Business Exit Planning
in Highland Park, IL.
You built something worth selling. Now make the proceeds last.
For most business owners, the sale is the retirement plan. The proceeds have to replace the salary, the benefits, and the income stream you've depended on for decades. That's a high-stakes transition, and it requires more than just a financial advisor who handles 401(k)s.
At our firm, we've guided business owners in Chicago's Northern Suburbs through exits and liquidity events for nearly 50 years. We know the questions to ask before you sign, and the mistakes to avoid after the wire hits.
What this looks like in Highland Park.
Highland Park's professional community includes physicians, attorneys, and business owners whose enterprises have been built over decades in Lake County. When these owners approach us about exit planning, the Lake County tax context and the lower property taxes of Highland Park versus Cook County suburbs make a meaningful difference in the post-sale retirement budget, one of the first calculations we run when modeling what a sale proceeds-funded retirement looks like here.
The county details.
Lake County has a strong mid-market business community beyond its major corporate employers, manufacturers, professional services firms, healthcare services businesses, and technology companies whose owners are approaching retirement age. For Lake County business sellers, coordination between sale proceeds and existing retirement assets (pension, deferred comp, equity awards from a prior employer) requires a comprehensive plan that addresses all income streams simultaneously. The Illinois estate tax is particularly relevant: a successful business sale that produces $3-5 million in net proceeds, combined with existing investment assets and a Lake County home, can push a seller's total estate well above the $4 million Illinois exemption, making pre-close estate planning essential.
Why Highland Park.
As a Lake County community, Highland Park residents benefit from slightly lower property taxes than Cook County neighbors. The community's strong cultural offerings and natural beauty make it an attractive place to retire.
Things Highland Park families ask.
Down the shore.
Talk to a Highland Park
advisor.
One free conversation about business exit planning, at your kitchen table, our Evanston office, or a video call.