Will Writing
For Business Owners

It’s important to carefully consider who you want to inherit your shares or business interest. A well-written Will can help you make sure they pass on to the right person. Without a Will, your business or your shareholding could pass to:

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• Someone who has no interest in running it

• Someone without the skills or experience to run it properly

• Multiple people in conflict about how the business should be run.

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In any of these cases, the business could lose value due to mismanagement. It might also simply be sold off quickly at a bad price.

You may also have strong personal feelings about who should inherit your business or shares. Many business owners are keen for their family to be involved with their business, or you may want to pass it on to a trusted employee. In the latter case, your Will may not be the most tax efficient solution.

You may want to leave your family a sum of money equal to the value of your business or your company shares, rather than the business or shares themselves. We can achieve that by putting in place a structure including your Will, a life assurance policy and other documents.

Firstly, your interest will pass to the executors of your Will. If you don’t have a Will, it’ll pass to the administrators of your estate. Exactly how the executors or administrators handle your interest Will depend on the specifics of your partnership agreement. For example:

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• The other partners may have the option to buy your interest before your executors sell or transfer it to anyone else

• The executors might also have the right to require the other partners to buy your interest, but this unusual and may have unwanted tax consequences.

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The executors may also need to sell your interest to pay any debts or taxes that your estate has. The executors will then pass on your interest – or any sales proceeds – in line with your Will. If you’ve not left a Will, the administrators will pass them on according to the intestacy rules.

Whether or not you can pass on shares or business interests will depend on the business’ partnership agreement or articles of association. If there is a shareholders’ agreement, this may also have an impact.

It’s important to check these documents before you make a Will or make any promises to an intended recipient.

You should also think about how involved your family member will want to be in the business before making your Will. This will determine the best way to pass the business on.

One option is to set up a trust to hold shares so your family can benefit without being directly involved.

Someone who inherits shares in a company will have some control over wider issues, but day-to-day decision-making of companies or partnerships will stay with the surviving directors or partners.

The best way to influence the future management of your business is to appoint other directors while you’re still alive. This is a large part of the succession planning process.

Passing on a business in your Will can mean that your estate has to pay a substantial amount of Inheritance Tax. In some cases, your executors may even have to sell business assets, shares or interests in order to pay that Inheritance Tax. In other cases, your business interests might be eligible for Inheritance Tax relief. This means it’s important to plan how your estate will manage Inheritance Tax in advance. We can help you make any available tax relief and make sure that your business is passed on as you wish.