Succession within a family.
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT
Family relationships and business decisions conflict.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH FIRST
Whether anyone actually wants it.
WHY ASK
Assumptions about succession are frequently wrong, and children accept out of obligation.
WHAT TO ASK
Directly, and accept the answer.
WHAT TO ASSESS
Whether they are capable of running it.
WHY SEPARATELY FROM WANTING IT
Willingness and capability are different.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
What preparation is required, and over what period.
WHAT PREPARATION LOOKS LIKE
Working in the business, genuinely Responsibility increasing over time
Exposure to the parts owners handle: finance, banking, customers, staff
Working elsewhere first, in many cases
WHY WORKING ELSEWHERE HELPS
It builds capability and credibility that inheritance does not.
WHAT TO ADDRESS ABOUT FAIRNESS
Whether other family members are involved or compensated.
WHY
Transferring a business to one child while others receive nothing produces lasting conflict.
WHAT TO DO
Address it explicitly, in the estate arrangements.
WHAT TO DOCUMENT
The transfer: what, when, on what terms, and what the current owner retains.
WHY IN WRITING
Family disputes about business ownership are among the most damaging there are.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT THE OWNER'S ROLE AFTERWARDS
Whether they remain, in what capacity, and who decides.
WHY
A predecessor who cannot let go undermines the successor.
WHAT TO PLAN FOR
The owner's income after transfer.
WHAT TO ARRANGE
A will, and advice on the tax treatment.
