As we’ve pointed out in previous posts on this blog, succession planning is an important task for every company to ensure its success during and after times of transition. A common theme in all effective succession planning is that it has to be started sooner rather than later and to remain and ongoing task. This is just as true for publicly traded companies as it is for closely-held companies.

Last week, electronics chain Radio Shack filed for bankruptcy following decline in its wireless offerings and struggles to keep up with online shopping. The company reportedly plans to close at least 1,784 locations across the country by the end of March. In Lexington, several Radio Shack stores will be closing, two by the end of February and one in late March.

Prior posts discussed the basic advantages and disadvantages of structuring a sale of a business as a stock sale or an asset sale, as well as the initial considerations in agreeing to structure a sale as an asset purchase. This series will continue to expand on these types of sales with the next step in the process, the documents by which these sales begin.

When financing a commercial real estate purchase, the devil finds its way into the details in surprising ways. One of the details that can provide a fair amount of headache for developers and investors is the decision to choose either a fixed or a floating mortgage rate. There are, obviously, risks and rewards to each, and there may be times when the safest bet isn't always the best one.

In our last post, we began speaking about letters of intent and their use in negotiating the terms of construction projects. As we noted, letters of intent are not contracts, but courts do sometimes enforce them as binding, depending on what the parties intended by the document. In cases where it is evident that both parties intended to be bound, they may be enforced by a court. In cases where parties did not intend to be bound, they may not be enforced. It depends on the circumstances, though.

Anyone who works in the construction industry knows how important it is for everybody to have the same understanding about the terms of a project, including the materials needed, deadlines to be met, and the procedure for resolving disputes. Without a reasonable degree of certainty about these things, there is always the risk that something will go wrong and that money will be lost.

Kentucky recently followed 27 other states in enacting the Uniform Trust Code ("UTC"), which went into effect on July 15^th of last year. The sweeping provisions of the UTC will apply to all types of express trusts, even those created prior to the effective date of the law, so it is important for trustees, settlors and beneficiaries to have a thorough understanding of the new law.

planning their exit from the company. We’ve already briefly discussed the importance of planning for a fitting successor, emphasizing that it is important to begin this process sooner rather than later.

As we’ve previously mentioned on this blog, business succession planning is critical in maintaining the strength and integrity of a business during and after changes of leadership. Experts in business planning say that businesses must start early to ensure they put together an intelligent strategy for succession.

In our last post, we began looking at the issue of business planning within the context of a family farm business. We’ve already spoken about the importance of appropriately structuring a family farm business because of the potential tax consequences. Between the various forms of business structure, tax applications vary considerably. Although this is a big issue to plan for, here we’d like to talk briefly about the way structuring a farm business can impact ownership and management of a family farm.