Your Role: Get a Good T&E Attorney

The role of the investment advisor is to assemble the team that will help your client sell his business. The quarterback is the investment banker, but in addition to yourself the team should include an accountant, an M&A-experienced attorney, and a good trusts and estates lawyer. In many cases, if the right T&E lawyer is engaged prior to the commencement of the sales process, the client can save millions of dollars in post-sale taxes. In addition, since many transactions are “asset” sales that leave behind potential liabilities, it often makes sense to have asset protection trusts in place to safeguard the post-sale windfall.