Business Owner Legacy Planning
Protect the business, ownership, and family plan behind what you have built.
Your business cannot depend on everyone knowing what you meant. Ownership, authority, succession, and family impact need to be documented.
Three separate questions
Ownership, authority, and succession are not the same problem
Most closely held businesses have answered none of them in writing. Each one fails differently.
- Ownership. Who holds the interest, how it transfers, and at what value.
- Authority. Who can sign, pay, hire, and decide if you are unavailable tomorrow.
- Succession. Who runs it next, and whether the family's plan agrees with the company's documents.
What's included
A documented continuity plan
- Ownership and transfer review
- Succession and authority documentation
- Continuity planning for incapacity
- Coordination with the family estate plan
What happens with nothing in writing
- No one has signing authority for payroll or vendor contracts
- Ownership passes to heirs with no role in the business
- Partners and family disagree about valuation
- An operating agreement conflicts with the will or trust
- Key relationships and credentials sit with one unavailable person
Free resource
Business Owner Continuity Planning Checklist
The ownership, authority, and succession questions to answer before a health event or an unexpected exit forces the conversation.
Questions
What founders ask us
This website is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this site or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship is formed only through a signed engagement agreement. Examples and past matters do not guarantee any particular outcome.
Next step
Document the plan while you are the one deciding what it says.
A business owner planning conversation covers ownership, authority, succession, and how the family plan fits with the company.