Business Assets and How to Safeguard them from Catastrophe
Legal Agreements To Protect Your Company’s Finances After You’re Gone
After spending years or decades of growing your business, you have built up a lot of assets. You may have significant cash savings on hand, plenty of expensive equipment, proprietary processes, and, of course, your reputation itself. All of these things are worth a lot of money, and you don’t want to lose them because of poor planning.
Though it may not be something you want to think about, if you die you need to have the right documents in place to protect your business and ensure that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. You need to work with an experienced business lawyer in Chandler to draw up the right agreements to protect your business after you are gone. Here are a few documents that you might need:
Operating Agreement
An operating agreement outlines who will take over an LLC, or limited liability corporation, after the death of the owner or owners. Think of this agreement like a will for the business. It will ensure that the owner or owners have full control over who takes over the business after a death.
The shareholder agreement and bylaws can stipulate some important aspects about where control goes when the owner of a corporation dies. There are many more documents required to outline ownership for a corporation, so you’ll need to work closely with a Gilbert business lawyer to determine what your business needs.
Transition Plan
An operating agreement will identify who is to take ownership, but a transition plan will tell that person what to actually do once they take control. Every business should have a transition plan not only to stipulate what would happen in the event of an owner’s death, but also to ensure the consistency of the business in the face of an unexpected accident or disaster.
A transition plan can be quite extensive since it tells the new person in charge all the pertinent information about how to run your business. You need to work closely with your business lawyer in Chandler to know what to put in the plan and how to outline it. Your lawyer will also help you figure out how to safeguard the sensitive information that can be included in the plan.
Business Wind Up
A business wind up outlines what should happen in the event that a business is closed, either because the new owner decides to close it or because it is forced to close. The plan helps to protect owners against any liability if they do not take the proper steps in closing the business. State and federal laws regulate what must happen, and the business wind up plan helps to ensure that all these regulations are met.
Options for closing a business include administratively dissolving it, judicially dissolving it, or voluntarily dissolving it. Your Gilbert business attorney can help you understand the pros and cons of each of these options to determine the best method for winding up your business. Your wind up plan can include this strategy, as well as instructions on how many votes are needed to move forward with it, and so on.
Having the proper documents in place can ensure that your business is shielded against liability and that your assets go to the people you want after you have passed or given up control of the business. Each business will have different needs, depending on how that business is structured. These are some of the documents that may be needed, but your business attorney in Gilbert can help you put together the right plan for your business. You may need additional documentation in place to protect your assets and see that your wishes are honored.
Denton Peterson Dunn is a business corporate law office in Arizona, and our attorneys are ready to help you draw up the right documentation to protect your business. We can create any documents for your business, from the initial incorporation of it, to the agreements you make with your vendors, to the final documentation to protect your assets. A business attorney from our team can help you understand how state and federal laws apply to your business and counsel you on what documentation you need to protect your business and your profits. Call Denton Peterson Dunn today to schedule a consultation with a business lawyer.
Brad Denton – Denton Peterson Dunn
1930 N Arboleda #200
Mesa, AZ 85213
Office: 480-325-9900
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://arizonabusinesslawyeraz.com