Your business has been in the family for many years. You learned on the job when your parents were in charge, and you gradually started to take over the reins. Ideally, you’d like the same thing to happen with your children.
Your children have been employed at the company and you’re considering passing the business on to them in your estate plan. How do you know if they are ready?
Is it really what they want?
Being the boss and being an employee are very different things. As the boss, you are responsible for a lot of people and the overall success of the company. This is a lot of pressure. Thus, it takes a lot of commitment to fill this role. Before setting anything in stone, it’s important to discuss the matter with your kids and find out if it’s really what they want to do with their life.
Will it cause friction?
One of your kids has been especially involved in the company and is very eager to take over. However, your other kids haven’t played such an active role but they do not want to miss out on an inheritance. The last thing you want your estate plan to do is to cause friction between your family members. You also want to minimize the risk of will contests and lengthy probate disputes. WIth good planning, you may be able to divide your estate so that everybody feels like they were treated fairly, even though only one heir receives the business.
Keeping the business in the family can be beneficial for everyone. To ensure that this happens, you need to use the appropriate estate planning tools. Having legal guidance behind you will help ensure that you take the right steps.