What would happen to your business if you were to retire or pass away?

Whether business owners are too busy to think about this topic, or it’s just too unpleasant to discuss, could be why an often ignored element of business planning is business continuity.

Known as succession planning, the process of planning for your intentional or unintentional departure can help to ensure your business stays running no matter your personal situation.

Do you need a plan?

How do you know whether succession planning is for you?

Lynne Butler, BA, LLB, has worked in estate planning for over 20 years and is the author of Succession Planning for Canadian Business. Her advice is to “start by defining your goals.” If you want to—

  • provide for your family’s financial future,
  • retire comfortably,
  • keep your business in the family,
  • pass the business on to one or more of your children,
  • make sure what you’ve built in your lifetime is carried on,
  • maintain family harmony,
  • provide one or more of your children with a means to making a living,
  • sell or transfer the business so you can open another one,
  • achieve peace of mind about the future,
  • feel organized and in control,
  • have something in place in case of emergency, even though you’re not ready to retire or sell just yet,
  • learn about options you can use for planning in the future,
  • avoid family fights after you pass away, and
  • learn ways to avoid paying too much tax,

you should consider developing a business succession plan. For more information about business succession in Canada, and the options you have, see Succession Planning for Canadian Business, available in our Canadian shop.

About canadian-succession-planning-cover-large Author Lynne Butler, BA, LLB, has worked in estate planning and law for over 20 years, and is also the author of Protect Your Elderly Parents: Become Your Parents’ Guardian or Trustee, another title published by Self-Counsel Press.

Read more about the book, view the table of contents, read a sample chapter, and buy your copy here.

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