Early planning for your long-term care needs will pay off. If you run a business now, this is a good time to start talking to others about business succession and what you expect as you age. As a part of your long-term plans, you may include specific times when you want to give up your role in the business and have others take over. This could be included as a side to your long-term care plan, so you know when it’s time to step down and transition into a new stage of your life.
When you think of long-term care planning, it’s normal to consider where you’ll live. If you’re a business owner, though, you should also plan ahead for your business’s needed. If you do need to go into care, who will take over? What role will you continue to play in your business, if any? Will you remain nearby if you need some assistance at home, or will you move into a community and have younger members of the company take over?
Estate planning, business planning and long-term care planning collide
It’s true that your business plans, long-term care plans and estate plans may all intersect, at least at one point or another. With your business, you may create an exit strategy for when you reach a certain age or set up trusts or inheritances that pass the business on. Perhaps you’ll start transitioning the ownership of your business once you reach a specific age, or maybe there will be events to trigger that transfer, such as if you fall ill or cannot handle the business on your own any longer.
Since your estate plan, business plan and long-term care plans may all be connected in some ways, it’s a smart idea to talk to your attorney about making them work together smoothly. You want to have a business plan that considers you as you age or in the case of an illness. You want an estate plan that makes sure your assets are passed down or that the business is inherited. You also want to be sure that your care plans meet with your business goals as you age. Your attorney can talk to you more about creating a plan that lines up, so you’re protected and know your business is, too.
