PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) Explained
Succession Planning: Expert Strategies and Tips From Succession — Hiring to Firing Podcast
The Informed Board Podcast | CEO Succession Planning on a Clear Day
Succession Planning to Safeguard Your Law Firm’s Future: On Record PR
Business Succession Planning Podcast with Janathan Allen
6 Key Takeaways | Succession Planning in the Current Banking Environment
Incapacity and Succession Planning for Closely Held Businesses and the People Who Operate Them
Episode 21 | Where There's A Will, There's A Way
Stoel Rives | Deeply Rooted Podcast Episode Five: Exploring Succession and Generational Change with Kevin Adams, Managing Director for The Mountain Group
Business Succession Planning: Strategies for the Transition
Lawyers on Tap: Tap Tips for Entity Formation and Taxation
Recent Trends in Succession & Estate Planning
For musicians, estate planning is not just about deciding who inherits guitar collections or song royalties. It is about protecting your artistic legacy, ensuring your intellectual property is handled according to your...more
In the months preceding the general election in 2024, the owners of many closely held businesses who had not yet given much thought to the disposition of their future estates, including their businesses, decided they should...more
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) into law. The OBBBA is the tax and budget reconciliation package for the current 2025 fiscal year through 2034. While the bill focuses primarily...more
On April 30, 2025, Katten hosted Loyola University Chicago's Family Business Center for the "Family Business Through a Legal Lens" program. Private Wealth Partner Adam Damerow and Loyola University Chicago School of Law...more
The Chicago Bears are a charter member of the National Football League, with ownership maintained by George Halas and later, his daughter, Virginia Halas McCaskey, for over 100 years. Upon Virginia McCaskey’s death last week,...more
A well-structured trust is often a central estate planning tool for small businesses and closely held family business owners when passing a business or wealth to your children. This includes heirs, beneficiaries, and future...more
Each new year offers a chance to step back, recalibrate, and plan for the year ahead. Individuals and businesses alike should take the time to ask and answer some simple questions to ensure their estate and business...more
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Connelly v. United States, that the valuation of a decedent’s shares in a closely held corporation for federal estate tax purposes must include insurance proceeds received...more
On June 6, 2024, the Supreme Court held 9-to-0 in Connelly v. United States that company-owned life insurance increases the company’s fair market value for estate tax purposes, and the company’s obligation to redeem a...more
On June 6, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Connelly v. United States affecting the valuation of closely held businesses for estate tax purposes. The Court explained that, for purposes of federal...more
It is typical to have provisions in the governing documents for your company which contemplate the death and buyout of the owners. Most often, those buyout obligations are funded by the purchase of a life insurance policy on...more
On June 6, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal decision in Connelly v. United States, affecting how life insurance proceeds are treated in buy-sell agreements for closely held corporations. The ruling states that...more
In the recent case, Connelly v. United States, 602 U.S. (2024) (slip op.) the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that life insurance proceeds received by a closely held corporation which is used to fund the redemption of a...more
Many co-owners of closely held businesses will employ life insurance as a tool for funding the transfer of ownership in the business upon the death or retirement of an owner. In these cases, planning involves the use of...more
Amidst many recent sharply divided decisions, the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on June 6, 2024 issued a rare unanimous ruling in Connelly v. United States, which addressed estate tax considerations relative to...more
The United States Supreme Court (Supreme Court) released the Connelly v. United States opinion on June 6, 2024. The opinion affirmed the Eighth Circuit's holding in favor of the IRS that a company's contractual redemption...more
On June 6, 2024, in the case of Connelly v. United States, the United States Supreme Court determined that corporate-owned life insurance proceeds used to redeem a decedent’s shares in the corporation must be included when...more
On June 6, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion regarding Connelly, as Executor of the Estate of Connelly v. United States. This final decision will directly impact all closely held business owners that...more
As AI increasingly becomes part of our everyday lives, individuals and families are exploring the use of AI programs to prepare estate plans. The answer to whether AI can be used for this purpose is, of course, yes. AI...more
The Supreme Court has just weighed in on how gift and estate taxes apply with respect to non-cash gifts in Estate of Connelly v. United States. The Court’s opinion closely follows the economics of such arrangements, but...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued an important ruling on June 6, 2024, clarifying the federal tax consequences of certain succession plans for closely held businesses. The Court held in Connelly v. United States,...more
In Connelly v. US, 602 US ___ (6/6/2024), the US Supreme Court affirmed a decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in favor of the government concerning the estate tax treatment of life insurance proceeds...more
All U.S. closely held businesses just received a warning from the highest court in the land that they should review their succession plans (or else risk a higher tax bill for the estates of their owners). On June 6, 2024, the...more
What are some of the fundamental issues when estate planning for business owners? Why should every business owner have an estate plan? What are some of the primary issues to address in an effective estate plan for those who...more
For most business owners, the business is the most valuable item on their balance sheet. From an estate planning perspective, the equity in the business is also often the best asset to use for lifetime transfers to pass value...more