For many entrepreneurs, wealth isn’t just a measure of success, it’s the result of years of hard work and the foundation of a family legacy intended to last for generations. Whether the end goal is to sell a business, groom new leadership, or create a liquidity event, planning should start years before it comes to fruition. Cultivating an environment of ongoing strategic planning is essential in preserving wealth, maximizing value, and minimizing risk.

An effective exit plan connects business planning with personal (private) wealth goals. Start by answering the all-important question: “What would the proceeds from a business sale or transition have to be, net of taxes, to fund my family’s desired lifestyle and achieve our legacy goals?”

The next step is to assess whether the company can provide that value from the desired business transition. If not, what changes will help maximize enterprise value and reduce the risk of a potential wealth shortfall in the future?

In this guide, Bradley Lacore, Director of Wealth Management at Cogent Private Wealth, discusses core wealth planning strategies for business owners. Bradley provides valuable information designed to provoke thoughtful consideration and discussion to determine which exit strategies are best for you and your business. These topics include business succession, liquidity event planning, and estate planning.

At Cogent Private Wealth, our Private Wealth Team works closely with clients across Florida to help them answer these important questions about their future and the future of their business. 

Defining Private Wealth Exit Strategies

Exit plans are not one-size-fits-all. Taking a personalized approach helps individuals transition ownership, leadership, or assets while minimizing tax exposure and maintaining financial control. For High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs), these strategies often include these four pillars:

• Business succession planning
• Estate planning
• Liquidity event preparation
• Wealth transition strategy

Having a clear plan that aligns with your personal, business, and philanthropic goals helps ensure continuity and control across generations.

Business Succession Planning: Structuring a Seamless Exit

Business succession planning is a key component of a holistic exit strategy. Whether your goal is to transition to a family member, sell to a partner, or execute an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), the decisions you make today will shape the business’s future and your own.

Succession paths may include:

• Family transfer: Retains legacy but requires leadership development and estate coordination.
• Management or employee buyout: Provides continuity and unlocks capital, often via structured financing.
• Third-party sale: Can maximize valuation but involves more complexity and planning.
• ESOPs: Offer tax advantages and long-term employee engagement but must be carefully structured.
• Private equity recapitalization: Allows owners to retain partial ownership while extracting significant liquidity. PE partners often bring operational and strategic resources to fuel continued growth.
• Strategic mergers: Align your business with a complementary firm to create synergies and potentially enhance market value. These transactions often result in leadership continuity and expanded capabilities.
• Passive ownership with professional management: Rather than exiting the company completely, owners may shift to a passive role, appointing a professional executive team. This model supports ongoing income and phased transition, especially in family-owned businesses.

Each option has different implications for control, taxation, liquidity, and long-term involvement. An effective succession plan requires clear documentation, advanced tax planning, and early engagement.

When choosing a strategy, consider your goals for the company and its employees. A family transfer or an employee buy-out may result in a softer landing for employees versus bringing in a PE partner with a more bottom-line focus. If liquidity is a priority, bringing in a PE partner may be the way to go. Each situation is different and there is no one path that is best for every transition.

Estate Planning in Florida: Preserving Family Wealth

Florida’s favorable tax environment offers meaningful advantages for estate planning. With no state income tax or estate tax, the state is a natural choice for individuals focused on preserving wealth. Still, federal estate tax thresholds, family dynamics, and the complexity of asset structures make it essential to approach planning with care—and with professional guidance.

Key strategies often include:

• Creating trust structures: Revocable and irrevocable trusts serve different purposes. A revocable trust can help avoid probate and maintain privacy, while an irrevocable trust can reduce estate tax exposure and protect assets.
  
• Implementing a lifetime gifting plan: Taking advantage of the annual gift tax exclusion or making larger gifts using your lifetime exemption can be powerful ways to shift wealth to the next generation.
  
• Coordinating charitable planning: Vehicles such as donor-advised funds or private foundations can align philanthropic goals with estate planning while potentially reducing the taxable estate.
  
• Addressing Florida homestead protections and titling: Florida’s homestead laws provide strong creditor protection but can also create unique planning challenges. Proper titling (e.g., tenants by the entirety) is key to maximizing protection and ensuring assets pass as intended.
  
• Establishing family limited partnerships (FLPs): FLPs can consolidate family assets, streamline management, and allow for valuation discounts when transferring interests. FLPs must be structured carefully to avoid IRS scrutiny.
  
• Using grantor-retained annuity trusts (GRATs): GRATs are an effective way to transfer appreciating assets to heirs with minimal gift tax consequences, particularly when interest rates are low.
  
• Leveraging portability and spousal planning: Coordinated use of both spouses’ federal estate tax exemptions can preserve significant wealth, especially when combined with strategic trust planning.

While these strategies can be powerful, none are plug-and-play. Estate planning should be tailored to your specific goals, family circumstances, asset profile, and should anticipate potential changes in tax laws or personal situations. Working with an experienced estate planning attorney and wealth advisor ensures the proper structure of your plan and that it evolves with you over time.

Estate planning is about more than minimizing taxes. It’s about ensuring your legacy continues with clarity, purpose, and flexibility for the future.

At Cogent Private Wealth, we work alongside your legal and tax advisors to help synchronize your estate plan with your overall financial goals. Our role is to align your financial strategy, family priorities, and legacy intentions, and that you remain in control every step of the way.

Liquidity Event Planning: Preparing for Value Realization

Liquidity events often represent a lifetime of work. Whether you’re selling a company, real estate portfolio, or monetizing other concentrated assets, how you prepare can significantly affect the outcome.

Key elements may include:

• Post-liquidity financial plan: ensure all aspects are covered by creating a pro-forma plan prior to the event.
• Tax deferral tools: explore vehicles such as 1031 exchanges, installment sales, and CRTs make sense for your situation.
• Cash flow and Timing: structure the sale or transaction to ensure ongoing cash flow needs are met.
• Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) investments: explore reinvesting gains into designated QOZ funds which can provide capital gains tax deferral, or in some cases, exclusion.
• Pre-liquidity gifting strategies: transferring assets to heirs or trusts before a liquidity event can help shift future appreciation out of your taxable estate.
• Asset protection planning: establishing the right legal structures before a liquidity event can help shield proceeds from potential future liabilities.

Liquidity events are inflection points in your overall wealth strategy. Coordinating timing, taxation, reinvestment, and risk exposure is essential to preserving wealth.

At Cogent Private Wealth, Bradley and his team help clients identify liquidity opportunities early and build tailored strategies to transition from asset-rich to cash-ready while protecting long-term financial goals. We understand the importance of working closely with your legal, tax, and investment professionals, to ensure we are creating a solid plan that works for you and your business.

Wealth Transition Strategies: Sustaining Impact Across Generations

Effective wealth transition extends beyond wills and trust documents. It includes family communication, governance structures, and alignment with values. A successful wealth transition strategy addresses both the technical and emotional aspects of passing on wealth.

Transition strategies may involve:

• Establishing a family office or centralized advisory model.
• Educating the next generation on financial literacy and stewardship.
• Designing a family constitution or governance plan.
• Incorporating philanthropic goals into your legacy planning.
• Creating multigenerational investment policies: outlining agreed-upon risk tolerances, asset allocation, and objectives across generations can guide consistent decision-making.
• Facilitating intergenerational retreats: structured gatherings designed to foster dialogue, align values, and build unity within the family.
• Implementing incentive trusts: trusts designed to promote education, entrepreneurship, or charitable engagement among heirs while preserving financial discipline.

These initiatives help families move beyond asset transfers with greater focus on building a legacy. By integrating purpose-driven planning, families are more likely to maintain both their wealth and value over time.

Our Private Wealth team helps facilitate conversations and structures that make your wealth transition intentional and lasting. We partner with families to create clarity, continuity, and connection as wealth transitions from one generation to the next.

Cogent Private Wealth: Your Partner in Strategic Wealth Transitions

At Cogent Private Wealth, we understand that each client’s goals are unique. Our Private Wealth team serves communities across Florida, including Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Bradenton, Sarasota, Naples, and Fort Myers, providing tailored solutions for strategic transitions with the exceptional service you deserve.

Our services include:

• Comprehensive Financial Planning
• Investment Management
• Collaboration with attorneys and CPAs for tax and estate alignment
• Education and engagement with heirs
• Long-term relationship management that evolves with your needs

We don’t just provide services- we partner with you to support each stage of your financial journey.

Begin the Conversation

Take control of what comes next. Whether you’re preparing for succession, planning a liquidity event, or securing your family’s future, a thoughtful and effective exit plan is a critical part of your success.

Contact your local Cogent Private Wealth advisor or visit our Private Wealth website to learn more.

Disclosures:

The information provided in this document is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice.

Non-deposit investment products are not insured by the FDIC or any other government agency, are not deposits or obligations of, nor guaranteed by the bank or any of its affiliates and may lose value.

You should consult your own financial, legal, tax, and accounting advisors before making any decisions based on this information.