“Unfortunately, while two generations of Reasoners have enjoyed Jim Dandy of Noblesville’s business, there is not another generation that can continue it and the property has been sold. The last day of business for Jim Dandy of Noblesville will be January 1, 2025,” Fox59 reported. “According to a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page,” the Indianapolis Business Journal reported, “Brent and Dave Reasoner, owners and operators of J.D. Restaurants Inc., decided to sell the property at 2301 Conner St. because there was not another generation of Reasoners interested in carry on the business.”
Having dealt with Indiana business owners for a quarter century, at Geyer Law we’re all too aware of the importance of business succession planning. We know – having business succession planning conversations now can help avoid costly disputes and pain later on. By facilitating in-person or virtual “family conferences” to discuss sensitive business succession matters, our hope is to enable open discussion among future heirs (or to prepare for the transfer of business interests to employees or to outside buyers).
Actually, “To transfer or not to transfer?” is not really a choice for business owners, in the sense that even entrepreneurs who envision continuing to run their businesses until their last day on earth know the day will inevitably arrive when their business changes hands – either by choice or because incapacity or death makes the decision for them. Too often, though, entrepreneurs are so busy developing and maintaining their businesses that they don’t take time to address the legal issues necessary to ensure continued success. In fact, according to BoostSuite, Indiana’s more than 500,000 small businesses constitute 99.4% of all businesses in the state!.
At Rebecca W. Geyer & Associates, we help clients address four basic business planning elements:
- Exit planning
- Business protection planning
- Business owner retirement planning
- Key employee planning
For our Geyer Law small business owner clients, we’ve found, business planning, tax planning, and estate planning are woven together. Do they wish to treat their children equally in the plan? Is a co-owner or employee going to purchase the business? Do they envision their business carrying on or closing??
– by Kristina Shover, attorney at Rebecca W. Geyer & Associates
