Your Money: Your future depends on business succession planning
By Medicine Hat News on January 20, 2018.
Have you ever considered what would happen to your business if you were no longer there? This is something you may have considered or will soon be considering because you have reached an age where the thought of retirement appeals to you; had a recent absence from work and realized that your prolonged absence from the business that could threaten the financial security of your family; have been feeling burned out from the tremendous amount of time and energy you have spent in building your business to what it has become today; or have been thinking about another business dream or opportunity that you would like to one day pursue. Have you ever considered how you could reduce your day-to-day involvement in the business? This is something you may have considered or will soon be considering because your doctor has concerns about your health and perhaps suggested that you need to take steps to reduce your involvement in the business; or you have found that the business may be negatively impacting your quality of life by not affording you enough time to spend with your spouse and children. Have you ever considered how others will be affected by your future decisions regarding the business? This is something you may have considered or will soon be considering because you have been thinking about your children’s future, their choices of career, whether they will continue to be, or one day become, actively involved in the business; or you have been thinking about your loyal employees’ futures when you are no longer involved in the business. If you have been, or may soon be, dealing with any of these types of questions, it is well worth your time to engage in some active and coordinated business succession planning. Business succession planning is a process that involves preparing for the transition of both management and ownership of a business from the current owner(s)/manager(s) to the successor managers and owners. This process will help you to identify the best person and select the optimal method to transition the management of your business; identify the best person and approach to transfer ownership of your business; maintain and protect the current value of the business and if possible grow it in the interim period prior to the time of succession; and integrate your business into your overall wealth plan, minimize taxes and maximize the financial returns to you and the people you care about. Take the time to talk with a trusted certified financial planner. We can help put the pieces together and ensure your business succession plans are properly incorporated into your overall wealth plan. For a further discussion around your investment and estate planning issues, contact Neil Mardian, M.Sc. (Mgmt) CFP at 403-504-3026 or neil.mardian@td.com 7-6
