Advising individuals, businesses, and entrepreneurs since 1992
Located in southwest Washington, the Bessert Law Firm represents clients located or conducting business within the Pacific Northwest.
Our practice is limited to matters involving questions of taxation, whether structuring and implementing an estate or business plan, structuring tax sensitive transactions and business enterprise ownership structures, or engaging state or federal tax authorities in litigation, we not only protect what you have created, but help you thrive in a world of change.
Get in touch with us to set up a consultation, or use the contact form at the bottom of this page to see if our services meet your needs
Contact
telephone
(360) 326-8010
gbessert@bessert.com
us postal
418 W Main Street #626
Battle Ground, WA 98604
Areas of Practice
estate planning
Simple. Complex. Advanced. Every estate plan, regardless of family composition or the relative simplicity or complexity of your holdings and objectives, begins with the same step, we listen. Once your objectives have been clearly defined and fully understood, an estate plan id developed.
succession planning
Closely held business. Farms and Ranches. Timberland. Each business is as unique as the families involved with them. Transferring a business from one generation to another, from family ownership to key employee ownership, or from family ownership to a third party can be a complex endeavor that requires an understanding of both emotional and financial factors that are involved with the process of planning for the transfer of your life's work.
TAX SENSITIVE TRANSACTIONS
Real property development agreements; Multi-state business operations; Like kind exchanges of real and personal property; Joint ventures; and Multi-tranche finance arrangements are just a few examples of transactions that can produce adverse federal or state tax results if not structured properly. Protecting the objectives of an enterprise involves consideration of federal and state tax law as well as the laws of the states where business is transacted.
business sales + reorganizations
The purchase or sale of a business, a division, or a product line require an understanding of payment provisions, default remedies, due diligence representations, customer and lender relations, and state and federal regulatory approvals. Under certain circumstances, tax deferred mergers, both accretive and divisive, offer significant advantages over the purchase or sale of an enterprise when considering the growth or contraction of an enterprise, the capital structure of the enterprise, and the real costs of the transaction. We have experience in purchasing and selling businesses and structuring tax deferred mergers and achieve the result you desire from the transaction.
tax appeals + litigation
If the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Revenue has taken a position adverse to the position you have taken toduring an audit, we have the experience in administrative appeals and courtroom litigation you will need to sustain you position.
BUSINESS FORMATION + GOVERNANCE
Too often business entities are selected by default rather than consideration of factors that can be critical to the long term growth and profitability of an enterprise. We will spend the time with you that is necessary to ensure that your decision considers the factors that are important to the future of your business. Where appropriate, we can also provide ownership agreements and enterprise governance documentationto clarify the operating rules of an enterprise or simplify resolution of disputes among owners when disagreements arise.