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The Cary Connection DECEMBER 2025
Cary • Raleigh • North Raleigh • Chapel Hill
BUSINESS BEYOND YOU Succession Strategies for Entrepreneurs
Few accomplishments are greater than building a successful business yourself … and few pains are worse than losing it.
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Whether you run a small mom-and-pop shop or a sizable company with multiple employees and a board of directors, you have a responsibility as an entrepreneur to ensure your business’s ongoing growth and success. However, our experiences at Cary Estate Planning have shown us that not every business owner considers what will happen to everything they’ve built when they pass away or become physically or mentally unable to carry on their duties of steering the ship. If the owner doesn’t consider these possibilities carefully and lacks the proper documentation detailing their wishes, their business’s future could be determined in probate court according to our state’s “intestate” rules for resolving estate matters when the deceased dies without a will. The business will become estate property, and its shares will be divided equally between the deceased’s children or other relatives. With this area of North Carolina currently a hotbed of small businesses, startups, and other entrepreneurial ventures, clients who own businesses should be aware of the risks associated with the above scenario and consider business succession as part of their estate planning. If you’ve built a successful business you’re proud of, it could become a vital part of your legacy and what you leave behind to your heirs. But will it always? Not necessarily. While many business owners dream of leaving their business to their children or other family members to oversee, those they expect to take the reins may have no interest in that responsibility or wish to pursue other career opportunities and income streams. In today’s volatile economy, younger generations have become the kings and queens of using side hustles to generate as much revenue as possible, and committing to taking over the family business and focusing solely on that opportunity may not be aligned with their desired goals for the future. You should assume nothing today, so having serious conversations with your children and other loved ones about your business’s legacy is more critical than ever. Of course, determining who assumes control of your business upon your death is only one piece of the puzzle. Unfortunately, accidents, illnesses, natural disasters, sudden incapacities, and other unexpected calamities can occur. Do you know what will happen to your business, or who will run it, if you’re suddenly incapacitated?
A business succession planning checklist can help you navigate these questions and steps and ensure the company’s survival even if you’re not at the helm. Here are the eight most essential items that should be on your list. 1. Choose someone you trust to make decisions. 2. Put a clear operating agreement in place. 3. Establish a durable power of attorney. 4. Consider a living trust for business interests.
5. Organize critical business information. 6. Maintain proper insurance coverage. 7. Communicate your plan clearly. 8. Keep your plan updated.
If you’re looking to refresh your business succession plan based on this checklist or are considering it for the first time, Cary Estate Planning can help. Like creating a trust, the succession planning process involves determining who will be in charge, who will have access to accounts, and whom you will designate to sign documents in the event of an incapacitation.
Please contact us today to discuss ways to incorporate business succession into your estate plan. You’ve spent years building your business; now is the time to ensure all you’ve worked for will continue after you’re gone.
-Paul Yokabitus
CaryEstatePlanning.com • 1
Keep More in the Family
Reduce Taxes With Strategic Gifting
When planning your legacy, gifting during your lifetime is thoughtful and strategic. Not only do your loved ones receive an early boost, but you may also shield more of your estate from federal taxes. Let’s break down six smart, actionable, and strategic ways across all states. Tap the annual gift tax exclusion. Every year, you can gift up to $19,000 per person (or $38,000 if married filing jointly) without trimming into your lifetime exemption or filing a gift-tax return. The best part is you can repeat it and share the love with an unlimited number of people. Over time, that’s a significant aggregation of tax-free transfers. Use your lifetime exemption. In 2025, the lifetime exemption is at $13.99 million per individual (and nearly $28 million for couples). In July 2025, Congress made the exemption amount permanent, so speculation about it dropping to half in 2026 has been laid to rest. In fact, the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption will increase to $15 million ($30 million per couple) on Jan. 1, 2026. Make direct payments that don’t count as gifts. You can pay unlimited amounts directly to medical providers or educational institutions for someone else’s benefit. These payments bypass the annual exclusion and the lifetime exemption limits, making them powerful and clean ways to help without tax consequences. Leverage trusts for smarter transfers. Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs): Transfer your home to a trust while retaining the right to live there for a set
term. The gift’s taxable value is reduced thanks to the IRS’s calculation of your retained interest, meaning you minimize the use of your exclusion and remove future appreciation from your estate. Just be sure to outlive the term to reap the benefits. Intrafamily Loans: Loan money to loved ones at the IRS’s minimum applicable rate (when interest rates are low). If assets purchased with those funds appreciate, that growth shifts out of your estate and no gifting is required (unless you later forgive the loan).
“Gifting isn’t just financially savvy; it’s
Explore upstream gifting. If your parents or grandparents have estates far smaller than yours, you might gift appreciated assets upstream, allowing them to hold and later pass the assets down with a useful step- up in basis that reduces capital gains tax for future generations. Avoid estate inclusion with life insurance planning. Putting a life insurance policy into an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) can remove it from your estate so the death benefit passes tax-free to beneficiaries. But watch out for the IRS’s three-year rule: Gifting the policy within three years of your death will bring the full value back into your estate. A great workaround is to have the ILIT purchase the policy outright. Gifting isn’t just financially savvy; it’s personal, philanthropic, and full of upsides for both giver and receiver. Thoughtful planning now lets your legacy grow, live on, and stay largely intact. personal, philanthropic, and full of upsides for both giver and receiver.”
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The Hair- Cutting Intruder Who Terrorized a Town
TAKE A BREAK
CARDINAL COOKIES FROSTY GINGERBREAD GIFTS MENORAH MITTENS PEPPERMINT PINECONES SAGITTARIUS SNOWBALL YULE
The Disturbing Tale of the Phantom Barber
Few things in life are scarier than knowing someone has broken into your home. In an instant, your sanctuary has been violated, and you worry about a return appearance in which they could steal from you or even harm you. During the early 1940s, the community in Pascagoula, Mississippi, was terrorized by a mysterious home intruder who was not after the wealth or health of the locals. Instead, this person was after something we always keep close to us. In mid-June 1942, 11-year-old Mary Evelyn Briggs and 12-year- old Edna Marie Hydel were sound asleep in their room within the Our Lady of Victories convent. Mary Evelyn woke up to a nightmarish sight. “I saw the figure of a kinda short, fat man bending over me with something shiny in his hand, and he was fooling with my hair. When he saw me open my eyes, he said, ‘Shhh.’ I yelled, and he jumped out the window,” stated Mary Evelyn. Although the two girls were unharmed, Mary Evelyn started the next morning with fewer inches of hair. Shortly after, 6-year-old Carol Peattie woke up to find somebody had chopped her hair while she slept. The only evidence left behind was a cut screen window and a sandy footprint. Before the end of June, an adult fell victim to the phantom barber while she slept beside her husband. During this time, the suspicion that the barber was using chloroform to keep his victims still started to spread. Local businesses and law enforcement offered a reward of $400 (about $8,000 today) for information that would lead to the “barber’s” arrest. Earlier in the month, an intruder with a lead pipe had attacked a couple in their home. Police theorized the barber was behind the attack, giving them a serious crime to work with. They would go on to arrest 57-year-old William A. Dolan, an individual the community detested due to his pro-German views. He stood trial, was found guilty, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He maintained his innocence throughout his life and was released early after passing a lie detector test.
Classic Italian Tiramisu
Ingredients
• 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, plus more for dusting • 1 cup brewed espresso • 1 tbsp vanilla extract • 5 large egg yolks, cold • 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt • 16 oz mascarpone cheese, chilled • 1 3/4 cups heavy cream, chilled • 28 hard ladyfinger cookies
Directions 1. In a bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, espresso, and vanilla and set aside. 2. In a mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. 3. Add salt and mascarpone cheese, and continue to whip. 4. Add the chilled heavy cream and continue to whip until light and smooth. 5. Dunk each ladyfinger in the espresso mixture to absorb the liquid and line a 7x11-inch oval baking dish with the cookies. 6. Top the first layer of cookies with half the whipped mascarpone mixture and spread it into an even layer. Dust with cocoa powder. 7. Repeat for another layer and then finish by dusting with cocoa powder on top. 8. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
The Phantom Barber effectively disappeared after Dolan’s arrest, never to silently cut the hair of unsuspecting people again.
Inspired by WhatsGabyCooking.com
CaryEstatePlanning.com • 3
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PLANNING, NOT PAPERWORK.
Cary • Raleigh • North Raleigh • Chapel Hill 1255 Crescent Green, Suite 200, Cary, NC 27518 919-726-0896 • CaryEstatePlanning.com
Inside This Issue
1
Preserve Profits With Proper Planning
2
Smart Gifting Moves to Protect Your Legacy
3
Classic Italian Tiramisu
The Legend of the Phantom Barber
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The Hidden Price Tag on Clutter
We’ve all been there: staring at a closet full of clothes and thinking, “I have nothing to wear.” Or paying rent for a bigger apartment just to store things we barely use. Clutter isn’t just a space problem; it’s a money problem. Every unused subscription silently chips away at your finances. The good news is that minimalism offers a way out. Far from being about deprivation, it’s about reclaiming control of your space, spending, and savings. The Hidden Price of ‘Stuff’ Every purchase comes with two price tags: the sticker price and the hidden costs. That $50 gadget isn’t just $50; it might also mean higher credit card interest if you’re carrying debt, or another box in the attic eating up storage space. The more we accumulate, the more we pay to maintain, store, clean, and eventually replace those items. That’s where minimalism comes in. It forces us to ask: “Do I really need this, or is it just clutter in disguise?” Quality Over Quantity Minimalism doesn’t mean buying nothing. Instead, it’s about buying better. One high-quality pair of shoes can last for years, while three cheap pairs wear out quickly and cost more in the long run. Choosing durability and timeless designs over impulse buys protects your wallet and reduces waste. Simplifying Finances Clutter can even creep into your bank account. Old subscriptions, overlapping accounts, and unused memberships all nibble away at your budget. By canceling what you don’t use How Minimalism Can Save You Thousands THE COST OF CLUTTER
and streamlining your finances, you save money and reduce the mental load of tracking your bills. Downsizing Expenses One of the biggest financial wins of minimalism comes from downsizing. A smaller home or apartment doesn’t just mean lower rent or mortgage; it also slashes utilities, maintenance, insurance, and even property taxes. More Space for What Matters A clutter-free environment frees up mental bandwidth. With fewer distractions, you can focus on what truly matters: building a side hustle, nurturing relationships, or enjoying a calmer, more intentional life.
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