ARDMORE, Pa. — Sooner or later, every dry cleaner thinks about retirement. For those who own a closely held or family business, retirement is more than just a matter of deciding not to go to work anymore. In addition to ensuring there will be enough money to retire, dry cleaning business owners, shareholders and partners must decide what will happen to the business when they are no longer in control.
An effectively developed succession plan can involve selling the business to provide a retirement nest egg, or continuation of the dry cleaning business, with gradual changes in management and/or control, to ensure a source of retirement income or any combination thereof.
One of the more important aspects of business succession planning is working out the financial pitfalls following the death of the business owner. That requires answering questions such as where the money to pay taxes will come from, or, if the business is a partnership, where the money to buy out the deceased partner’s share will come from.
