Comstock's magazine 1018 - October 2018 | Page 64

n REAL ESTATE “If I’m going to split it up and Property A has debt, but B and C don’t, how do you deal with that?” - Kent Silvester, attorney, Boutin Jones We Move or Ship Anything... Anywhere Local • International Secure Storage • Office Licensed & Insured Since 1979 Freight Forwarding Professionals International Shipping Specialists Expert Packing, Crating & Rigging 916-489-3322 ABetterMoving.com 800-324-6683 PUC Lic # T-170373 MC-308011 Licensed In All 50 States 6640 Fair Oaks Blvd. Carmichael, CA 95608 AdId: P 5000002151654 - 01 CustId: 8107501342 YPH: 103503 Movers & Full Serv Storage YPSH: ATTUID: rajenk02 Date: 08/10/2018 12:26:PM Rep: 130144 - ap1835 PRITCHARD ALLISON Dir/Iss: FROCA YP1 09/2018 64 comstocksmag.com | October 2018 UDAC: FP - CIP Other clients who want to avoid breaking up the business think making one child a trustee over another is the answer. But putting one child in charge of another child’s money can destroy families, Wagner says. “Usually for people who’ve spent their entire lives devel- oping wealth, the idea of splitting up the business doesn’t feel really good,” he says. “I’ve had families that are fine having collectively owned assets. But the best scenario for a family with known issues is to carve it up.” IT’S COMPLICATED No two families in commercial real estate are alike. Succes- sion plans will vary accordingly. At Fulcrum, which has a project portfolio that exceeds 2.5 million square feet, Fried- man is constantly evaluating individual assets and determin- ing whether to hold or sell them, he says. As an illiquid asset, real estate is more challenging to divide, he adds, and less flexible in terms of succession than liquid assets like stocks. “If you own real estate, you have to run it,” he says. “If all the kids aren’t interested in staying in the business, you can’t sell a third of a shopping center or apartment building. You need to sell the whole thing and distribute the cash. It’s pretty complicated.”