets. Do you own a tour company that has dozens of vehicles to take visitors around the city? With the right estate planning, you can make sure that those assets stay with your business or separate them from your company. You may want to separate some of your assets because you plan to leave the business to one person but another person helped you buy those assets.
Succession Plan
No matter what type of business you own, you need to create a succession plan. A succession plan allows you to identify the person or people you want to run your business after you pass away. If you are the sole owner, the business will become part of your estate. Without a will, the state has the final say over who gets the business. Nevada officials may even determine that the state should dissolve your business and sell off the assets. This can happen if you owe money to others. The money earned by your estate goes to your creditors. Your family only gets the money that is left.
With a succession plan, you have the final say over what happens to your business. Similar plans help you keep your home and other assets in your family. For example, you can fill out the paperwork with your bank to name a successor in interest on your home. When you pass away, that person has the right to work with the bank to take over your mortgage and become the new borrower. Similar paperwork allows you to do the same thing with your business. You can also use a succession plan to give different parts of the business to different people or to name a group of people you want to run it.
Trust Planning With a Probate Attorney
If you’re a parent with minor children, you need a will that names the people who will take care of your children when you’re gone. Without a will, the state can decide who cares for them and oversees any property they inherit. Trust planning helps you keep the business in your family and pass it down to your kids, even if they are under the age of 18 when you pass away. Estate planning lawyers in Las Vegas can help you create a trust for your children.
The trust lays out your last wishes for your business and how it relates to your family. You can name a board of adults who will oversee and run the business until your child or one of your children reaches adulthood. The board is responsible for making decisions that benefit the business and your family. You might want your children to have a seat on the board when they turn 18 or 21 or ask that the board put back a portion of the profits your business makes in a trust that your children can only access when they get older.
Tax Issues
Many people do not realize that the estates they leave behind can have tax issues. Though Nevada does not have an estate tax, the federal government does. If your business is worth more than $11.7 million, the person you leave it to is responsible for paying the estate tax on it. You may want to meet with a probate attorney Las Vegas firm to learn about setting up a bank account that covers this tax or using other methods to reduce the amount your family or others owe when they inherit your business.
Selling Your Business
A good probate attorney can also help you sell your business before or after you pass away. If you are sick, the lawyer can help you figure out the paperwork and work with an agent to find a buyer. This gives you money that you can use to have fun with your family and also funds that you can leave behind for them. You also have the right to draft a will that states you want your family to sell the business after your passing. While you might give them the legal right to sell the business immediately, you can also ask that they wait until your last child becomes an adult. When all of your children reach the legal age of 18, your family can sell your business and evenly split all of the money.
Bequeath Your Business
To bequeath your business, you need to choose the right person for the job. Whether it’s someone who owns the business with you or a loved one, you want to prepare them for what the future holds. A probate attorney can help file guardianship Las Vegas paperwork to keep your children safe and ensure that the right people watch over them. Working with a probate lawyer also helps you bequeath your business to the right person or decide what should happen to your company after you pass away.
