Business Succession Planning for Morgan Hill Owners

Start with ownership, not assumptions

An estate plan can coordinate a will, trust, financial decision-making documents and asset ownership. For a business owner, that means first clarifying what the business interest is and how it is held. The name of a company or the fact that you work in it may not, by itself, explain what you own.

Gather records that identify your interest and its form of ownership, along with any documents that describe how the interest is held. The aim is to make the ownership picture clear enough to discuss how it fits with the rest of your estate plan.

• Identify the business interest or interests you own.
• Note how each interest is held and gather records that show the ownership.
• Flag any uncertainty or differences between your understanding and the documents.

Collect the documents that may need to work together

For a remote consultation, collect the estate-planning documents you already have, including any will, trust or financial decision-making documents, together with records showing business ownership. Reviewing these materials as a group helps frame questions about whether the business interest and the plan are coordinated.

If a document is missing or you are unsure whether it is current, note that rather than trying to resolve the question on your own. A useful preparation step is to make a simple list of each document, what it appears to address and any question you want to discuss.

• Gather existing wills, trusts and financial decision-making documents.
• Include records that identify the business interest and how it is held.
• Write down uncertainties and the decisions you hope the plan will address.

Identify the people expected to act

Consider who you expect to make financial decisions for you if you cannot act, and who you expect to handle matters after your death. Bring the names and roles reflected in your existing documents, if any, and note where your expectations have changed.

This is a discussion about coordinating people and documents, not a conclusion that a particular person can take over business operations or that a specific transfer will occur. The relevant plan depends on your ownership information and the documents you have in place.

• List the people named in relevant existing planning documents and the roles assigned to them.
• Note who you expect to act during incapacity and who you expect to handle your affairs after death.
• Prepare questions about how those roles relate to the business interest.

Use the consultation to define the coordination questions

A focused discussion can begin with three questions: What business interest do I own and how is it held? Which estate-planning documents address my property and financial decisions? Are the people I expect to act reflected in those documents? These questions help identify where clarification or coordination may be needed without assuming that one document resolves every issue.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, California, and offers virtual services throughout California. Bring your ownership inventory and existing planning documents to a remote consultation, along with a short list of decisions or uncertainties you want to discuss.