Businesses can be owned or run by a person in many ways, and the structure will influence how it is dealt with on death.
Company
If the Business is run through a Company, then the shares in that Company will form part of a person’s assets, and can be gifted via Will. However, it is also important to check the company constitution or shareholders agreement to see if any special arrangements have been listed in respect to a person’s death.
If you hold shares in a company, you can select a beneficiary of these shares in either the Gifts module or the Estates module.
Trust
A beneficial interest in a discretionary/family trust cannot be gifted via a Will. If however, a person holds units in a unit trust, these could be gifted via Will.
Safewill is not a law firm and is unable to provide advice on how your particular business will transfer on your passing. We recommend you discuss your business succession with your accountant or financial planner. If you need legal advice, we offer the ability to book a telephone consultation with a specialist estate planning lawyer from our affiliate law firm Safewill Legal. One of their lawyers can provide you with some advice about how your business ownership will interact with your Will (however please note this call does not include the preparation of any business succession documents).
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