
Consider using life insurance purchased on the life of an elderly principal buyer of your business. Don’t confuse this with an inter-partner buy-sell agreement. It is instead an at-arms’-length buy-sell strategy presented during a selling/buying negotiation on the fly.
Talk to your tax specialist or an accountant before utilising this advanced at-arms’-length buy-sell strategy to see if this could finalise a purchase of your business if the buyer can’t afford the entire purchase price upfront.
If the buyer cannot afford the full price, he or she could fund a life insurance policy on his life for pennies on the dollar now (paying you the overseeing insurance payer, the premium amount). Establish you or your heirs as the irrevocable beneficiaries upon his or her decease. Back this up with legal documents in tandem with a loan which would be paid off upon the decease of a senior at-arm’s-length purchaser. Recommend this strategy only when insuring a senior buyer for a part, not all of the purchase amount. With careful planning, there may also be some tax-deferral benefits.
Strategic life insurance concept by Glen R. Jackman, Editor of Adviceon