Business Succession Planning In Ohio: What Every Business Owner Needs To Know
If you own a business in Ohio and you die without a succession plan, the business you spent years building may not survive you. That is not a scare line. It is what Ohio law does by default. The most expensive paragraph in a business owner’s life is often the one that was never drafted, and this video is about drafting it before it is needed.
Andrew C. Goodwin, Esq., Principal Attorney at Rhodium Law, walks through business succession planning for Ohio business owners: what actually happens to a business when the owner dies without a plan, the three ways to exit a business, and the buy-sell mechanics that decide whether the plan holds up when a triggering event arrives. Andrew spent years as in-house counsel before founding Rhodium Law, and that background carries this conversation.
What this video covers:
. The four outcomes Ohio business owners often do not plan for, from the sole proprietorship that dissolves to the estate tax valuation dispute
. The three exit structures: third-party sale, intra-family transfer, and sale to employees or management, including management buyouts and ESOPs
. What a buy-sell agreement actually does, and the five triggering events it should cover
. Cross-purchase versus entity-purchase agreements, and why the tax treatment differs
. How buy-sell valuation is set, and why a fixed price from years ago can create disputes instead of transitions
. Funding mechanisms: life insurance, installment notes, and sinking funds, and why a buy-sell with no funding is a promise with nothing behind it
. Key person life insurance, and how it differs from the insurance that funds a buy-sell
. Coordinating the LLC operating agreement with the personal estate plan and revocable living trust, and the transfer-restriction gap families discover mid-administration
. Five common succession mistakes, and how to avoid each one
A business succession plan is not preparation for failure. It is the final expression of the same intentional thinking that built the business in the first place. The decisions that protect your partners, your family, and the work itself are the ones you make while you are alive and operating, not the ones left to the state by default.
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Business owners carry more than one kind of risk. For the full asset-protection picture for Ohio professionals and business owners, watch: Asset Protection for Ohio Professionals: The 5 Strategies That Actually Work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoA1vyLaOgk
CHAPTERS
0:00 The business you built may not survive you
0:47 Why business succession is personal for me
1:46 Four outcomes Ohio owners do not plan for
3:32 The three ways to exit a business
5:53 Buy-sell agreements: how they actually work
8:47 Key person life insurance, explained
10:04 Coordinating your operating agreement and estate plan
11:38 Five business succession mistakes to avoid
13:32 Does it matter what happens after you are gone
14:45 Subscribe and disclaimer
WORK WITH RHODIUM LAW
When you are ready to build or coordinate your succession plan, visit rhodium.law/scheduling | Phone: 216-699-8145
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I publish a new Ohio estate planning video every Tuesday, to educate Ohio families and business owners so they can make informed decisions before it is too late. Subscribe here:
https://www.youtube.com/@RhodiumLaw?sub_confirmation=1
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DISCLAIMER: Andrew C. Goodwin is an attorney licensed in the State of Ohio, but watching this video does not make him your attorney and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This video is general information about Ohio business and estate planning law, not legal advice, and should not be relied on for your specific situation. Business succession planning depends on your entity structure, family situation, and tax posture, and the right structures depend on your specific facts. If you are ready to create or update a plan, please consult a qualified Ohio attorney who can review and discuss your circumstances with you.
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