The estate plan assumes a number. Someone has to produce it.

What this is worth to your practice

1. 01

   The plan is only as good as the value behind it.

   Gifting schedules, marital deductions, credit shelter funding and equalization among heirs all run off a number for the operating company. A Broker Opinion of Value gives you a market-grounded figure produced by people who sell these businesses, rather than a multiple the owner heard at a trade association lunch.

2. 02

   Buy-sell agreements go stale quietly.

   Formulas written a decade ago, fixed values never revisited, funding sized to a business half the size it is now. Reviewing the value on a normal cadence is engagement work, and it is the cheapest way to keep a buy-sell from being litigated.

3. 03

   Succession usually means sale, whether or not the plan says so.

   Most closely-held Texas businesses have no heir who wants to run them. When succession quietly becomes a third-party sale, the documents drafted for an intrafamily transfer need to be revisited before a letter of intent, not after.

4. 04

   A forced sale is the worst sale.

   A company marketed under time pressure after a death or a divorce trades at a discount that no drafting can recover. Knowing the number now, and knowing what a buyer would want fixed, is the difference between an orderly disposition and a distress sale.

5. 05

   You keep the family through the liquidity event.

   Sale proceeds convert an illiquid operating asset into cash that needs new trusts, revised beneficiary structures, charitable vehicles and a rewritten plan. The attorney who saw the sale coming does that work; the one who reads about it later does not.

Who is Alamo Brokers of Texas?

A boutique business and commercial property brokerage serving Texas owners and investors since 2002 from San Antonio. Hundreds of businesses sold in Texas and nationwide, with documented experience in manufacturing, distribution, health care, logistics, construction and services.

Serving Texas since

2002 — San Antonio (HQ), South Central Texas

Transaction focus

$1 – 10 million

Valuation credential

Member, Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA) since 2004

Affiliations

International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) · National Association of Realtors (NAR) · Texas Association of Realtors (TAR) · San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR)

Buyer reach

Email marketing to 4,000+ opted-in contacts, plus broker network

The people your client will work with

How it works

1. Step 1

   Tell us the basics.

   A short form: your details, the client's industry, rough revenue, why your client is thinking about an exit, and roughly when. Under a minute. Nothing is shared with your client at this stage.

2. Step 2

   We send the intake questionnaire.

   If the business is a fit for what we sell, we ask you to introduce us to the owner so we can discuss their situation and prepare a questionnaire for the valuation work. We keep you in the loop every step of the way.

3. Step 3

   We prepare the Opinion of Value.

   At no cost to your client, under confidentiality, once the questionnaire is back and the call has happened. A real number with the reasoning behind it, not a rule of thumb.

4. Step 4

   You stay in the file.

   If the owner moves forward, you are on the deal team from letter of intent through closing, where the structure and the tax outcome get decided.

Also free to your clients, any time: our Roadmap to Success guide to selling a business, and a sample Confidential Business Review — the buyer-facing document we produce for every listing.

Questions advisors ask

Is a Broker Opinion of Value the same as a certified appraisal?

No. A Broker Opinion of Value is a market-based indication of likely selling price prepared by a broker who transacts in these businesses. It is not a certified business appraisal and is not a substitute for one where a formal appraisal is required, such as certain filings and contested matters.

When should we use each one?

Use the Opinion of Value for planning conversations, buy-sell reviews, succession discussions and pre-market decisions. Use a certified appraisal when a filing, a court or a governing document requires it. We will tell you plainly when you need the latter.

What does it cost the client?

Nothing when it comes through you as a referring advisor. Standalone engagements, such as a partner buy-out or a divorce matter, are a paid service.

How is the owner's identity protected?

Everything is handled under confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement. No client, business or transaction is ever named publicly, and confidentiality survives closing.

Find out how this benefits your practice

• CPAs, Accountants & Tax AdvisorsThe exit is a tax event first and a sale second.
• Estate-Planning AttorneysThe plan assumes a number for the operating asset.
• Wealth Advisors & Financial PlannersThe largest asset is not under management yet.
• Business & Transaction AttorneysYou paper the deal; better to see it before the LOI.
• Commercial Real Estate ProfessionalsThe property and the business are one decision.
• M&A Advisors & ConsultantsSub-ten-million deals, run locally in Texas.
• Insurance ProfessionalsBuy-sell agreements funded on unchecked values.
• SBA & Commercial LendersFiles that are ready to underwrite on arrival.