Succession Planning and Exit Strategies

Even a cursory glance at the literature on business succession reveals gory statistics: fifty percent of small businesses survive only five years; thirty percent of family owned businesses don’t make it to the next generation. It’s enough to discourage even the most entrepreneurial intrepid among us.

And yet people do establish businesses. They form corporations and partnerships and limited liability companies, and many of them even foresee the day when their business, or at least their participation in it, will change or come to an end. Many of these people develop succession plans and exit strategies, and we at McDowall Cotter, a San Mateo based law firm, are here to help them.

Succession plans and exit strategies anticipate life’s inevitable changes. The partners with whom you developed the idea that made you a small fortune (or even a large one) would find a new passion and simply want out. Or perhaps it’s you who is tiring of the daily grind but wish to keep your share of the business in the family by passing it on to your children. Maybe there’s divorce or someone passes away. Stranger things have happened. Succession planning and exit strategies that are put in place before such events occur ensure smooth transitions and equitable financial settlements for everyone involved.

If you are in the San Francisco Peninsula, (San Mateo, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Foster City, Burlingame, Mountain View…), South Bay (San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara…), Alameda County (Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, Pleasanton…) and would require more information on succession planning and exit strategies, our team of dedicated lawyers are available to provide you with guidance.

McDowall Cotter is a San Mateo based law firm and has served clients in the greater San Francisco Bay Area for more than half a century. In that time, we have established a reputation, in the courts and in the community, for ingenuity, integrity and a common-sense approach to the practice of law. Our knowledge of law ranges widely from business counsel to wealth preservation to dispute resolution and litigation. All of our services are rooted in a thorough understanding of the law, extensive experience with trials and appeals, and a longstanding commitment to protecting not only our clients’ interests but also their peace of mind.

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