expertise

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At Clark Insurance Advisory, we guide our clients through the process of developing and implementing a thoughtful Estate Plan.  We help clarify and design a strategy that will safeguard your wealth transition throughout your lifetime and beyond. 

     Estate Planning Benefits:

          Provision of financial security for your family

          Deferment, reduction or elimination of taxes

          Practical business transition management

          Charitable gifting

          Wealth protection   

The remittance of corporate income tax is a large expense for any business.  Therefore, crafting a deliberate plan to minimize this cost is essential.  As trusted advisors, Clark Insurance Advisory, is always current on all relevant taxation changes and specializes in identifying the best tax mitigation strategies available to business owners.  Implementation of the plan assures protection for our clients wealth and preserves the equity within their business.  

When investigating life insurance, we believe it is best to consult a professional who can guide you through a complex maze of information and steer you towards a solution that meets your specific needs.  Why would you consider investing in an insurance policy?  Is it to create an estate for your family where one did not exist before?  Is it to conserve your estate by protecting against a capital gain liability?  Perhaps purchasing a life product is a means of equalizing an estate amongst beneficiaries involved in a family business where some members are involved and others are not.  Whatever your reasons, having a conversation with a member of our team will provide both a perspective and solution that may not have been considered before.  

It is our opinion that business owners and their advisors should consider these documents as the cornerstones of current and future planning.  Yet, despite substantial changes to both the stop-loss and two pools dividend rules over the past 20 years, these documents are rarely updated.  The consequences of a will and shareholder agreement that haven't undergone regular review may be an increased tax liability upon disposition and/or the potential for estate litigation.

At Clark Insurance Advisory, when we carefully consider a shareholder agreement, we advise on setting the rules and expectations within a corporation for the business owners.  A well constructed agreement communicates the procedures to follow in the event of death, disability and retirement of all shareholders.  It also serves as framework to deal with any disputes between these individuals.

Our experience has taught us that the needs of each corporate entity are singular to that business.  As such, an agreement may include (but not limited to): shareholder financing of a buy-out, non-competition clauses for departing shareholders, shot-gun clauses, a method of valuation for the business and provisions to deal with dividends.   

After the documents have been drafted, they need to be signed and the plan implemented.  Once in place, our clients, their family, their business partners and employees may rest assured in the knowledge that the difficult task of forward planning is behind them and thus may look to a secure future.