Dive into the February issue of Business North Carolina for insightful advice from business succession attorneys Zac Lamb and Merrill Jones about safeguarding your family business from marital dissolution.
Their article, "Protect Your Family Business When Marriages End," is now featured in the current issue. It discusses the importance of planning for the end of marriages that can impact family businesses. It covers two main scenarios: marriages ending due to death and marriages ending due to divorce.
Excerpt from the article:
An estate plan typically consists of a Last Will, though various trusts might be incorporated into the plan if appropriate. An estate plan contains instructions about how assets are to be handled (i.e., who gets what) and also designates one or more persons who will be responsible for carrying out the instructions (i.e., an executor or trustee).
For a business owner, a key decision that must be made is who will receive ownership interests in the business. Potential recipients could include the owner’s surviving spouse, children or grandchildren, or long-time employees.
Generally, a person is free to structure their estate plan however they want. Nevertheless, if the person is survived by a spouse and does not leave their spouse a large enough share of their estate, then under North Carolina law the surviving spouse can file a claim in the estate to receive that minimum share. The size of the share varies based on the length of the marriage. It starts at 15% and grows to 50% after 15 years of marriage.
