Business succession. Here at Argon Law we like it. Most business owners hate it. It's true, navigating all the options is tricky, but that's where your lawyer and accountant can help.
Of all of Australia's family and private businesses, only a third have succession plans, which means a huge amount of business value is being lost. A successful succession strategy often involves restructuring ownership, management responsibilities and business entities over time.
We work closely with accountants and advisers to help business owners transition smoothly through growth, succession and intergenerational change.
Before acquiring a business, property or investment asset, it is important to consider the most appropriate ownership structure.
We assist clients with establishing and restructuring companies, trusts and other ownership arrangements to support:
As businesses and family circumstances evolve, we also help clients review and restructure existing arrangements to ensure their structures continue to meet their long-term objectives.
Family or discretionary trusts are commonly used to hold investment and business assets including real estate.
Such structures allow the profits generated by such assets to be distributed amongst family members and related entities in a manner that enables the family group to reduce its overall tax costs.
Trusts can also form part of a broader business or family restructuring strategy, particularly where asset ownership, investment holdings or family wealth arrangements need to evolve over time.
We often advise clients about whether such structures are suitable for them and provide the trust deeds and other items necessary to establish them.
Testamentary trusts are often used as part of broader estate and family wealth structuring strategies designed to provide flexibility and protection for future generations.
If you are thinking about doing a new will, a testamentary trust in your will may be something to consider. A testamentary trust is simply a trust established under a will which does not come in to existence until the will maker dies. There are both tax and asset protection advantages to testamentary trusts.
It is very common for people to loan out money to family or friends. Although they never really take consideration of the security of these loans.
If you do not take security and your borrower goes bankrupt, you may find that your borrower has many other creditors with whom you have to share their assets, resulting in the loss of family money.
This tragic situation can be avoided or minimised by putting in place relatively simple legal documentation up front and registering it in the appropriate place. It is in the interests of all parties to inter-family loans to make sure this happens.
Proper planning documents form an important part of a broader personal and family asset protection strategy, particularly where businesses, investments or family assets may need to be managed during periods of incapacity.
Quite often people appoint a family member as their enduring power of attorney. It may be a spouse, a partner, or one of their children. Whilst this is common practice, it can create difficulties if you do not understand the restrictions that the law places on attorneys in respect of certain decisions.
If you were to become incapacitated, a family member can be restricted from using your share of the family home to buy a new property to help with your care if they are going to live in it. They may also be restricted from purchasing your assets, to keep them 'in the family', even if they have the means and desire to do so.
But the good news is that such conflict actions are not illegal where they are specifically authorised.
Through the careful drafting of an enduring power of attorney you can avoid such problems.
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