Practice area
Business Trusts
Ownership structures and succession plans that keep a closely held company running through a death, a divorce or a sale.
Your company is usually the largest asset in the estate.
It is also the one most likely to be damaged by an unplanned transfer. Shares that fall into probate can freeze decisions for months. A partner's divorce can put an ex-spouse across the table. An owner's death without a buy-sell agreement leaves a valuation argument between the people who must keep working together.
With over 15 years in business law, we structure ownership so control moves the way the owners agreed, on paper, in advance.
Services
What we put in place.
01
Business succession planning
Who runs the company, who owns it, and how each is transferred. We work through family members inside and outside the business, key employees, and the tax and fairness questions that follow.
02
Trusts holding business interests
Membership interests and shares held in trust pass without probate and can be insulated from a beneficiary's creditors or divorce. We coordinate the trust with the corporate documents.
03
Buy-Sell agreements
Trigger events, valuation method and funding, agreed upon while everyone is on good terms. This is the document that decides whether a departure is a transaction or a lawsuit.
04
Corporate Structuring
Separating real estate, equipment and operations across entities so a claim against one part of the business does not reach the rest.
Who this is for
Owners with something to hand over.
Family businesses where the next generation is partly involved.
Two- and three-partner firms with no current buy-sell agreement.
Owners of rental or commercial property held in their own name.
Professionals and contractors carrying personal liability exposure.
Owners planning a sale, a retirement or a move out of Florida.
