“In an age where information is readily available at our fingertips, the importance of news has never been greater,” Aditya Kumar writes in gosharpener.com. News shapes our understanding of the world, she believes, influencing our decisions. Two items in the news in just the first few months of 2025 serve to highlight an important area of estate planning that we discuss with our Geyer Law clients: business succession planning.
Back in January, 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.” Then, just last week, the IndyStar reported:
“After 120 years in the Circle City, Leon’s Tailoring closed its downtown alteration business on Saturday. The Ettinger family, led by brothers Larry and Norman, ran the Indianapolis staple but ultimately called it quits due to health concerns and the lack of a successor…..”
- The issue of business succession is hardly new: “…many entrepreneurs who have spent years building successful businesses would rather have a root canal than undertake the often-painstaking process of succession planning,” Anna Robaton once commented in a CNBC interview.
- “When it is time to close a business and there are no realistic sale options, there are several steps needed to officially dissolve the company, so no loose ends come back to affect you in the future. One of those requirements is filing forms with the IRS and/or your state for final tax settlement purposes,” the Business Valuation Blog explains.
- Succession planning has historically been done by large corporations, teamshares.com points out. Today, however, baby boomers own nearly half the privately held businesses in the U.S., and more than half of these owners expect to retire in the next 10 years. “It’s more important than ever for small business owners to prepare a succession plan,” the authors stress.
Having dealt with Indiana business owners for a quarter century, our attorneys at Geyer Law definitely agree. We are all too aware that, whether you own a small family business or a large corporation, it’s never too soon to give thought to business succession planning.
– by Cara Chittenden, Attorney with Rebecca W. Geyer & Associates
