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...people in other industries such as real estate or banking who want to enter th...m during the period of time that the estate is being settled and then to sell ...

...ook Hogan points out that his game really propelled itself to championship cal...either need to start paying for prime real estate or invest more resources into stay...

...th an attorney's office, a bank, a real estate agency, or an accountant. These...S TIME FOR YOUR CHECK-UP You may not realize it, but Life insurance should be...

... or from their own professional malpractice; but they do provide protection from cross-liability for E&O and torts of the LLP's other participants. Your clients-and you-can benefit from LLCs in a number of ways: Consider using one instead of a partnership or sole proprietorship to hold real estate (such as your agency office building) . Benefits include tax, cash and profit allocation opportunities, and Liability protection. Consider them as one asset-protection strategy. For example, clients often place individual apartment buildings into a series of separate LLCs to compartmentalize their ... be aware of their additional sales opportunities! Agency owners can also use LLCs to improve clusters greatly, enhancing their ability to acquire another agency (or to hire an established producer with a book of business) . Owners can even use LLCs to help with their own estate planning. THE BASICS LLCs are hybrids, combining corporate and partnership characteristics. Every state now allows them in one form or another. They provide Personal Liability protection for members against outside third parties (analogous to the protections of a corporation), fire walls' ... real estate (such as your agency office building) . Benefits include tax, cash and profit allocation opportunities, and Liability protection. Consider them as one asset-protection strategy. For example, clients often place individual apartment buildings into a series of separate LLCs to compartmentalize their investment portfolio in case of catastrophic lawsuits or under-insured losses involving any of their buildings. They're a good way to shield owners of raw land from runaway jury awards to trespassers or the like. In joint-venture situations, they can make dissolution ( 'divorce') of ...

... look for new owners has been within the employee group, among the company ranks, or in other agencies. These are still good places to start, but it might pay to broaden your horizons. One possibility is to seek out people in other industries such as real estate or banking who want to enter the insurance business and who may also have some money to invest as a result of their prior activities. Third, a good perpetuation plan needs sufficient funding, whether it comes from within the agency or partially from outside sources ... Insurance companies can be a good source of funds. It is not as easy to get money from them as it was five years ago but many still seem to be receptive to planning with agents and to provide financial assistance if the proposed buyers are acceptable. The negative aspect of receiving help from companies is that there are volume commitments, collateral strings, and a big brother' attitude that may have to be endured. On the positive side, it can strengthen the relationship between the agency and the company and help provide management ... within the agency. Wherever the outside funding comes from, it will eventually have to be supported by the cash flow of the agency. To accomplish an internal transfer the sellers will probably have to agree to receive less than if they were to sell to another agency. And the buyers will have to accept making less money during the period of the buy-out. The structure of the deal and the tax consequences will dictate how much of the burden is to be borne by the various parties. The fourth requirement, then, is ...

... enough into the ownership pie (directly or by way of increased production with lower compensation percentages), there will not be enough capital available to buy out the existing owners when they retire.PHANTOM STOCK/PERFORMANCE UNITS-When agencies are owned by third parties such as financial institutions, real estate firms, or the largest client, sharing ownership with the employees including the Agency President may not be an option. In other situations agency owners may not yet have decided whether they want to implement an internal perpetuation plan or whether their children will be coming ... the agency. In these cases it is still possible to give key employees a form of equity by awarding them profit sharing units that are frequently called phantom or shadow stock. The most common way to create such a profit sharing program is to set up the same number of units as there are shares of common stock in the corporation and to value these units in the same way that agency stock is valued. As the value of the agency increases, the value of the phantom stock also goes up although the employee does not ... for selling and servicing the business should be lower in an agency that has a vesting program. How much lower will depend upon the vesting period, percentage, and valuation method.EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLANS-An ESOP is an employee benefit plan in the form of a trust fund that invests primarily in agency stock. It is in effect a deferred compensation plan in which employees participate in the ownership of the agency according to their salary level and length of service. By setting up an ESOP agency owners can provide an opportunity for employees to share in ...

...hip or sole proprietorship to hold real estate (such as your agency office building)...xit strategies, and overall tax- and estate-planning tools. Their incredible f...

...es such as financial institutions, real estate firms, or the largest client, s...l also provide a valuation basis for estate planning purpose.6. Employee Moral...

...m your carriers 4. Referrals from real estate brokers 5. Mailing lists from ...f companies related to yours, such as realtors. The drawback is that most comp...