CLE on Employee Stock Ownership Plans

Strafford will sponsor a live 110-minute CLE/CPE teleconference on January 6, 2012 entitled Employee Stock Ownership Plans as a Business and Tax Planning Vehicle. A description of the program is below:

Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are popular forms of deferred compensation plans and can be effective tools for business succession, and estate and retirement planning purposes. ESOPs provide tax advantages for the business owner seeking to plan for retirement while retaining control of the business.

Structured properly, ESOPs can enhance the company’s liquidity, preserve working capital, reduce a business owner’s income tax burden, provide the business with tax deductions and offer tax deferred income to key employees.

Listen as our authoritative panel of legal advisors provides practical and strategic advice on using ESOPs as tax and retirement/estate planning vehicles for business owners.

Outline

• Advantages of ESOP as a deferred compensation plan
  • Business succession
  • Estate and retirement planning
• Structuring the ESOP
• Tax attributes and consequences
  • Impact to business entity
  • Impact to business owner
  • Impact to employee/shareholder

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key questions:

• How can business owners leverage ESOPs for a business succession vehicle?
• What tax advantages do ESOPs offer the business owner and his or her company?
• What are some of the pitfalls in structuring ESOPs and how can counsel best avoid these pitfalls?
• What estate planning advantages do ESOPs offer business owners?

Following the speaker presentations, you’ll have an opportunity to get answers to your specific questions during the interactive Q&A.

You will understand how to use ESOPs for business succession, estate and retirement planning purposes. You will understand how to structure the ESOP and analyze tax consequences for advising business owners, shareholders and employees.