Dental Practice Transitions

This always has been and continues to be a hot topic among dentists and their professional advisors. I have recently been involved in a lot of these transitions. I typically represent the buyer. In representing them, there are two major issues we deal with.

1. Ensuring that the asking price is reasonable and can be substantiated by a certain amount of documentation. This is important for obvious reasons. Plus, I do a quick little cash flow analysis to make sure the cash flow pans out.

2. Trying to get a fair allocation of the purchase price between the assets that are purchased -- mainly Goodwill and Equipment. These are the two major asset classes. This is an important point because the two types of assets are taxed differently from the seller's side and they are depreciated (or expensed) differently on the buyer's side.

The allocation is a little more subjective than the actual price, and because the interests of the buyer and seller are usually oposite, this is a point where the buyer needs some support.