Business Succession Planning Lawyer

The Stark & Stark Business Succession Planning practice assists small business, closely held corporations, individuals and families throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania in establishing a plan to ensure their business’ continuation and helping to maximize a return for the founders of the business.

Our business attorneys work with clients to review key corporate documents including operating agreements, corporate books, partnership agreements, wills, trusts and buy-sell agreements.

Business Succession Planning Services

Our Business Succession Planning attorneys provide planning services that integrate all your business interests, family estate planning goals, strategic tax needs and retirement plan objectives. We view succession planning as an investment in the future of your business and firmly believe the existence of a succession plan emphasizes your commitment to your business’s long-term growth, creating confidence with customers, lenders, employees and key suppliers. Our focus is in designing and implementing a succession plan to preserve, protect and transfer assets before any unexpected crisis occurs demanding an immediate response to complex legal, tax, business and health care decisions.

Client-Driven Approach

Developing a succession plan is a multi-phase process that begins with the reorganization of equity, updating of wills and trusts and a review of existing insurance policies. Next, Buy-Sell Agreements are drafted, compensation procedures are reviewed and an advisory board is established to strategize, design and implement employee incentive plans. The process involves the counsel of independent professionals who contribute objectivity, specialized skills and experience.

Stark & Stark maintains close working relationships with some of the most skilled financial planners, accountants and bankers dedicated to assisting our clients in reaching their retirement goals. Once a succession plan has been established, it is critically important that the completed plan be continually reviewed and updated as circumstances change. Business succession plans outline in detail the “who, what, when, why, and how” changes in ownership and management to be executed.

Business Preservation and Protection

Because each business owner’s concerns are unique, we create plans that give our clients the comfort of knowing their business is prepared to adapt to change. Working closely with our clients, we identify goals and objectives, potential pitfalls and innovative solutions. For over 70 years, Stark & Stark’s Succession Planning Group has provided clients a legal service that is cost-effective and expedites the coordination of the expertise required for each business succession plan, including but not limited to:

• Income taxation
• Contract law
• Estate planning
• Transfer taxation
• Corporate and other entity governance
• Debtor and creditor law
• Lien preferences
• Asset protection
• Pension law
• Employment law
• Dispute resolution

Business Succession Planning Group Experience

Our Business Succession Planning Group has created succession plans for virtually every kind of businesses nationwide including:

• Physicians
• Physical Therapists
• Law Firms
• Architects
• Accounting Firms
• Investment Advisory Firms
• Lobbyists
• Real Estate Developers
• Regional Construction Firms
• Engineers
• Marketing and Design Firms
• E-communication Firms
• Veterinarians
• Marketing Communications

Plan for Success

Wealth preservation and protection require an appreciation of the current and future needs of our clients and of those individuals who depend on them. Multi-generational business planning requires cutting-edge legal and tax planning techniques and an appreciation of the human dynamics involved in intra-family matters. Our attorneys work with clients to develop a plan in order to avoid ownership and control disputes among family members and shareholders upon a business owner’s retirement or untimely death. Once a plan has been developed and approved, our attorneys then work closely with each individual client in order to implement those goals in the most timely and cost effective manner.

Additional Services

• Family Offices
• Succession Planning Services