The document discusses why writing a will for your business is essential for its long-term survival and the family's financial stability. Unlike traditional estate plans that focus on tax minimization, business wills cover issues around transferring ownership from one generation to the next. It stresses the importance of considering whether the business will be sold, liquidated, or continued, identifying potential buyers, providing instructions to spouses about corporate and personal assets, keeping employees informed, and periodically reviewing the plan to ensure it reflects the owner's current intentions and addresses changes in family situations, laws, taxes, and the economy.

1. Security that Endures
Volume 1, Issue 1 September 2001
Why Write a Will for Your
Business?
By Andre Fassler
AXA Advisors, LLC
While estate planning is an issue that most business
owners want to avoid, it is a task essential to any
company’s long-term survival. And, if the business
comprises the largest part of the owner’s estate, a
family’s financial stability may depend on it, too. With
this in mind, it is important for a business to have the
most basic legal instrument of all estate planning
tools—the business will.
Focus on tax minimization
Unlike traditional estate plans, which focus on tax
minimization, business wills cover the issues and
problems that might arise when a privately held
company passes from one generation or set of
owners to the next.
Future financial options. You should consider
whether the business is to be sold, liquidated or
continued. Any potential buyers should be included
here.
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The registered Representative sending this communication offers securities through AXA Advisors, LLC (212-314-4600),
member NASD, and is an agent of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States (NY, NY 10104). Registered
representatives also offer variable and traditional life insurance and annuity products of the Equitable, and of over 100 other
companies, through an insurance-brokerage affiliate.

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Instructions to a spouse. It is important to
document everything relating to your corporate and
personal assets (e.g., the locations of all safety
deposit boxes and investment accounts), even if your
spouse will not actively run the business. This
document should discuss management plans,
shareholder agreements, buy-sell agreements and
other issues vital to the company’s future. By keeping
your spouse informed, you will avoid the risk of having
him or her disrupt the daily activities of the business.
Employee updates. Once you have taken the
necessary steps to ensure the survival of your
business, inform your employees of the details. It is
good for employee morale. While a valid will is a good
starting point for an estate plan, the will must be
reviewed periodically to assure that an owner’s most
recent intentions are honored upon his or her death.
To make sure that an estate plan is up-to-date and
effective, the accounting firm of Coopers and Lybrand
suggests performing the following annual check-up:
Does the management-continuity plan identify
the owner’s successors? If so, are these successors
trained and ready to take over, when necessary?
Is the insurance coverage adequate to keep the
business going?
Are financial arrangements up-to-date? For
example, are new sources of capital to fund
expansion, purchases, new product lines and buy-sell
agreements identified?
Is the business properly valued?
Does the company have compensation and
benefit plans that will attract and keep first rate
employees?
Finally, keep in mind that family situations change,
laws change, the tax structure goes through a periodic
revolution and economic forces run through cycles.
These changes create risk, uncertainty and the need
for constant attention and occasional revisions to the
plan.
By setting up first-rate plans and monitoring them,
however, business owners can go a long way towards
ensuring management continuity—especially during
the early days of management succession.
(631) 385 5204
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This information is based upon a general understanding of current law. It is not intended to provide tax, legal or accounting
advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors when this information relates to your specific situation.
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