Bruce Bryen, CPA, CVA

It's time to start implementing your retirement time now, and you can start by seeking expert opinions.

A discussion of what is to come during Trump's presidency and how taxes will be affected.

Comparing Donald Trump’s tax to dental practice income and the dentist’s tax.

Dental practice transitions many times include a seller who wants to discontinue working as a dentist and a buyer who feels that he or she can dramatically improve the bottom line of the retiring dentist.

Since it is rare for a dentist to be involved with a court and lawsuit, the unknown time, effort and cost of such a disposition of value in the hands of attorneys, experts and a judge is almost surely something that the dentist is not aware.

Knowing about goodwill and the necessary attributes for the dentist's practice valuation can be critical in a divorce.

In explaining a pretax transition, it is important to understand that there are really two types of dental practice transitions. The author explains.

After a death, the transition from the seller’s side is a very emotional, disheartening and financially upsetting circumstance. The spouse of the deceased dentist was probably used to a very solid financial perspective and many times did not know what was occurring in the dental practice.

There is a list of examples that will be addressed to explain the importance of compensation studies for the dental practice. Just like the importance of a written agreement when two or more partners exist in a dental practice to detail the role of each partner, among other things, compensation can become a disagreeable topic when the focus is after a dental practice is in full operating mode.

No one wants to be involved in a dispute that disrupts the normal flow of business to the dental practice. Disputes harm dentists financially and emotionally and cause turmoil within the practice among employees, owners and patients.

You’ve found the right associate to work in the practice and to assist in its growth. There are many issues to be settled to ensure that the associate has accepted the parameters of the job description reflective of the compensation, benefits and responsibilities agreed upon. To protect the owner and the associate, these points should be in writing and executed by the parties so when questions arise, the agreement can be reviewed and answers found without the necessity for litigation because of the vague nature of a contract.

Creating a successful dental practice can take years of hard work. Your professional skills, relationships with patients and business ability surely assist in bringing the practice to the high level of professionalism necessary for determining if it is the appropriate time to sell it.

Financing in today’s economic environment is incredibly more difficult than before the current financial meltdown. In the past, a reasonable credit score, a passable amount of income and a good concept, such as buying a dental practice, would guarantee a dentist the ability to secure financing at a competitive interest rate with a fair term for the repayment schedule.

Dentists know how difficult and time consuming it is to grow their practices through marketing efforts, hard work, excellent service and building their reputations over the years. Some dentists have found an additional method for practice growth that has similarities to an investment model growth in public companies.

Now that you have your team in place, your next step is to find the dental practice. There are practices for sale throughout the country but the pricing is now increasing due to a number of factors such as the economy and the fact that dental practices are very stable financially so that dentists are not selling as readily as in the past. Many dentists have lost considerable money in their retirement plans and also can not afford to retire for that reason as well since their savings have been depleted.