It used to be that people stayed at one company—one job—for their whole lives. Employers were benevolent, and almost part of the family; took care of families, once upon a time, offering health care coverage, life insurance, retirement packages… all this and an annual company picnic to boot!
As we all know, the world is a different place now. Very few people stay at one company longer than a decade, and not even that long if you’re under the age of 30. There is, however, one exception to this… if you’re self-employed.
As an estate planning firm, we meet with a good number of self-employed clients and small-business owners, and one of the most important things we can convey to these clients is how very, very important it is to have an effective estate plan. As S. du Plessis states in her article Estate Planning for the Self Employed: A Helpful Guide, “I am so responsible in other areas of my life, I feel compelled to be responsible about my death too. Plus, I hate to fail, and those who fail to plan. . . fail. So in fairness to my husband and children and because I own a business (which complicates my estate), it’s time to come up with an estate plan.”
Du Plessis is absolutely correct that failure to plan—especially for small business owners—can have disastrous consequences for both their families and their businesses. When you are so responsible in all other areas of your life, why let the ball drop in this one area? Especially when it’s your family who will end up suffering?
Small business owners spend so much of their time taking care of other people, we think it’s time that someone helped take care of them. Our office can help preserve the legacy you’ve worked so hard to build—for both your family and your business.