Alternate Valuation Date Estate Tax
How the alternate valuation date works for estate tax — IRC Section 2032 rules, the six-month window, and when electing it saves the family money.
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All articles about Small Business Owner Dies — What the Family Needs to Do.
Alternatives to Hiring a Business Succession Consultant After the Owner Dies
Practical alternatives to expensive business succession consultants when a small business owner dies — from structured guides to attorney-only engagements.
Bank Froze Business Account After Death
Why banks freeze business accounts when an owner dies, how to unfreeze them, and what to do about payroll and operations while accounts are locked.
Best Business Transition Resource for Families With No Business Experience
The best toolkit for families suddenly responsible for a business after the owner dies — even if you've never managed a company or read a balance sheet.
Business Continuity Guide vs Hiring an Estate Attorney After an Owner Dies
Comparing a structured business continuity toolkit with hiring an estate attorney when a small business owner dies — costs, coverage, and when you need both.
Business Owner Death Notification Templates: Employees, Clients, and Vendors
Free notification templates for when a business owner dies. Includes employee announcement, client continuity letter, vendor notice, and business continuity plan.
Business License After Owner Death
What happens to business licenses when the owner dies — notification deadlines, temporary licenses, transfer rules for contractors, professionals, and general businesses.
Business Valuation After Death
How to value a small business after the owner dies — estate tax appraisal requirements, Revenue Ruling 59-60, valuation methods, and common discounts.
Contractor License When the Owner Dies: What Happens Next
What happens to a contractor license, professional license, or business permit when the qualifying individual dies. Covers CSLB rules, temporary licenses, and transfers.
Digital Assets After a Business Owner Dies: Email, Software, and Data Access
How to access a deceased business owner's email, cloud accounts, and digital assets. Covers RUFADAA laws, fiduciary access, and estate planning steps.
DIY Business Estate Settlement vs Professional Executor Services
Should you settle a business estate yourself or hire a professional executor? Costs, risks, and when each approach makes sense after a business owner dies.
Documents Needed When a Business Owner Dies
Complete checklist of documents you need when a small business owner dies. Covers legal, financial, tax, and operational records the executor must locate.
Does S-Corp Stock Go Through Probate?
Whether S-corporation shares go through probate after the owner dies, how to preserve the S-election, and what happens if stock passes to an ineligible shareholder.
Executor Responsibilities for Business
What an executor must do when the deceased owned a business — running operations, fiduciary duties, selling vs continuing, and personal liability risks.
Family Fighting Over a Business After Death: How to Resolve It
Siblings and heirs fighting over a family business after the owner dies. Learn the legal defaults, mediation options, and how to break a deadlock.
How to Close a Business After the Owner Dies
Step-by-step process for closing or dissolving a business after the owner dies — winding up operations, settling debts, canceling licenses, and filing final taxes.
How to Keep a Small Business Running After the Owner Dies Without a Succession Plan
Step-by-step guide for families keeping a business alive after the owner dies with no succession plan, buy-sell agreement, or designated successor.
How to Notify the IRS When a Business Owner Dies
Step-by-step guide for notifying the IRS after a business owner's death. Covers Form 56, EIN closure, final tax returns, and fiduciary responsibilities.
Key Person Insurance After a Business Owner Dies
How key person life insurance works when a business owner dies. Covers claiming the death benefit, tax treatment, and using proceeds to stabilize operations.
Life Insurance Buy Sell Agreement
How life insurance funds a buy-sell agreement after a business owner dies — cross-purchase vs redemption, the Connelly ruling, and what families need to know.
LLC Operating Agreement Death of Member
What happens to an LLC when a member dies — single-member vs multi-member rules, economic-only inheritance, and how the operating agreement controls succession.
Managing a Business While Grieving: Practical Strategies
How to run a business while grieving the owner's death. Covers decision fatigue, grief brain fog, delegation strategies, and when to defer major decisions.
Paying Employees After Business Owner Dies
How to handle payroll when a business owner dies — employee rights, final wage rules, tax reporting changes, and how to keep the team paid while probate is pending.
Personal Guarantee Business Debt After Death
Do personal guarantees survive death? What happens to business debts the owner personally guaranteed — SBA loans, leases, lines of credit, and estate liability.
Small Business Estate Tax: What Heirs Need to Know
How estate taxes apply to inherited small businesses. Covers the federal exemption, business valuation for Form 706, and strategies to reduce the tax burden.
Small Estate Affidavit for Business Assets: Skip Probate
Can you use a small estate affidavit to transfer business assets after an owner dies? Learn the state thresholds, what qualifies, and when formal probate may be needed.
Transfer Business Ownership After Death
How to transfer business ownership after an owner dies — probate, entity rules, buy-sell agreements, and the steps to legally take over the business.
What Happens to a Partnership When a Partner Dies
What happens to a partnership when a partner dies — dissolution rules, death clauses, buy-sell obligations, and how to protect the surviving partners and family.
What Happens to a Sole Proprietorship When the Owner Dies
A sole proprietorship dies with its owner — what that means for the family, how assets transfer through probate, and how to restart or close the business.
What Happens When a Small Business Owner Dies
What happens to a business when the owner dies — from frozen bank accounts and payroll to probate, entity survival, and what the family needs to do first.
Who Inherits the Business When the Owner Dies?
Who inherits a business when the owner dies depends on entity type, estate plan, and state law. Learn the rules for LLCs, corporations, and sole proprietorships.