202 - Creating a business succession plan

Business Legal Lifecycle Podcast

Today we continue our conversation about estate and succession planning. What we want to talk about is three things you need to consider for your business succession plan. You’ve built up a business. Now you need to think about how the businesses will go forward after you’re gone. Who has control? Often what happens after someone passes is the business will be controlled by your spouse or significant other. Is that the right choice for you? Or should your personal estate and business holdings be split? That’s the first thing you need to consider in any business succession plan. Who do you want to be in business with? Business succession planning is especially important if you have partners in the business. You need to make sure that there is a clear line of succession for each of those people. If a spouse is not going to get a share of the business then insurance payments need to be made instead. Don’t leave this planning until the last minute! What’s the role of your family? Often families don't want to be involved in a business. If that's the case in your family then you need to ensure they don’t inherit control of the company. Because that can have a real detrimental effect on the business after you die.