KPM

LTC Expenses Incentive Trusts Gift Tax Return Family Business Succession Planning Special Needs Trust Elderly Parents In Your Estate Plan Beneficiary Designations Turn Down An Inheritance Power Of Attorney Inter Vivos Securities Laws DAPT College-Age Children Do Need An Estate Plan Estate Planning Documents Annual Gift Tax Exclusion CRT Name A Guardian Power To Remove A Trustee Living Trust Owning Assets Silent & Incentive Trusts Payable-On-Death Accounts Reduce your estate tax Executor Art Collection QTIP Trust portability Life insurance Portability Probate Original Will Estate Planning Estate Plan Estate Planning Estate Planning Asset Protection Strategies

The Start Of A New Year Is A Good Time To Revisit Your Buy-Sell Agreements

A buy-sell agreement should be a critical component of your estate and succession plans if you own interest in a business. These agreements provide for the orderly disposition of each owner’s interest. This includes any  ‘triggering event,’ such as death, disability, divorce, or withdrawal from the business. This is accomplished by permitting or requiring the company or the remaining owners to purchase the departing owner’s interest. It’s often the case that life insurance is used to fund the buyout.

Several important benefits are provided by buy-sell agreements. These can include keeping ownership and control within a family or other close-knit group, creating a market for otherwise unmarketable interests, and providing liquidity to pay estate taxes and other expenses. In some cases, a buy-sell agreement can even establish the value of an ownership interest for estate tax purposes.

The start of a new year is a good time to look over your buy-sell agreement. Circumstances can change and, therefore it’s important to review your buy-sell agreement periodically to ensure that it continues to meet your needs.

Focus On The Valuation Provision
It’s particularly critical to revisit the agreement’s valuation provision — the mechanism for setting the purchase price for an owner’s interest — to be sure it reflects the current value of the business.

As you review your agreement, pay close attention to the valuation provision. Generally, a valuation provision follows one of these approaches when a triggering event occurs:

  • Formulas, such as book value or a multiple of earnings or revenues as of a specified date
  • Negotiated price
  • Independent appraisal by one or more business valuation experts

Independent appraisals almost always produce the most accurate valuations. Formulas tend to become less reliable over time as circumstances change and may lead to over- or underpayments if earnings have fluctuated substantially since the valuation date.

A negotiated price can be a good approach in theory, but expecting owners to reach an agreement under stressful, potentially adversarial conditions is asking a lot. One potential solution is to use a negotiated price but provide for an independent appraisal in the event the parties fail to agree on a price within a specified period.

Establish Estate Tax Value
Business valuation is both an art and a science. Because the process is, to a certain extent, subjective, there can be some uncertainty over the value of a business for estate tax purposes.

If the IRS later determines that your business was undervalued on the estate tax return, your heirs may face unexpected — and unpleasant — tax liabilities. A carefully designed buy-sell agreement can, in some cases, establish the value of the business for estate tax purposes — even if it’s below fair market value in the eyes of the IRS — helping to avoid these surprises.

Generally, to establish business value, a buy-sell agreement must:

  • Be a bona fide business arrangement
  • Not be a ‘testamentary device’ designed to transfer the business to family members or other heirs at a discounted value
  • Have terms that are comparable to similar, arm’s-length agreements
  • Set a price that’s fixed by or determinable from the agreement and is reasonable at the time the agreement is executed
  • Be binding during the owner’s life as well as at death and binding on the owner’s estate or heirs after death

Under IRS regulations, a buy-sell agreement is deemed to meet all of these requirements if at least 50% of the business’ value is owned by nonfamily members.

Contact us if you’re in need of help reviewing your buy-sell agreement.

Related Articles

Talk with the pros

Our CPAs and advisors are a great resource if you’re ready to learn even more.