Just A Minute, LLC

Have you given thought to what would happen to your business if something happened to you? Would it continue on, or would it be sold by your heirs? Linking your business to your Revocable Living Trust will allow the flexibility of choosing what you want to happen with your company. As a business owner, your stock or membership interest is subject to probate if it is held in your name personally. The probate process takes anywhere from a required minimum of 4 months up to 2 years. I have even seen probate drawn out to a lengthy 16 years due to arguments. Would your business be worth anything after going through that? If your business is like most, it would be better to sell or transfer the company immediately so as not to lose clients or contracts. It’s easy to accomplish this with a revocable living trust. When you establish a living trust, set it up to own your business stock or company membership interest (rather than you owning it personally). This is the first step to keeping your business out of the probate process. Here are the main advantages to linking your business to your trust: • Avoid Probate • Avoid arguments (Last Will & Testament contests) • Transfer your interest to your heirs quickly • Continue with Business as usual or sell business with no probate court intervention Four Steps to Safeguard Your Business Remember these basic steps to ensure your business is linked to your trust: 1. Prepare Certificates—Issue your membership interest or stock in the name of your trust, with you as trustee. For example: The Celebrity Trust, John Doe, Trustee. Cancel the original certificates previously owned by you and replace them with the new certificates. 2. Update Ledgers—For an LLC, the schedule of membership interest should reflect that your interest is held by you as trustee of your trust. For a corporation, the corporate stock transfer ledger would show your shares are held by you as trustee. 3. Update Trust Schedule – List your membership interest or stock certificate shares on your trust schedule under the headings of Corporations or Limited Liability Companies. If your schedule doesn’t have one of these subheads, then add it. Place your trust schedule behind the trust agreement itself. 4. Prepare Company Resolutions – Record your resolution of this transfer to trust in your company records, with the correct resolution document and place it in your Minute Book. It is important to take ALL the appropriate steps to correctly link your business to your trust, so consult your attorney or minutes professional about getting it done right. Need to link your Living Trust with your company? We'll do it for you. Call us at 480-344-1870. http://www.JustAMinuteLLC.com read more