Passing on your business to your children, your spouse or someone close to you is a process that is at once legal, patrimonial and human. This stage raises complex issues: taxation, the balance between heirs, the company’s value and the durability of the family project.
Our firm assists managers with the transfer of their family business, combining legal expertise with strategic insight. With us, you can secure every step of the way, while respecting your wishes and values.
Why use a lawyer to transfer your family business?
Poorly anticipated family transfers can generate tensions, increase tax burdens or threaten the survival of the business. As abusiness transfer lawyer, our role is to :
- Choose the right legal strategy (sale, donation, dismemberment, etc.),
- Optimize taxation (via a Dutreil pact, for example),
- Preserving the balance between heirs,
- And guarantee the legal validity of each act.
In short, we help managers to secure family succession while protecting capital, governance and family harmony.
Legal options for transferring your business
Every transfer is unique. Depending on your objectives (retirement, anticipating succession, restructuring), different solutions are available to you.
Gift or sale of securities
You can transfer your business by :
- Full or bare ownership of shares,
- Or transfer for a consideration, often at a symbolic price or a price adapted to the financial capacity of the child buyer.
The lawyer will advise you on the tax and inheritance implications of the solutions chosen.
Pacte Dutreil
The Dutreil pact allows you to benefit from a tax allowance of up to 75% on transfer duties. It requires a collective and individual commitment to retain shares, as well as continued operational activity.
We’ll help you structure a pact that’s legally sound, meets deadlines and complies with tax regulations.
Takeover by one or more heirs
Passing on to a single child raises the question of equity. For several, it raises the question of governance.
Our firm can help you set up :
- A partnership agreement to avoid blockages,
- Exit or buyback clauses,
- Or a family holding company to centralize ownership and organize collective management.
Mistakes to avoid in a family succession
- Underestimating potential conflicts between heirs or spouses,
- Not anticipating inheritance tax and tax deadlines,
- Forgetting to formalize the manager’s intentions (letter of intent, agreement, clause in the articles of association, etc.),
- Do not supervise the operational takeover of the company.
When transferring a business, a lawyer can help prevent these risks and ensure a successful transfer.
Our support for family business managers
We are involved at every stage of the project:
- Wealth and legal diagnostics,
- Advice on the type of transfer (sale, donation, dismemberment),
- Drafting of deeds of gift, transfer contracts, Dutreil agreements,
- Coordination with other parties (notary, accountant),
- Establishing long-term family governance.
See also our related pages:
→ Business transfer lawyer
→ Transfer contract
→ Company takeover lawyer
→ Business transfer agreement
Frequently asked questions about business transfers
What is the difference between a gift and a transfer in a family transmission?
Donations are free of charge (but subject to tax restrictions), and are often used to anticipate inheritance. Assignment, on the other hand, involves a transfer in return for consideration. Depending on the context, either option can be tax-efficient.
What is the Pacte Dutreil and when is it useful?
The Dutreil pact offers a significant reduction in transfer duties when a business is transferred free of charge. It is particularly well-suited to family businesses that have been in operation for several years.
Should I go through a lawyer or a notary?
The two are often complementary. The notary manages inheritance and tax aspects, while thelawyer secures company deeds, prepares complex clauses (pact, governance, articles of association), and defends your strategic interests.
How to avoid family conflicts during a transfer?
The key is to anticipate, discuss and formalize. A lawyer can suggest solutions such as a partners’ agreement, staggering the transfer, or guarantees for non-takeover heirs.
Can a company be gradually passed on to your children?
Yes, through a staggered donation, a dismemberment of ownership or a partial transfer. Your lawyer can help you make this transition smoothly, tax-efficiently and legally sound.
Contact a lawyer to organize your transfer
Are you preparing to hand over your family business to your children or a close relative?
Entrust your project to an experienced, discreet and rigorous lawyer.
- Anticipate the succession of your company with peace of mind
- Contact our firm for human and strategic support