Procrastination!

A substantial challenge in business succession planning - which is in many ways estate planning/equalization of the estate including business assets for the closely held business owner, is procrastination.

So, 60 to 70% of people who die in the US, according to the most recent study I saw, do so without a Will. Thus a super-majority of individuals have decided that leaving assets using the statutes that their state legislature has drafted for them is sufficient. This in 2 of the 3 states I am admitted to practice, in means that the surviving spouse does not get everything even if the children are minors [except that the surviving spouse is typically appointed as guardian over the property for the minor children].

This psychology of the individual, as one of my favorite characters, Jeeves, is the driving force behind this procrastination. However, when you view this propensity in the context of business succession, it gets worse. Now you are asking someone to decide who gets what, when, but while they are still living. This inability to consider and decide on the terms of a transfer during life, when it involves ownership in a company they often are responsible for creating, makes the process difficult for the owner.

This in turn makes it tedious for the planner. Focusing on the issue that is in the forefront of the client's mind is the key. Is it retention of a key employee, where to find assets to equalize the estate of the non-employee child, or protecting the surviving spouse at the owner's death? Determining this issue, then isolating planning to deal with one issue at a time will benefit the owner, their family, and allow the attorney to get certain things accomplished for the client.