Maintaining Your Family Business

Family businesses account for 50 percent of our country’s gross domestic product and 60 percent of American jobs. Yet statistics show that only about one-third of all family businesses are successfully transferred to the next generation; fewer than 15 percent make it to a third generation.

Wiener and Wiener LLP can help you prepare your business for the future. Based in Allentown, and serving throughout Pennsylvania, our attorneys have practiced for more than 60 years in the field of estate planning. We understand the sensitivity of such matters — our firm itself is a family business now in its second generation — and can help you chart a path forward.

Call 610-821-8600 to arrange a consultation.

A Full Range Of Business Succession Services

Our firm offers experienced and practical guidance for a full array of business succession concerns, including:

• Aligning family interests — You want your business to provide you with retirement income, but perhaps your children want to invest assets to take the company in a new direction. Our firm can facilitate communication between family members, and make sure everyone’s goals are identified and addressed.
• Boosting returns — We are adept at reviewing a company’s finances and appraising its value and future earnings capacity. We collaborate with accountants and other advisers, and work hard to ensure that retiring owners receive fair buyouts.
• Developing a process for making decisions — Conflict is sometimes unavoidable. Nevertheless, it can be planned for. It is important for succession plans to include methods for resolving disputes, so that owners and heirs can move past any disputes.
• Tax considerations — The sale or transfer of a business often entails a significant tax burden. We can assess a business’s tax liabilities, and help it create buy-sell agreements that take taxes into proper account.
• Plans for transition — Whether you should pass your business on as a gift or bequest or sell it outright is a concern you must consider carefully. An appropriate timeline must be established, as well as relevant financing options that offer financial protection to all parties involved.

Helping You Plan For The Future

If you would like to speak to a lawyer about passing your business on, reach out to our firm. We will review your matter thoroughly and inform you of your options.

You can call us, or schedule an appointment online.