No one goes through the work, risk, and sacrifice of starting a business without hoping it will last. Building something that endures is the dream that motivates entrepreneurs. Yet in many businesses, too little of that work goes into determining who will take over when the founders decide to hang’em up.

According to the National Association of Corporate Directors, fewer than 25% of private companies say they have a formal succession plan in place. 75% of owners also say that if they had to step away from their business entirely tomorrow, they are not completely certain the business would continue to move forward successfully. 

There isn’t a good reason to justify the common oversight of not planning for business succession. Some business owners are too caught up in the challenges of the present. Some have a subconscious aversion to the reality that they won’t be around forever, or assume succession will work itself out naturally. Others are aware of the task’s true complexity and find it overwhelming. Ultimately, however, the reasons people avoid succession planning aren’t as important as the reasons they should embrace it.

For a business, working without a succession plan can invite disruption, uncertainty, and conflict, and endangers future competitiveness. For companies that are family owned, the issue of succession also introduces deeply emotional personal issues and may widen the circle of stakeholders to include non-employee family members. The next 10 to 15 years may bring substantial transfers of wealth through business ownership handoffs across generations and other new ownership structures. The long-term survival of those businesses, and the preservation of the wealth they have built, will depend upon a clear and early focus on strategic succession planning.

Get the Conversation Started

The experienced succession planning attorneys at Fiffik Law Group can help get the conversation going.  We have extensive experience representing clients in a wide range of estate, asset protection, trust and  business succession planning.  We are dedicated to assisting individuals achieve their economic goals, while also providing a seamless transition for a multi-generational family business. We counsel clients on the options available to them and provide strategic, sound advice with the ultimate goal of minimizing federal, state and local taxes while also preserving wealth for the company owners and their families.