An article in the New York Times on March 24, 2016, emphasizes the critical need for succession planning in closely held companies. While business succession planning is important at various levels, the fallout for companies that lose a founder can be particularly bad.

The article notes that most small businesses are family

The majority of the world’s enterprises today are family firms.  That is according to David S. Landes, Professor Emeritus of History and Economics at Harvard and author of Dynasties – – Fortunes and Misfortunes of the World’s Great Family Businesses. Dynasties is a fascinating book which highlights the prevalence and importance of family businesses in

A business succession plan is a key component of any asset protection plan.  In most cases, a family business constitutes a large percentage of the owners’ assets.  Yet a significant number of businesses have absolutely no succession plan in place.

In thirty years of representing family businesses, I have come to understand why succession planning

There are a number of relatively simple strategies an organization can use to provide significant protection for its assets.

1.                        Separate Entities. Consider creating a separate entity (possibly a limited liability company) to hold real estate, machinery, or assets relating to a new line of business. If there were a future judgment against the corporation