Family Businesses – Treasured Heirlooms!
January 13, 2010
In many families there is a giving ritual. Treasured heirlooms are given from one generation to the next. Parents carefully think about what would be treasured by each child, and they are gifted accordingly. What’s often unspoken is that the parents feel the gift will be both treasured and maintained.
Ownership of the family business is often gifted more like an asset than as a treasured heirloom, with less though given to issues of being treasured or maintained. It is seen as an entitlement or an annuity. But ownership in a business is not the same as ownership of a bank account, or uncle Harry’s portrait. A business has a life of its own and has its own identity. Nobody is paying interest on its worth – it needs to be worked, nurtured and allowed to respond to its customers’ wants and needs. If you are offered the gift of ownership in a family business, make sure you are willing to invest in the gift. If not, ask for your inheritable interest to be converted to its cash value and paid.
Comments
Got something to say?
