Whether you are a solo practitioner or in a group practice, you need a solid plan in place to protect your family and business interests. These tips apply to many professionals – doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, therapists and other professionals in private practice.
The beginning of a new year is an excellent time to reevaluate your present estate plan and business succession plan to make sure that in the event of your death or incapacity, you can preserve the assets of your practice, minimize losses and protect your loved ones. Here are a few tips:
1. Take some time to think through what would happen should you become incapacitated. This often happens suddenly and without warning or regard to age. Do you have a power of attorney in place granting powers to an agent to step in and manage your business, legal and financial affairs to ensure there is no disruption?
2. Consider joining a practice coverage group. This is a group of professionals similar to yourself that form a legal agreement to step in and cover for one another should the need arise. This can be vital to ensuring on-going business continuity, especially in situations where the disability or incapacity is only temporary.
3. Review your office lease to determine whether a death/disability provision allows you to terminate if necessary. If that is not an option, consider getting a business interruption insurance policy to cover the term of the lease period and other expenses that you foresee.
4. Consider creating a buy-sell agreement for your practice. A buy-sell agreement seeks to minimize the risks and hurdles associated with business transition after the death or incapacity of an owner. It appraises the fair market value of the business and determines who will buy your interests. The agreement can require the purchase of an insurance policy to provide needed liquidity for the buyout.
5. Make sure your personal estate plan is consistent with your business succession plan. Your estate planning attorney should know about all of your assets as well as the ownership structures. Your personal estate plan will provide for your loved ones, but only if your business succession plan is neatly aligned and ensures the continuity of your business.
If you are in private practice, it is imperative to have both a personal estate plan and a cohesive, complementary business succession plan. At Stouffer Legal, our experienced estate planning attorneys can help you create both plans in a way to protect your loved ones and your business. You can schedule an appointment by calling us at (443) 470-3599, emailing us at office@stoufferlegal.com, or register for an upcoming free webinar using the link below:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1753214591152618768
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2648817389511056655
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4480536691178250000
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3261621399160673551
