BizSugar.com › Taxes › Death, Taxes and Exit Planning

As advisors, we understand that our business clients should be preparing for the biggest financial event of their lives – the sale of their business. However, when we ask, “How are you exit planning for your retirement from the business?” we seldom get a straight answer.

Instead, we get any number of comments like: “I still enjoy my business, I’m not thinking about it right now.” “I have a good company. I can sell it whenever I choose.” “Everything is available for the right price. I just haven’t heard it yet.”

These are all ways of evading the fact that they haven’t thought about their life after the sale of their business, and they don’t want to. Why is having the exit planning discussion so challenging? Because, like planning one’s own funeral or purchasing life insurance, it is frightening to contemplate the end of one’s professional career.