Demand Grows for Business Succession Planning as Boomers Retire

The survey drew some 1,500 respondents comprising primarily practicing attorneys (61%) and financial planners (27%), as well as bank trust officers, CPAs and insurance professionals.

Other key findings from the 2012 survey include:

• 97% of respondents expected taxes to increase because of the budget deficit
• 71% experienced growth in their practices in 2012, compared with 59% in 2011, and 94% expected growth over the next five years, compared with 89% a year earlier
• 57% said their clients had engaged in planning primarily to avoid chaos and discord among heirs
• 50% of estate planning clients were 50 to 69 years old
• 26% of respondents reported that clients had taken advantage of the $5.12 million gift tax exemption as of Oct. 19, when the survey closed; of those, most had a net worth of $10 million or more.