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Ready to retire and looking for a way to transfer ownership in your business? Concerned that too much of your wealth is tied to one asset? If you are the owner of a closely held business and are worried about potentially hefty tax bills when you sell some or all of your shares, you should consider a tax-smart alternative - an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). An ESOP can allow you to diversify part of your stake in your company while simultaneously helping to secure its future profitability.

One of the more difficult challenges facing a business owner is the formulation of a viable and economically beneficial exit strategy at retirement. Typically, the main goals of such an exit strategy are 1) to identify a qualified buyer, and 2) to receive fair compensation for the business, which would, in turn, translate into a desirable retirement income.

Business owners are often so busy with the day-to-day issues of running and growing their companies that the issue of business succession is often overlooked or left on the "back burner" until it's too late. What would happen to your business if you were to disappear from the scene tomorrow due to disability or death? Would your co-owners, managers, employees, and family members know what to do and would they have the guidelines and tools they would need to keep the business moving forward?

Alex and Brad, both in their mid-forties, had just celebrated the tenth anniversary of Consulting, Inc., their market consulting business. The next morning, before going to work, Brad suffered a heart attack while jogging and died later that day. Alex suddenly lost his long-time business associate. What's more, after the estate was settled, he found himself with a new co-owner -- Brad's wife.

Most all closely held businesses, especially multi-owner corporations and partnerships need to have a buy-sell agreement in place. Individually owned businesses can also profit from the use of a buy-sell agreement. This is essential for smooth transition of ownership upon the occurrence of several events, namely the "Eight D's." We'll discuss each one individually in the corporate context, however, most would also apply to partnerships. In a single-owner business, the buyer could be key employee(s), a competitor, a supplier, or even a customer.

Whatever your motivation for selling your business, you'll only get one chance to maximize the return on your years of hard work. Do it the right way and you could get the price you want and reduce the impact of capital gains and estate taxes. Do it the wrong way and you might end up with a hefty capital gains tax bill and estate planning headaches.

To attract and keep top employees, more companies are offering them employee stock options. If you receive employee stock options as part of your compensation package, careful planning can help you make the most of them.

One of the reasons so few family businesses survive into the second generation¹ is because the owners fail to adequately plan for their succession. Many owners simply wait too long to do business succession planning, so the business must be liquidated to pay estate taxes which are generally due nine months after death.

From the smallest proprietorship to the largest international conglomerate, cutting costs can often be perceived as a "quick fix" toward improving financial results. However, such business decisions may not always be in the best long-term interest of an otherwise healthy company.

Fred and Linda -- siblings who were newly involved in running the family business -- finally decided to take bold action. They whisked away, for a long weekend, the domineering president of their company, who also happened to be their father. The purpose of the trip? Fred and Linda simply wanted to know more about the business -- its history, successes and failures, customer base, competitors, and prospects for the future.

Much has been made of the fact that the first of the 76 million baby boomers turned 60 years old in 2006. And with good reason: over the next 50 years, an unprecedented amount of money - at least $41 trillion¹ - will change hands, generally being handed down to the next generation as the boomers age.

For many owners of closely held businesses, their business is not only the most significant asset they own, but also, essentially, their life. Deciding how to pass ownership interests on at retirement or death can be as much an emotional issue as a financial-planning concern.

If you own a family business, chances are you expect your children to eventually succeed you in owning and running the business. And as a parent, you probably want your estate divided among your children as equally as possible upon your death.

Through your own philanthropic generosity-whether volunteering, supporting a charity as a benefactor, attending fundraisers or setting up a family foundation-you are educating your children about your values and teaching them to be generous. While you may identify your philanthropic values more formally in a family charitable mission statement, children learn a lot through observation.

A charitable remainder trust (CRT) may be an estate planning tool that fits well into your financial picture. A CRT is a type of trust generally used to donate appreciated assets to charity and reduce/eliminate capital gains taxes. Let's review the basics of a CRT and the benefits it can provide when planning your estate.

When contemplating making a significant gift, the charitably inclined are well advised to exercise some foresight. Similar gifts made in different ways will yield remarkably different results.

Are you hanging on to some low-basis, highly appreciated assets that you would gladly sell if you could somehow avoid losing much of the value to taxes? One solution might be an estate planning arrangement known as a charitable remainder trust. This type of trust may provide you with income tax deductions and other tax breaks, while enabling you to convert an appreciated asset -- such as stocks or bonds, real estate or a work of art -- into an income stream for life.

Many affluent individuals view the family foundation as a means for meeting specific philanthropic goals. For some, it also creates visible evidence of a donor's charitable intent. In addition, a family foundation may serve two unique purposes within the confines of familial walls. A foundation can assist a donor in maintaining the integrity of his or her charitable intent for many years into the future, as well as help to inspire the character, sense of community, and love of knowledge of future generations.

Like most wealthy individuals, you'd probably like to pass as much of your estate as possible to your heirs. At the same time, you may have one, or many, charitable interests to which you'd like to donate money. To find the balance, considering a structured philanthropic giving strategy for your estate is a must.

As higher education costs continue to soar, many parents find themselves faced with a nagging question: "Will I have enough money to pay for my child's college education?" Although most people today are likely to agree that an investment in higher education usually reaps its rewards in higher long-term earnings - and, hopefully, greater job satisfaction - one key concern is how to choose a smart savings alternative. 529 plans are flexible investment options with tax benefits.

The cost of a college education can be staggering. Total expenses at private universities currently average more than $33,000 a year¹. The annual cost for state colleges averages about $16,3001. For many families, qualified tuition programs - also called Section 529 education savings plans - are an attractive way to help meet future education expenses.

The average price tag for four years at a private college exceeds $120,000, according to the College Board's Trends in College Pricing 2006. That's 35% higher than just five years ago. In fact, rising tuition costs are outpacing inflation, while federal grant aid is lagging behind inflation.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA) enacted health care continuation coverage requirements applicable to employers with more than 20 employees (except churches, the federal government, and the District of Columbia). COBRA requires an employer who maintains a group health insurance plan to provide employees with an option to remain covered by the employer's plan for a specified period of time, if the employees or their family members lose coverage upon the occurrence of certain events (such as reduced or terminated employment).

Section 125 "cafeteria plans" can help business owners and employees lower their tax bills. Under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code, workers are permitted to withhold a portion of their pre-tax salaries to pay for premium contributions to employer-sponsored insurance plans and to cover qualifying unreimbursed medical and dependent care expenses. Because Section 125 benefits are not subject to FICA or income taxes, cafeteria plans can help employees lower their taxable income, while reducing the payroll and workers' compensation tax liabilities of their employers.

Trusts can be used to accomplish any number of estate planning goals. But the success of a trust strategy often depends on how well the trust is managed - and that depends on the abilities of the person (or institution) named as trustee.

Many people who plan carefully to keep income taxes at a minimum don't give any thought to estate taxes. They assume that estate taxes affect only the very wealthy. Not true. Currently, any estate worth more than $1.5 million may be subject to federal estate taxes æ at rates ranging as high as 47%. With so many dual-income families and the high value of real estate in many areas of the country, an estate of this size isn't necessarily a large estate.

Many people perceive trusts as a complex subject better left to their attorney. When stripped of all its "bells and whistles," however, a trust can be viewed simply as a contract wherein a grantor agrees to transfer assets to a beneficiary, who then receives the assets as stipulated in the contract. A trustee, who may or may not be the grantor, manages the trust assets and ensures the stipulated terms of the trust are faithfully carried out.

Many estate planning practitioners view the irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) as one of the most flexible and useful tools they can put to work on behalf of their clients. While the issue of where the ILIT fits into the overall estate planning process can be somewhat confusing, a closer look reveals its potential advantages.

If time is money, how many years do you have in the bank? We are living longer, healthier lives. As a result, retirement, for many, may last twenty years or more.

Are you worried about the current state of the Social Security system and how its future may affect your retirement income?

If you have recently thought about where you can best invest your hard-earned cash, you may have come up against the age-old question of whether you will do better in a taxable or tax-exempt investment.