Journey: Considering a sale
The most flexibility exists before a letter of intent is signed. This is the time to understand how structure, timing, and personal goals connect.
Many owners spend years preparing the business for a buyer and comparatively little time preparing the household for life after the sale. The deal terms you negotiate will shape your taxes, your cash flow, and your risk for years.
Nothing here pushes a timeline. Some owners sell within months; others decide not to sell at all. Both are legitimate outcomes.
Estimate annual spending after the sale, including costs the business currently covers. That figure frames every other decision.
Stock versus asset sale, purchase price allocation, earn-outs, rollover equity, and seller notes each carry different tax and risk profiles.
Some strategies, such as certain gifting or charitable approaches, only work if put in place before a sale is effectively agreed.
Decide what should happen to the plan and to your own balance before the buyer decides for you.
An M&A attorney, a CPA experienced in transactions, and a financial planner who serves you, not the deal, each see different risks.
How your sale is structured and reported, and how you manage investments afterward, both influence what you pay. These are related but different conversations.
Read the guideBefore the sale, much of your net worth may have been concentrated in one company. After the sale, spreading risk and building more than one source of income is often a central theme.
Read the guideFor years the business paid you. After a sale, a pool of money has to do that job. Drawdown planning is the work of deciding how much comes out, from where, and when.
Read the guideA sale changes the size and shape of what you may leave behind. Legacy planning is about who, how, when, and with what protections.
Read the guideAnswer seven questions to see your score and related education. Some results include an optional 15-minute call calendar.
