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Family Business

Guidance for family-owned businesses on governance, succession, and managing family dynamics

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Financial Infidelity When You Run a Business Together: A Transparency System for Co-Owner Couples

Bankrate's January 2026 survey found 43% of U.S. adults consider financial secrecy at least as bad as physical cheating, and 40% of adults in live-in relationships admit to a money secret. For couples who co-own a business, a hidden card or debt also distorts pricing, payroll and joint tax liability — here are the bookkeeping controls, monthly review cadence and entity rules that make transparency structural rather than voluntary.

mike

family-businesssmall-businessbookkeeping

The Succession Planning Perception Gap: Why 65% of Small Business Owners Have No Exit Plan — and How to Build One Buyers Will Trust

40% of small business owners plan to retire within 10 years but 70% have no formal succession plan and only 8% are fully prepared; Revenued finds 59% of successors assume a plan exists while only 35% of owners have one — this guide explains the 24-point gap, valuation methods, clean-book QofE prep, and a 12-month exit plan to make your business lending-ready.

mike

small-businesssuccession-planningbusiness-exit

Related-Party Disclosures Under ASC 850: When Paying Your Spouse's LLC Needs a Footnote

ASC 850 requires four things in the footnote for every material related-party transaction — the nature of the relationship, a description, dollar amounts for each period presented, and any change in how terms were set — and it applies even when the price is fair. This guide identifies who counts as a related party for a small business (10%+ owners, officers, immediate family, and entities they control), shows a model two-paragraph footnote, and gives a 10-step year-end checklist plus a Beancount account structure that turns disclosure into a query.

mike

small-businessfinancial-reportingfinancial-statements

The $15 Million Estate Tax Exemption: What OBBBA Means for Business Succession Planning

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently raised the federal estate and gift tax exemption to $15 million per person ($30 million per couple) starting in 2026, eliminating the scheduled TCJA sunset to roughly $7 million. Here's what changed, which existing plans are now outdated, and the succession moves business owners should make — from portability filings to buy-sell agreement reviews and state estate tax exposure.

mike

estate-planningsuccession-planningtax-planning

When a Deficit Restoration Obligation Isn't One: What CCA 202628009 Means for Partnership Loss and Liability Allocations

IRS Chief Counsel Advice CCA 202628009 (July 10, 2026) held that a demand-based deficit restoration obligation enforceable only by withholding future distributions is not unconditional, failing both the §1.704-1(b) economic-effect safe harbor and the §1.752-2(b) recourse-liability test — a fact pattern common in family LP boilerplate that can reallocate recourse debt and suspend previously deducted losses.

mike

taxpartnershipstax-compliance

Section 2032A Special-Use Valuation: Cut Up to $1.46 Million Off the Estate Value of a Family Farm or Closely Held Business in 2026

Section 2032A lets executors value qualifying farm or closely held business real property at productive use rather than fair market value, with a 2026 reduction cap of $1,460,000 — worth up to $584,000 in federal estate tax at the 40% rate. The election is irrevocable, requires material participation, and triggers a 10-year recapture period.

mike

tax-planningestate-planningfamily-business
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