Importance of Succession and Estate Planning for Any Business

On a beautiful Saturday morning, on April 28, OPEN Washington DC held its third event of 2018. Theme of the event was, “The Importance of Succession and Estate Planning.” The speakers were Zaina Bankwalla, a Washington DC Charter Member affiliated with MassMutual Financial Group, and Gary Altman, Esq., of Altman and Associates. The theme of the event was especially relevant given the recent changes in the tax law.

During their presentations, Ms. Bankwalla focused on succession planning and Mr. Altman discussed estate planning. The following points were underscored by the speakers:

• Despite its critical importance, only 41% of business owners have a documented and signed succession plan in place.
• Existence of a succession plan helps in mitigating the five most common sources of risks; the 5Ds.
  • Death
  • Disability
  • Divorce
  • Departure
  • Disqualifications
• Insurance can alleviate some risks, but only in the event of death and disability. Other situations of exiting or winding down a business would need a business succession plan.
• An integral part of any succession plan should include carefully selecting and then preparing the successors to assume their roles
• Be mindful that equal share is not always equitable/fair.
• The new tax law doubled the estate, generation-skipping transfer (GST), and gift tax exemptions to approximately $11.2 million for individuals and approximately $22.4 million for married couples.
• All succession and estate plans should be reviewed at least every 3 years to incorporate relevant legal changes and accommodate changes in personal circumstances.

Following the presentations, there was a lively Q&A session. The event was attend by nearly 35 people and was held at the office of NuAxis Innovations in Tyson’s Corner

The next event is the Chapter’s Annual Picnic on Saturday, June 30th at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. Please lookout for more details soon.

OPEN Washington DC would like to thank all those who attended the event and the members of the Executive Committee who help organize it.

Hasan M. Ibrahim
President