The business succession and personal inheritance planning connection

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Is your business and family protected against the emotional stress, strains on liquidity, and even the abrupt closure that the loss of a business partner or owner can create?

Good planning requires the integration of business and family planning, to have your hopes and wishes documented in the event of an unexpected event or relationship difficulties. This helps to:

ensure the family’s objectives are met
ensure your hopes and wishes are documented in an implementable way and that upon your death, those wishes are readily translated to actions to protect your family and their place in the family business
minimise tax (eg: income and capital gains tax)
protect beneficiaries who may have a special interest in the family business
ensure your assets are always in a readily saleable form
set up secure structures that minimise future costs (eg. taxes, stamp duties, legal fees) and allow for better discretionary movement and application of assets.

Our new team

More and more businesses are taking advantage of Kells The Lawyers’ expertise in the review of existing business structures and succession and inheritance planning.

We now have a business and estate succession team that offers a fully integrated business and inheritance planning service, with expert lawyers handling discrete parts of your review.

Imagine the worst possible business and family scenario...

For most of us, that would be the unexpected death of a key business partner and family member. Good succession planning will ensure that grief is not exacerbated for the loved family members by difficulty in raising funds for the business and/or company acquisition. Good planning will enable the business to move forward with minimal disruption.

Most small-to-medium size businesses are dependent on their principals. In the event of one of their deaths, it will be important that funds are quickly available for payment to the spouse/partner or estate.

The right Wills, and other succession and inheritance planning documents, are crucial.

Clever Wills

For medium-to-higher net-worth people a testamentary trust, or clever Will, is always warranted in the longer term. Testamentary Trust Wills are ideal for people who have significant assets or a complex family situation where:

you have accumulated significant assets
your beneficiaries require asset protection
you want to protect a disabled family member.

They offer:

protection of your assets
flexibility and wider powers to strengthen your executors’ capacity to better deal with estate assets
significant taxation advantages.

Your beneficiaries will also usually be in control of their assets and enjoy taxation advantages and security and protection from asset attack.

A Kells The Lawyers client family recently advised us that they had saved $1.2 million in tax alone in relation to the estate of their wealthy father who died over 15 years ago. There have also been other advantages...

Kells has more than 20 years experience in best-practice, quality inheritance planning services and we take a holistic approach to your business succession and inheritance planning by reviewing your assets and company structure, and providing advice on company powers of attorney (essential for single director companies), enduring powers of attorney and enduring powers of guardianship.

For more information or a preliminary review, please contact Lindsay Stoddart. To view our helpful Wills and estate planning InfoSheets, please go to www.kells.com.au

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