Who do you work with to set up an Employee Ownership Trust (attorneys, advisors, valuation, tax)?

An EOT transition runs through a small group of specialists. Formation is document-heavy and almost always involves outside professionals, but most are not needed at full intensity for the whole life of the trust.

The core team

1. Corporate and trust attorney. Counsel drafts the trust agreement (how the trustee holds shares and uses trust income), the share purchase and security agreements, and governance documents such as bylaws. A trust attorney with direct purpose-trust experience matters, because the trust agreement also fixes whether it is a grantor or non-grantor trust, a choice driven by state law and your goals.

2. Trustee. Once the trust exists, a trustee holds the shares for employees and acts in their interest. It can be an independent professional firm, company management, or a blend. Because the trust holds the company long-term, this is an ongoing role; a directed corporate trustee handles administration with little day-to-day decision-making.

3. CPA or tax advisor. Engage one early, not just at filing, since structuring shapes the tax outcome. For an EOT, an S corporation's shares realistically have to sit in a grantor trust; a non-grantor EOT generally cannot stay an S corporation and may convert to a C corporation. Grantor-trust income is reported on the founder's personal return; a non-grantor trust bears its own tax. Unlike the UK, the US offers no EOT capital-gains break for the seller, and employee profit-sharing is taxed as ordinary W-2 compensation.

4. Independent valuation firm. A third party sets fair market value so the sale is genuinely arm's-length. Employee-ownership experience is not required here (it is for an ESOP).

5. Employee-ownership advisor (often first). This is the connective tissue: assessing fit, designing the structure, financial modeling, coordinating the team, and handling employee rollout. Look for direct EOT experience, not just conceptual familiarity.

Optional, depending on financing and the seller's situation: a lender or equity partner, plus an exit or estate planner. Most buyouts are seller-financed via a seller note repaid from operating profits over roughly five to ten years, often blended with senior bank debt and gap layers such as mission-aligned loan funds, mezzanine debt, or non-voting preferred equity.

This is general education, not legal or tax advice; confirm your situation with a CPA and an attorney experienced in employee-ownership transitions. If you have set up a US Employee Ownership Trust, add the advisors and sequencing that worked for you so this roster reflects real practice.