What Generosity Really Means
The end of the calendar year showcases generosity. Consider the holidays. Thanksgiving is about gratitude, when people often express thanks for the generosity of others. Christmas is largely about being a good giver and a good receiver of gifts. Both Christmas and Hanukkah represent gratitude for receiving gifts from God. For many, New Year’s Eve is a time to look back with gratitude on the closing year. And throughout this period, taxpayers consider how much money to give away, and to whom. Charities, for their part, remind donors to make year-end contributions.
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Try To Avoid These Numbers When Playing The Lottery
Ony 30% of family business pass to the third generation, that's not long - from grandparent to grandchild. Additionally, by the third generation 90% of the assets are held in Trusts and 80% of Trust beneficiaries see their Trust as a burden. For Family Businesses the stats are not good, but why does this happen? The answer lies in how how the Trust is operated.
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When was the last time you ran a fire drill?
Probably you haven’t been in a real fire drill since grade school and if grade school was long ago for you, you probably haven’t run a fire drill on your business. By this I mean an actual, full-blown simulation where you plan out what would happen if disaster struck your business in the form of death of a key person. You have business interruption insurance, and you have assured continuity of your computer network and essential data. But if you have not also simulated transition in case the head of your company were to die suddenly, you have not planned for a most crucial contingency.
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Inside Out Succession
Estate planning to mitigate anticipated taxes should be the end of the succession planning process, not the beginning. Amelia Renkert-Thomas and Roy Kozupsky discuss why business-owning families often undertake succession planning inside out.
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The Trustee's Role in an Owners Council
When members of the next generation take over ownership of a business from the founder, they may fail to anticipate the challenges that will arise because ownership is now held by a group rather than a single individual. One way owners can help to overcome the challenges is to establish an Owners Council, acting as a forum for owners to articulate a shared vision and purpose.
But, what if a trust owns the business or part of it?....
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When Good Enough is Excellent
Does the thought of getting started on long-term planning with your family weigh on you? Depress you? Make you anxious? How many times have you put it off because you wonder how it all will turn out? Have you considered whether you’re applying the right standard to the outcome you envision?
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