Succession planning is no different than the other difficulties encountered by family businesses. Due to factors like family relationships, individual expectations, and financial worries, having conversations about the next generation of leadership is inherently more complex and emotional.
Nevertheless, experts say it’s more realistic to expect the succession planning process to take five to ten years for some businesses. However, many respondents said it would take two or less. Consequently, how can these businesses facilitate a smoother change of leadership?
No matter how prosperous a family business is, the day will come when ownership must change hands. Tax benefits may accrue to the current owner and their successor if a succession plan is in place.
This article lists the many choices open to business owners who want to create succession plans and highlights how family businesses can continue to thrive despite the change in management.
Succession Planning: The Definition
To prepare for a situation in which an owner voluntarily or involuntarily relinquishes control of the company, business owners engage in a process known as succession planning. Such an occurrence may be voluntary, as in retirement, or involuntary, as in death or disability.
Some family-owned businesses that aren’t open to the public lack the managerial depth of their larger counterparts. Therefore, it would be better if the company’s ownership and leadership positions were already in place to prepare for this type of scenario.
Any business owner can expect to leave their company at some point, whether by choice or necessity. Hence, a well-thought-out succession plan can help them maintain control over the transition to the next generation of leadership. Also, it’s best that a succession plan needs to be written down with the help of a wealth advisor and shared with anybody who might be affected.
Succession Planning: Pros and Challenges
The Pros
The continuity of a family business is crucial if a critical member of the family decides to quit the company, gets disabled, or passes away abruptly. A comprehensive succession plan for a family business may include the following:
- Determining when family members can work in the business;
- What method of profit sharing should be implemented;
- Who can serve on the board;
- Who will take over as leaders in the future;
- And how to deal with issues like taxes, liability, estate planning, ownership stakes, and voting rights.
Long-term succession preparation has many advantages. The first benefit is that you may observe and guide your offspring as they experience management duties. You’ll be in a prime position to teach them through it all and gauge their readiness for the responsibility. It also helps employees and their families make educated choices about their futures with the business.
The Challenges
There are many positive aspects to succession planning but also potential difficulties. The parents or grandparents in a family business must decide which child or children will eventually take over the reins of the business and when that will happen. Processes like this can tax the heart and mind and often affect the company and your personal life.
Meanwhile, the next generation’s waning enthusiasm for joining the family business presents another obstacle. Some family-owned companies that expect an ownership change over the next five years don’t intend to keep the business in the family.
Factors To Consider In Succession Planning
- Wealth Transition
The owner is responsible for their family and other business members, all of whom are financially reliant on the company’s continued success. Therefore, to make succession planning work, it would be better to assess if wealth transfer planning is feasible for every family business.
However, much of the family’s wealth could be lost to death and estate taxes. This might happen if succession and wealth transfer preparations aren’t carefully coordinated, putting the business and the family’s financial security at risk.
- Structured Plan
A family’s financial security and interpersonal bonds may suffer without a structured succession plan, and the survivors may even turn on each other. On the other hand, it’s not uncommon for business owners to require the assistance of independent, objective, unbiased, outside advisors to manage succession problems effectively.
How Wealth Advisors Can Help
Wealth advisors are in a prime position to assist with succession planning. They typically have an established rapport with business owners and their families and a thorough understanding of the industry and the company’s financial health.
The massive company successions that may occur when baby boomers retire can provide wealth advisors with many options. These include helping business owners ensure the longevity of their business and assisting them in making sure their legacies continue.
The Overview
Remember that succession planning is an ongoing procedure rather than a one-time event that can be reduced to an estate or retirement plan alone. In essence, it serves as a framework for the family to follow as they navigate the many challenging facets of carrying on the family business.
A business’s future success is a multi-step process that necessitates an investment of time and resources and the participation of key family members. It’s best to consider the needs of both the company and its owners. By doing so, a business owner can lay solid groundwork for their company’s future growth while also fostering family unity.
The duties of naming a successor, providing them with the necessary training, and conducting an annual performance review are things you need to consider. Succession planning is the ideal path, even if it poses challenges.
Furthermore, it indicates that your company has a promising future that can last long after you’re no longer interested in or able to manage it. In the best-case scenario, you should always have a plan.
