WebCredenza 2025 Generational wealth: Trust and estate planning to preserve family businesses, part 1

Most successful businesses are owned by one or more families. Because they are family owned, these companies create many special planning challenges. Ownership and control do not shift among non-owner managers. Rather, succession in ownership and management is a momentous and often highly emotional process for members of the family. Frequently, these transitions are caused by the retirement or death of members of a family member. And these transitions, if not carefully planned and delicately handled, can be ruinous, damaging the family and their company. This program will provide you a practical framework of trust and estate planning and succession planning for family businesses. 

Part 1:

• Succession planning in family businesses.
• Counseling clients on how to avoid family drama on succession.
• Valuation issues for financial and tax purposes.
• Buy-sell planning with family members or key employees.
• Selling to third parties where intra-family succession is not possible.
• Planning for the incapacity of the founding generation.

Part 2:

• Life insurance trust planning – or as a compensating asset to certain heirs.
• Structuring private annuities to transfer a business and provide income to founders.
• Self-cancelling installments notes and intentionally defective irrevocable trusts.
• Use of GRATS and “redemptive freezes”.

Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.