Estate Planning And Administration For Business Owners And Others

Many of our clients own thriving businesses. Like you, they want to ensure the preservation of wealth from one generation to the next. At Robertson & Associates, we welcome inquiries from individuals and couples regarding estate planning in all of its aspects. We also assist clients who are responsible for settling estates through probate and trust administration.

Through thoughtful estate planning, our lawyers can help you prepare for unexpected health crises throughout life’s journey and the eventual distribution of assets according to your wishes. When you understand the power of estate planning, you will see how a lifetime of hard work can become part of a legacy.

Our estate planning clients often seek advice on taxes, life insurance and property ownership transfers. Our attorneys especially understand the needs of business owners to protect assets in line with their business succession goals.

Establish A Will; Create One Or More Trusts

When we help you plan your estate, we will start with the assumption that you will want to create a will to make your wishes known and preserve family wealth. Our firm’s attorneys can help you draft and sign documents, including:

• Your will
• Power of attorney
• An advance health care directive, also known as a living will
• Other relevant testamentary documents

As needed, we can help you update a will after you have moved to North Carolina from out of state, started a business, started a family, gotten divorced or experienced other significant life changes.

We can also help you establish one or more trusts and review other issues related to your overall estate plan, such as life insurance, your real estate title(s) and your business succession plans.

Planning The Future Of A Small Business The Right Way

Small business succession planning focuses on what happens to a company when an owner steps away due to retirement, disability or death. While personal estate planning addresses who inherits assets, succession planning deals with how a business continues to operate, who controls it and how ownership transfers without disruption. 

The ability to differentiate is critical for owners searching for a business succession planning attorney because business interests raise operational, tax and legal concerns that personal plans alone do not solve. Most succession plans include the following paths: 

• Keeping the business in the family, where ownership transfers to children or relatives who are prepared to run it
• Selling to business partners or co-owners, often using preagreed valuation and funding terms
• Allowing a key employee buyout, which can preserve company culture and continuity
• Preparing for a third-party sale, such as a strategic buyer or private investor

Timing also helps determine effective small business succession planning. Owners who begin planning three to five years in advance have more flexibility with training, tax strategy and valuation. Others rely on an emergency plan designed to activate if something happens unexpectedly.

How Buy-Sell Agreements Protect Closely Held Businesses

A buy-sell agreement is one of the most important legal tools in succession planning for closely held businesses. It creates a binding roadmap for what happens to an owner’s interest when certain events occur, reducing conflict and uncertainty among partners, family members and heirs.

Common triggering events written into a buy-sell agreement include:

• Death or long-term disability: Helping ensure ownership does not pass unintentionally to heirs
• Retirement or voluntary exit: Setting clear terms for valuation and payment
• Divorce or bankruptcy: Preventing outside parties from gaining control
• Owner deadlock or disputes: Providing a structured exit solution

Without a properly drafted buy-sell agreement and legal guidance, businesses can face valuation disputes, forced sales or litigation. 

Preparing The Next Owner For Long-Term Success

Choosing a successor requires preparation, structure and fairness, especially in family business succession planning. Whether the successor is a child, relative or nonfamily leader, readiness matters. Effective successor planning includes:

• Gradual training and leadership development to build operational and financial knowledge
• Defined governance roles, clarifying authority during a phased transition
• A structured ownership transfer timeline, reducing disruption for employees and customers

For families, another challenge is treating children who are not involved in the business fairly. Equal inheritance does not always mean equitable outcomes.

We can help structure solutions that balance business continuity with family expectations, protecting relationships and the company’s future. 

Fulfill Your Duties In Probate And Trust Administration

Beyond estate planning, you may be focused on probate and estate administration after the death of a family member. Probate is the legal process by which a person’s debts are paid and their assets are distributed after death. Estate administration also encompasses other nonprobate-based transfers of a deceased person’s property through trusts and other means.

Are you a trustee or the executor of a loved one’s estate? We can guide you confidently and accurately through the estate administration process from start to finish. For probate and trust administration guidance, call 704-597-5774 or send an email. With a 25-year history in Charlotte, our firm is a trustworthy, established resource for estate-related issues, including litigation.