Business; Estate Planning

Dedicated Legal Assistance To Plan for and Protect Your Family or Business

Serving Clients in Tulsa and Oklahoma City

Choosing the right attorney can be difficult. There is no risk in coming to us discuss your questions and concerns. If you decide not to hire us, then there is no charge for your initial consultation. Contact our office for an appointment or with your questions online or call 918-582-8393. If you need help with your Wills or Trusts, are a business owner or an individual in need of legal assistance, our experienced lawyers can provide the focused and knowledgeable guidance you need to get favorable results.

Attorney Gary Maddux: Leveraging Years of Experience to Offer Flexible Representation

Gary has extensive experience helping clients consider all aspects of their legal, tax, and estate planning needs. Gary has practiced in a law firm environment and has also served as an Associate General Council to a Fortune 200 Corporation (his practice focused on buying businesses), and as General Counsel with three privately held clients (while continuing his practice of law with other clients). He has sat at the table as all types of decisions were made by small new startup businesses and mature well-established larger businesses. Finally, Gary has spent significant time in the estate tax planning arena implementing very simple estate plans for young couples to extremely sophisticated estate plans for business owners and professionals taking advantage of available, cutting edge techniques which, under appropriate circumstances, save significant estate taxes.

You must carefully and simultaneously consider numerous issues when: 

• Forming a new business
• Running your existing business
• Reorganizing your existing business operations 
• Preparing to sell and then selling your business
• Acquiring a business from a third party
• Transferring your property to your spouse or children at your death

With Gary's advanced education and experience as a business and estate planning attorney, a Tax CPA, and his participation as a member of various company management teams, Gary is prepared to consider all relevant issues when assisting you with the above matters.

Quick Note re Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts

While estate planning is discussed last, estate planning is a major component of Gary's practice. Gary is as much an estate planner as he is a business attorney. Estate planning issues sometimes dominate business planning projects, and estate planning lessons learned, and estate planning structures implemented, have equal application to professionals and non-business owners. Please understand, as discussed further below, Gary's estate planning practice focuses on a wide array of estate planning clients, both large and small, and not just estate planning for business clients.

Forming a Business

What is the optimal structure when forming a new business? Should you use an S Corporation, limited liability company (LLC), or perhaps a sole proprietorship? Perhaps it's more advantageous to form an LLC and then elect to be taxed as an S Corporation. What structure will give you the best estate tax results? Different structures have different estate tax ramifications. If you are forming your business with another, how will you allocate income? What if one member contributes more cash than the others? Will he or she receive a preferred return? How will decisions be made? What happens if one member wants to go one direction and the others want to go a different direction? What about capital calls? Loan guarantees? Should there be rights of first refusal? What happens if one member dies? Should his or her family continue as owners? If so, can they vote? Should the business buy life insurance to buyout a deceased member?

Running your Business

While running your business you will be called upon to negotiate and enter into various agreements. What provisions should be included in those contracts? Who should negotiate the agreement? Should you have the opportunity to extend the contract if certain performance criterion are met? Do you need the opportunity to terminate the agreement if certain events occur? Should you include noncompetition provisions? What other protections might you need? The list of issues goes on and on and is very dependent upon the subject matter of the intended contract.

Reorganization; Succession Planning

When should an existing business reorganize? In what form should a reorganized business operate? What are the tax consequences when reorganizing? Does your current business structure adequately protect your business assets, and your personal wealth, from business liabilities? Should you consider a reorganization designed to incentivize key employees and perhaps give them the opportunity to earn an ownership interest based upon performance? What about succession planning? Are your children prepared to lead or will you have to adopt a succession plan designed to attract and retain other talent? Should you reorganize to minimize your estate tax consequences?

Selling Your Business

Gary's focus on buying businesses for a Fortune 200 corporation is extremely valuable. How do you prepare to sell your company? What about the letter of intent? Will you be prepared for the due diligence investigations which the buyer will undertake? You will be under a microscope. What are the key areas and concerns which you should consider? What provisions in the "one-sided" purchase agreement which you will receive from the buyer are fair and what provisions can we possibly negotiate out? Can you limit your exposure on representations and warranties? How do you handle the negotiations? When and how do you make disclosures of problem areas? Gary has the experience to help with all of these questions.

Buying a Business

When purchasing a business, what are the key legal issues you should consider? What should be included in the letter of intent and what should you wait to address in the definitive acquisition agreement? How one-sided should your one-sided acquisition agreement be? What is the optimal tax structure for the acquisition? Are there estate tax planning opportunities which can be achieved when making the acquisition? Sometimes using the correct structure when acquiring a business will result in a significant estate tax savings. Gary's prior experience with buying businesses for a Fortune 200 corporation is extremely valuable. He can assist you in answering these question.

Estate Planning

Regardless of the size of your estate, or the extent of the property you own, what are your estate planning objectives? Clients with little property still must make plans to transfer their property and assets at death. Clients with more extensive holdings with more complicated estate planning issues should take the opportunity to adopt an estate plan which will significantly reduce estate taxes. Is it important to protect the inheritance you are leaving your children from their creditors, claimants, and divorcing spouses? Do you have a child who has special needs? Perhaps a problem adult child who needs protection from herself? Who will take care of your minor children? Your parents? Do you need an estate plan to manage life insurance proceeds and your property following your death until your children reach a specified age?

If you have a larger estate, how can your estate plan help reduce or minimize your anticipated estate tax? Numerous strategies exist which can be very helpful. For extremely large estates, do you want to adopt an estate plan where a portion of the inheritance you leave to your children will not be subject to estate taxation for several generations? Do you want to consider wealth migration strategies? Gary has extensive experience with all of these issues and he can guide you through every option available.

Largest Small Firm Around

Admittedly, the law firm of Maddux & Maddux is small. Sometimes clients need assistance for complex matters beyond our normal area of practice. When this happens, we do not re-invent the wheel. It is our objective to provide cutting edge representation. Accordingly, rather than run up large legal bills trying to determine the best approach in new or unusual areas, when advisable we seek guidance from outside experts.

We have an excellent relationship with Baker & Hostettler, a large national law firm. We have consulted with B&H on complex issues such as optimizing international tax structures, roll ups or consolidations of small businesses into large entities designed to "go public", management buyouts, complex estate planning strategies, forming independent practice associations of physicians, patent and intangible property issues, and other complex matters.

We only use B&H in exceptional circumstances. But when we engage them we access ready, nationally recognized legal talent. When needed, through B&H we strive to provide our clients the best representation that is available at a blended affordable rate.

Ken Wright, at Baker & Hostettler is familiar with Gary's work. If interested, please contact him for a referral. Visit his website for contact information at: http://www.bakerlaw.com/kennethcwright/.

Maddux & Maddux
2642 E. 21 Street, Suite 150
Tulsa, OK 74114
Phone: 918-582-8393
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