Business Continuity - Estate taxes are due nine months after the death of a shareholder.  Depending upon what percentage of the shareholder's estate the business value represents, up to half of the business value may be due in estate taxes.  Generally, the business must be sold and does not transfer to the next generation.  Proper planning, including estimates of estate taxes, must be employed if the business is to remain an ongoing entity after the death of a major shareholder.
	Asset & Lawsuit Protection - Businesses generally attract considerable potential liability.  This is true whether the business is a product or service activity.  Strategically restructuring company assets can insulate them from potential creditors and safeguard the business owner's primary source of wealth - his/her business.
	Key Employee Losses - Take away the company's assets and you might survive the losses to continue in business.  But remove the key employees and the company is likely doomed.  Every company must initiate programs to attract and retain valuable employees and prevent serious losses to income and profitability in the event of death or disability.  Likewise, the key employee's family faces serious financial difficulty in the event the shareholder dies or becomes disabled unless the company has made provision to convey, to the family, the value of that shareholder's stock.
	Pension Fiduciary Compliance - Many firms offering pension, profit-sharing and 401(k) plans don't realize that the U.S. Department of Labor has been entrusted with the obligation of enforcing the guidelines contained in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  Very grave consequences can be levied against those firms, and each individual fiduciary's personal assets, when provisions of the company's retirement plan are found to be "out of compliance" with ERISA rules.  ERISA Section 3(21) defines the term "fiduciary" as:

...any person, with respect to a plan, that exercises any discretionary  authority or control regarding management, disposition of plan assets, renders any investment advice for compensation, or has any discretion with respect to administration of the plan.

This definition means that members of the board of directors, company officers, corporate trustees and closely-held business owners ARE plan fiduciaries and have personal liability for their actions, in addition to corporate exposure, in sponsoring a company retirement plan.

Financial Dynamics, LLC has created a pension compliance team which offers services to ensure your company's compliance with ERISA rules.  Our program includes:

ERISA attorney Pension consultant (former CPA, 30 years pension experience) Registered Investment Advisor who prepares the required written Investment Policy Statement Statement and monitors investment performance for the company Fiduciary Liability Insurance coverage

Property and Casualty Insurance - Just like you acquire insurance to protect your personal real estate, automobiles and other valuable property, your business assets require risk protection against those unforeseen business circumstances.  An occasional policy review should be performed in order to ensure that the business has the proper coverage (not over or under insured) and is not overpaying for this coverage.