A business sale is the highest-stakes estate planning moment most owners will ever face.
When a business represents 60–80% of your net worth, a sale can double your taxable estate overnight. The window to act — GRAT funding, charitable timing, gifting before valuation spikes — closes at signing. Most owners learn this too late.
What changes at the $2M–$30M level
Your action plan
Ordered by urgency. Items marked "Immediate" should be addressed within 2–4 weeks.
Run your estate tax snapshot with the expected proceeds as liquid assets. Most owners are shocked by the number.
Do this in My Wealth Maps →GRAT funding windows, irrevocable trust strategies, and charitable timing must be executed before or at closing — not after.
Find an estate attorney →Annual exclusion gifts and lifetime exemption usage are most efficient before the sale closes at peak value.
Do this in My Wealth Maps →Proceeds will flow into accounts that may have outdated designations or sub-optimal titling for your post-sale estate.
Do this in My Wealth Maps →Selling a business often eliminates a primary income source. Model your retirement projections with proceeds as the asset base.
Do this in My Wealth Maps →How prepared are you for business sale?
Answer 5 questions and get a personalized readiness score with specific gaps identified.
Get professional help
An estate attorney can execute the legal documents and trust strategies this event requires.
Browse attorneys →A fiduciary advisor can model the financial impact and coordinate strategy across your full picture.
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