Most business owners don’t avoid succession planning because they’re careless. They avoid it because the business is busy, the future feels far away, and talking about it feels uncomfortable.
But succession planning rarely becomes urgent on your schedule.
It becomes urgent when someone gets sick. When a partner wants out. When a key employee leaves. When a buyer shows up with a real offer. Or when something happens that no one wants to imagine, and suddenly the business is expected to keep running anyway.
Estate Planning and Probate Blog in Lake Success, NY
Many people believe that once they’ve signed a will or even created a trust that their estate plan is complete. In reality, this assumption is one of the most common and costly mistakes families make.
As an estate-planning attorney, I regularly meet clients who are confident they are “all set,” only to discover that their documents no longer reflect their lives, their assets, or their intentions. When that happens, even well-meaning plans can unravel at exactly the wrong time.
Many families today hold real estate through LLCs for asset protection and liability reasons. At the same time, more and more are using revocable and irrevocable trusts as part of their estate plan to avoid probate, protect privacy, and plan for smooth wealth transfers.
But what happens when those two tools intersect?
Can a trustee automatically step into the shoes of a deceased LLC member? Will the operating agreement recognize that trustee as a valid decision-maker? And what if it doesn’t?
These questions often come up during moments of transition—after the death of a parent, during a refinance, or when it’s time to sell inherited real estate. At that point, if the documents weren’t set up to speak to each other, the result is confusion, delay, and sometimes conflict.
In the realm of estate planning in New York State, a crucial but often overlooked aspect is the management of digital assets. As we delve deeper into the digital age, it's imperative to understand the legal implications and strategies for incorporating digital assets into your estate plan.
Have you ever experienced attempting to refinance or obtain a loan only to find there is a judgment against your name or your business? Do you believe that the judgment is erroneous? Or that the incorrect entity has been sued? Often, the business owner does not find out about the judgment until the service of a Marshal’s Notice. In these instances, the business owner either never received proper notice of the lawsuit or failed to respond to a complaint and a default judgment was entered against the business owner.
