Estate Planning for Business Owners
Coordinate ownership, governing agreements, valuation, insurance, tax, control, and family succession before a transition becomes urgent.
Every guide opens with a simple explanation, then goes deeper into mechanics, tradeoffs, examples, state differences and sources.
Guides in this section
Look up a term-
Start with
Business Succession Planning
Business succession coordinates voting control, economics, leadership, buy-sell terms, valuation, liquidity, key relationships, and the owner's personal estate plan before incapacity, retirement, or death.
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Family Governance and Multigenerational Planning
Family governance uses agreed decision processes, education, communication, and role clarity to help a long-term plan function across people and generations; it complements rather than replaces legal documents.
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Founder With a Closely Held Business
A durable succession plan must separate management, voting control, economic ownership, liquidity, valuation, and family inheritance instead of relying on a will to transfer 'the business.'
Funding, trusts and authority for owners
- Life insurance and buy-sell fundingOwnership, beneficiaries and estate inclusion.
- Intentionally defective grantor trustsGifts and note sales of business interests.
- Authority if an owner is incapacitatedWhat an agent can sign, and what needs specific language.
- Valuation and advisory professionalsAppraisers, CPAs and counsel for a closely held company.