What is Business Succession Planning?
Making plans for the future is important, and succession planning is a key component of a solid business strategy. Good succession planning is a wonderful tool that not only selects business successors, but also helps build consensus, strengthens relationships, and provides an important overview of the company.
What is Estate Planning?
A good estate plan reflects your wishes and gives careful attention to tax considerations after death. It gives purpose to what you have accomplished in your life, while conserving assets, offering adequate support for dependants, providing the appropriate liquidity at time of death, and ensuring fair and equitable distribution of your estate to loved ones.
Why Should I Do This Planning?
Everyone wants to transfer their business on their own terms, but a solid plan can also minimize taxes on the eventual transfer of your business and your overall estate. Finally, having a plan in place will minimize disputes between beneficiaries of your estate.
What is the Scrivens Approach?
After many years of working closely with business owners, their accountants, and their lawyers, Scrivens has developed an effective and comprehensive approach to Business Succession and Estate Planning. The process is tailored to your situation, and the fee for the engagement is agreed to beforehand. There is no cost or obligation for the initial discussions.
The following are the steps you and your Scrivens advisor will take when building a Business Succession and Estate Plan:
- We meet, discuss, obtain and review information, and agree on a fee for the service.
- A letter of engagement is reviewed.
- Key people are interviewed.
- We meet again to review an interim agenda to discuss preliminary findings.
- We draft a comprehensive succession and estate plan.
- The plan is discussed with you, and also your accountant and your lawyer as necessary.
- The plan is adjusted and finalized.
- We submit a detailed step-by-step action list to ensure implementation.
- Finally, we assist you, your accountant, and your lawyer with the implementation.
2. A letter of engagement is reviewed.
3. Key people are interviewed.
4. We meet again to review an interim agenda to discuss preliminary findings.
5. We draft a comprehensive succession and estate plan.
6. The plan is discussed with you, and also your accountant and your lawyer as necessary.
7. The plan is adjusted and finalized.
8. We submit a detailed step-by-step action list to ensure implementation.
9. Finally, we assist you, your accountant, and your lawyer with the implementation.
The end result of this process is a plan as unique as you, your family, and your business. We have been successful in designing and implementing these plans for many Ottawa-area business owners.
According to Denis Sicotte, senior partner and founder of Sicotte Guilbault LLP, "Scrivens' engagement process is thorough, efficient and very cost-effective. It enables my clients to complete their planning with confidence. All the right questions are asked, and there is a solid understanding of business concepts."
Ian Hendry, Partner at Hendry Warren LLP Chartered Accountants says, "Gathering various professionals together to review a client's circumstances is a key step in getting the best results. Coordinating these players is an important and helpful value-add that Scrivens provides to its clients."
To learn more about this and other strategies, please feel free to contact our Estate Planning
