Business Exit Planning
in Northfield, 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 Northfield.
Northfield's professional and business owner community includes physicians, attorneys, and small business owners who have served the surrounding North Shore market. When these owners sell, the post-sale retirement plan must account for Northfield's Cook County property tax burden, a significant fixed cost that demands sustained investment income. We build the income plan around the actual post-sale budget, not a national average.
The county details.
Cook County business sellers face a tax environment with two important state-level considerations. Illinois taxes capital gains at the flat 4.95% rate with no preferential capital gains treatment, adding to the federal capital gains tax on the full gain. On a $3 million gain, the Illinois tax alone is approximately $148,500. The Illinois estate tax is equally important: business sale proceeds that substantially increase net worth can push a Cook County family well above the $4 million Illinois exemption, making pre- and post-sale estate planning essential. We address both the Illinois capital gains exposure and the post-sale estate tax picture before any deal closes.
Why Northfield.
Many Northfield residents have lived in the same home for 20-30 years and face meaningful decisions about whether to age in place or downsize. We help them evaluate the tax consequences of selling appreciated real estate, plan for the healthcare costs of aging in a higher-cost suburb, and build an income plan that doesn't require leaving the community they love.
Things Northfield families ask.
Down the shore.
Talk to a Northfield
advisor.
One free conversation about business exit planning, at your kitchen table, our Evanston office, or a video call.