Hugh B. RobertsAll Articles
Preparing Your Successor
Leading with Resilience, Winning Against Tough Competitors, and Overcoming Adversity Given our extensive experience working with numerous family business owners, we fully understand the challenges of balancing the family or the business when dealing with family members in your company. However, regardless of your approach to grooming your child as a successor owner, the ultimate goal is to ensure they are equipped to take over the business. So, the crucial question is, "Is your successor truly prepared?" If the answer is NO, it's crucial to identify what steps must be taken. Family Business Balance First, let's address one of [...]
It is Possible to Be Equitable
Thirty-five years ago, Roland Spongberg started a restaurant company with one El Pollo Loco in Long Beach, CA. Today, WKS Restaurant Company employs 12,000 employees across 375 restaurants in 19 states operating Denny’s, El Pollo Loco, Krispy Kreme, and Wendy’s. From a pure family perspective, with six children, Roland initially thought he would simply divide his estate by six. However, as an owner of a business with the family involved, he realized quickly it was much more complicated. Roland had family working in the business with different levels of leadership, family not working in the [...]
What Will Your Estate Planning Produce – Gratefulness or Resentment?
As of July 2021, the lifetime exemption is $11.7M per person and $23.4M per married couple. However, we expect a significant reduction in the lifetime exemption due to President Biden's tax proposals, if not this year, then no later than December 31, 2025. As a result, common questions we are hearing are: How will gifting affect my lifestyle? Will this adversely affect our children? Parents desire to 'treat each of our children fairly.' Therefore, 'if I'm going to gift to one child, I need to give my other children a similar amount. Splitting the cake in half may seem [...]
Family Business: Harboring Gratitude versus Resentment
Listen in to Hugh’s insight into how to create meaningful strategies to ensure you are harboring gratefulness versus unintended resentment amongst family. A grateful heart is significant when we feel we’ve gone above and beyond to provide something for our children/grandchildren. Knowing our children are thankful usually inspires us to want to do more for them. Over the past year, my partners and I at The Rawls Group have constantly reminded our clients of the need to utilize their lifetime exemption, which is currently $11.7M per person and $23.4M per married couple. We expect a [...]
It’s Tough Being Your Kid!
How do you mentor a child who is interested in joining your business, give them the greatest possibilities for succeeding, without making them feel and believe they need to be just like you? First, embrace that your child is different from you. So, if they feel they have to be like you to succeed, they are doomed to failure. Developing your successor child/children will involve a variety of complex areas – all of which are interdependent on the other. You will have to clarify expectations, define roles and responsibilities, leverage mentors, understand and embrace differences in communication and leadership [...]
