A sound business succession plan can help you ensure that your wishes for the future of your business assets are realized and will address several issues, among them:

• Who will manage the business when you are no longer running it day-to-day?
• Will you keep the business in the family?
• Will your business carry on or will you sell it?
• How can you help ensure a smooth transition between you and the future managers and owners of your business?
• How will ownership be structured and what is the best strategy to restructure the ownership?
• How do your retirement, tax and estate planning goals fit into the picture?
• What will happen to the business if you or another co-owner dies or becomes disabled?

Key Business Succession Plan Components:

• A formal, written plan can serve as a sort of constitution for your succession efforts. In addition, a formal plan also allows you to quantify results and measure them against your goals.

• A buy sell agreement spells out the arrangement owners agree upon for the future of the business, such as addressing the impact of disability or death of a major shareholder or owner, or a change in the structure of the firm. This document generally covers a broad array of issues between current and future owners, including:
• Method for transferring ownership
• Transfer price or valuation method
• Arrangements for liquidity and opportunities to purchase shares

Plan Considerations
Every closely-held business faces unique issues - some financial and many emotional. Mesirow Financial can help with these tough decisions. To start, a number of factors will determine the type of succession plan that is right for your company, such as:

• Business and other objectives
• Corporate structure and size
• Financial questions, such as how cost basis should be handled