Leaving property to heirs: outright or in trust? Should you leave a distribution to an heir outright or in trust? Jon and I have this discussion with our clients every day. There are numerous issues to be considered. Today we’ll delve into a few. If the heir is a minor or is incompetent, it’s easy.…
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A key to a successful business exit: “growing“ an employee into an owner. Business exit planning usually means working to successfully transfer the business to an “insider,” an employee or child. Once we’ve helped the business owner (1) clarify goals and (2) figure out the value of the business and how much cash flow it…
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What if a business owner dies in the middle of an ownership transition process? As part of our Business Exit Planning Process, we plan for what would happen if the business owner died in the middle of the transition process. We’ll design a plan so, that if transition to a new owner is to be…
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Pet trusts – estate planning isn’t just for humans! Estate planning – and the protection we can provide through planning – is not just for people. Many people consider their pets to be part of the family. If a person wants to do, we can plan their estate to provide for their pets at the…
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Who can an owner sell his small business to? Most Montana businesses are small. That makes it less likely that the business owner can find a buyer with cash and borrowing capacity to just buy the business. It makes it more likely the business owner will have to plan for a sale to a family…
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Planning for the Sale of the Family Business – Often Ignored Many of our clients own small businesses. They work hard, and they do a wonderful job of managing their businesses. Many of their businesses have enjoyed extraordinary growth over the years. And many of these same business owners have done nothing to plan for…
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When mom and dad want to leave property to the kids jointly. Whether it’s a family’s business, ranch or cabin, when parents want to leave property to the kids jointly we often recommend that the parents set up an ownership structure that will be in place when the kids take over. We may suggest that…
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The family cabin – mom and dad’s legacy In our last blog entry we identified legacy as one of the most important issues in estate planning. Mom and dad want to pass on what has meant the most to them. That often means the family cabin. Clients may come in saying they want a plan that…
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The balancing act of estate planning. When people come in to discuss their estate planning, they often start by focusing on taxes. But as we go through our process with clients to help them identify and really understand their most important issues, we almost always end up wrestling with issues of control and legacy. As…
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Do you still need a bypass trust? Under the 2012 Tax Act families with estates of roughly $10 million or less do not face the specter of estate tax when mom and dad pass away. That’s great (and overly broad), but it creates an issue for those families. Most existing wills and living trusts contain…
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