Business Succession Planning

The goal of the Business Succession Planning Advisory Team is to provide our clients with creative, practical and cost-effective planning to achieve their unique objectives. Williams Mullen provides general corporate, tax, estate planning, employee benefits planning and other legal services to family and closely held businesses. Our clients range from small business enterprises to some of the largest privately held corporations in the United States. We are prepared to work closely with your accountants, financial planners and other advisors to create plans that are specifically tailored to your personal goals while eliminating or minimizing adverse tax consequences. Our broad practice and our many years of experience enable our attorneys to become highly skilled transactional practitioners as well as experienced business advisors and counselors.

• Business Succession Planning
• Retirement Planning
• Wealth Transfer Planning

Business Succession Planning 
The creation and implementation of an effective business succession plan requires a thorough analysis of the underlying business, its management structure, competitive environment and cash flow needs. In addition, family relationships and the values and principles that have guided the business owners in establishing a successful enterprise must be carefully considered. Finally, an effective business succession plan must carefully navigate the myriad of conflicting and complex corporate, employee benefits, tax and trust and estate laws that are involved in these services. Members of the team have expertise in all of these legal areas to ensure that each business succession plan is consistent with the intent of the principals and the requirements of law.

Services

• Advising on business structures, control techniques and distribution of shares; and counseling on family disputes, deadlocks and other shareholder planning issues
• Planning for management succession and changes in ownership and control
• Advising on issues involving family shareholders who are not active in the business
• Advising on the purchase and sale of businesses
• Identifying and advising on steps to develop and meet cash needs through debt or equity financings
• Advice on organizational changes, divisions of businesses and debt or equity financings in the public markets or through private sources
• Structuring domestic and international acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances
• Advising on federal, state and local tax matters
• Designing tax-efficient incentive compensation programs for both family and non-family members of management
• Advising on issues relating to labor and employment matters, federal and state securities laws, antitrust laws, trademark and copyright laws and environmental matters